A question about gelatine...

I was wondering if anyone here knew of any ingredient or process that
would render the gelatine useless. I follow the directions on the box
(Knox) religiously every time and get different results, depending on
the ingredients that I use. Sometimes the gelatine doesn't set well or
it weeps water after it sets. Are there some things that affect it
like acidic ingredients?

In article ,
WF wrote:

I was wondering if anyone here knew of any ingredient or process that
would render the gelatine useless. I follow the directions on the box
(Knox) religiously every time and get different results, depending on
the ingredients that I use. Sometimes the gelatine doesn't set well or
it weeps water after it sets. Are there some things that affect it
like acidic ingredients?

Well, from the time I was a kid, I recall being told not to put fresh
pineapple in jello.

--
AF
"Non Sequitur U has a really, really lousy debate team."
--artyw raises the bar on rec.sport.baseball

In article ,
says...
In article ,
WF wrote:

I was wondering if anyone here knew of any ingredient or process that
would render the gelatine useless. I follow the directions on the box
(Knox) religiously every time and get different results, depending on
the ingredients that I use. Sometimes the gelatine doesn't set well or
it weeps water after it sets. Are there some things that affect it
like acidic ingredients?

Well, from the time I was a kid, I recall being told not to put fresh
pineapple in jello.

What about canned pineapple? My mom routinely made us a gelatine
dessert from Jello, cream cheese, mayonnaise and canned, crushed
pineapple.

--
Saffire
205/137/125
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333

In article ,
WF wrote:

I was wondering if anyone here knew of any ingredient or process that
would render the gelatine useless. I follow the directions on the box
(Knox) religiously every time and get different results, depending on
the ingredients that I use. Sometimes the gelatine doesn't set well or
it weeps water after it sets. Are there some things that affect it
like acidic ingredients?

Acid. Don't add citrus fruit until the Jello is well set and make sure
the fruit is well drained.
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

Saffire wrote:
In article ,
says...

In article ,
WF wrote:

I was wondering if anyone here knew of any ingredient or process that
would render the gelatine useless. I follow the directions on the box
(Knox) religiously every time and get different results, depending on
the ingredients that I use. Sometimes the gelatine doesn't set well or
it weeps water after it sets. Are there some things that affect it
like acidic ingredients?

Well, from the time I was a kid, I recall being told not to put fresh
pineapple in jello.

What about canned pineapple? My mom routinely made us a gelatine
dessert from Jello, cream cheese, mayonnaise and canned, crushed
pineapple.

No problem if the pineapple is cooked - as it would be in canning. Raw
figs, papayas and a few other fruits will prevent gelling. They all
contain enzymes that digest the gelatin.

Hey, WF, post more specific recipes or combinations that are giving you
trouble. All we can say now is the general principles and that won't
help much in the real life kitchen.

Pastorio

"WF" wrote in message
...
I was wondering if anyone here knew of any ingredient or process that
would render the gelatine useless. I follow the directions on the box
(Knox) religiously every time and get different results, depending on
the ingredients that I use. Sometimes the gelatine doesn't set well or
it weeps water after it sets. Are there some things that affect it
like acidic ingredients?

Some fruits have enzymes that prevent jelling, the ones I can recall off the
top of my head are pineapple, paw paw (AKA papia) & Kiwi fruit (AKA chinese
gooseberries).

"Saffire" wrote in message
.. .
In article ,
says...
In article ,
WF wrote:

I was wondering if anyone here knew of any ingredient or process that
would render the gelatine useless. I follow the directions on the box
(Knox) religiously every time and get different results, depending on
the ingredients that I use. Sometimes the gelatine doesn't set well or
it weeps water after it sets. Are there some things that affect it
like acidic ingredients?

Well, from the time I was a kid, I recall being told not to put fresh
pineapple in jello.

What about canned pineapple? My mom routinely made us a gelatine
dessert from Jello, cream cheese, mayonnaise and canned, crushed
pineapple.

--
Saffire
205/137/125
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333

canned pineapple doesn't have as much of the enzyme that affects jelling as
it has been cooked.

In article ,
says...
In article ,
WF wrote:

I was wondering if anyone here knew of any ingredient or process that
would render the gelatine useless. I follow the directions on the box
(Knox) religiously every time and get different results, depending on
the ingredients that I use. Sometimes the gelatine doesn't set well or
it weeps water after it sets. Are there some things that affect it
like acidic ingredients?

Acid. Don't add citrus fruit until the Jello is well set and make sure
the fruit is well drained.

Thats a good point -- the dessert I mentioned previously that my mother
used to make called for adding the pineapple and cream cheese when the
jello was about halfway set.

--
Saffire
205/137/125
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333

Well, to be specific., the recipe that I was having the problem with
was my coffee flavored jello. I followed the directions on the Knox
box, using extra strong black coffee, cooled, to get the two cup total
measure. It seems to set up okay, but after a day in the fridge, it
starts weeping water, No other type of jello I made ever did this and
because the coffee is acidic, I assumed this was to cause. I eat this
with a little cream and it seems to give me the fix that my coffee
flavored ice cream used to. I actually used to mix the coffee and
cream before it set, but I had to occationally stir it to prevent the
cream from rising to the top. I kept forgetting to stir so often that
I stopped mixing the two before setup. The way I do it now is good
enough. Anyway, thanks for all your responce.
John


On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 23:40:01 -0400, "Bob (this one)"
wrote:

Saffire wrote:
In article ,
says...

In article ,
WF wrote:

I was wondering if anyone here knew of any ingredient or process that
would render the gelatine useless. I follow the directions on the box
(Knox) religiously every time and get different results, depending on
the ingredients that I use. Sometimes the gelatine doesn't set well or
it weeps water after it sets. Are there some things that affect it
like acidic ingredients?

Well, from the time I was a kid, I recall being told not to put fresh
pineapple in jello.

What about canned pineapple? My mom routinely made us a gelatine
dessert from Jello, cream cheese, mayonnaise and canned, crushed
pineapple.

No problem if the pineapple is cooked - as it would be in canning. Raw
figs, papayas and a few other fruits will prevent gelling. They all
contain enzymes that digest the gelatin.

Hey, WF, post more specific recipes or combinations that are giving you
trouble. All we can say now is the general principles and that won't
help much in the real life kitchen.

Pastorio

WF wrote:
Well, to be specific., the recipe that I was having the problem with
was my coffee flavored jello. I followed the directions on the Knox
box, using extra strong black coffee, cooled, to get the two cup total
measure. It seems to set up okay, but after a day in the fridge, it
starts weeping water, No other type of jello I made ever did this and
because the coffee is acidic, I assumed this was to cause. I eat this
with a little cream and it seems to give me the fix that my coffee
flavored ice cream used to. I actually used to mix the coffee and
cream before it set, but I had to occationally stir it to prevent the
cream from rising to the top. I kept forgetting to stir so often that
I stopped mixing the two before setup. The way I do it now is good
enough. Anyway, thanks for all your responce.
John

The name for what's happening is "syneresis" and it essentially means
liquid purging from a gel. If you scoop some out and put the container
back in the fridge, it'll "weep." Same as what happens to yogurt. Scoop
some out and the next time you look, it has a puddle on top.

Nothing wrong. All gelatins will ultimately weep.

Pastorio