FoodBanter.com - View Single Post

(Jess) wrote in message m>...
> I can cook deserts such as cakes and pies with no problem, but I can
> not cook jello. Why is it that it never thickens for me? Any ideas
> of what I could be doing wrong?

In one company I used to work previously we produce such kind of
products and had understood a bit the mechanism of its jellification:
Jello contains gelatine a protein material that need moderate heat
to activate its gelling powers but not enough to disintegrate the
tertiary and quaternary structural part of the gelatine protein.
Therefore I agree with the idea of combining the hot water and the
cold water.
And not just pour boiling water to the powder.
There are special vegetarian jelly mixes( containing carageenan etc
instead of animal gelatine) where you can directly pour boiling water
and still get a very good gel.
If you cook it well just like any dish you are destroying the gelling
power…
If you follow what the procedures states then you will not get lost.
If you still find out that the gel is weak then there are reasons
unkown to the consumers.
Indeed there are jelly mixes that have weak gelling power; that is
due to the other factors that result in the blending of the jelly
ingredient such as the sugar , the gelatine, the acidulant( either
fumaric, adipic or citric acid or combination) and the buffering salts
; the trisodium or tripotassiumcitrate( depending if it's a low
sodium or sugar free Jelly mixes)..
The less know factors that inhibit is gelling power is acidity, the
ratio of the ingredients that can be affected during the dry blending
process.
Therefore the excess acidity or buffer will tend to have an ionic
effect on the gelatine protein and can hinder proper gel formation as
well.
I have noticed that in some equipment one whole batch the first and
the last that comes out from the mixing or blending machine does not
have uniform gelling power if compared to the in between. That is to
be reblended with the new batch.
Therefore if the dry mix have inhomogeneity you will notice that in
some packet it jells really firm and in others its watery. One cause
is due to the difference in ratios of the active ingredient present
in the packet due to powder stratification during the packaging
process in the packing and sealing machine. Another cause is The
vibratory effect of the feeder will also affect the powder mix
uniformity.
Where what will result will be that there is more sugar than gelatine
in the powder jelly mixes. And in another case the variation in dry
mix weight as there are sealed and packed in high speed sealer.
Another cause of variation is the amount of liquid you add to hydrate
and gel it.
If you add more you will get a weak gel; if you add less you get a
firm gel.
And a cup used to measure the liquid can have different meaning and
volume to consumers as well….
These factors are the most common cause of variation in gelling
consistency…
Roy