Oops!! my jelly did not set!!

jelly pineapple

Jelly, I don’t need to say more than, it is delicious! They wobble hilariously and tastes the best of desserts ! I love it. We make it when we have our treats. But that’s not what this post is about. It is about a disaster that struck our dessert plans.

Mum had made this cool orange jelly last week.  We spared no time eating it all. When we wanted more she told us that it was a great time to get ourselves to learn to set the jelly. I was craving for more when I realised, I could make all kinds of jelly! Strawberry, chocolate, melon, more orange, maybe milk and my all-time favourite pineapple! the possibilities were endless. I love pineapple it’s so good! I could imagine myself happily loving the pineapple jelly. So I set to work. Chopped up some of the fruits we had, set the kettle to boil and got it all going. the jelly all mixed and poured into moulds with the help of my brother I put them in the fridge. Skipped away thing what an afternoon it will be a variety of jelly for tea.

A few hours later

 I went to the fridge to check if they were ready. Some of them were readily wobbly

Strawberry, tick!

Orange, tick!

Plain gelatin, tick!

And finally, Pineapple!!! Oh no!!!

I prodded the jelly gently and my smile evaporated. Have you watched a game show where when a contestant gets an answer wrong there’s a big buzzer noise? That sound was ringing in my ears. 

It didn’t work! I was so disappointed. What happened? I had to find out. Sought mum’s help and did some research

The findings

Case 1

Gelatin ( the powder that makes jelly set) actually traps water between the protein molecules ( we can’t see ) and then swells up. this trapped water is the reason why it jiggles and wiggles when we move it. ( source )

Case 2

Turns out, pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain! Enzymes are a special type of proteins found in living things. Bromelain cuts protein molecules smaller so it cannot trap the water, meaning the jelly won’t set! ( source)

How cruel!

This also happens with kiwis because they have a similar enzyme called, actinidin and papaya coz of the enzyme papin.

Together, all these, I guess, are called proteases which break down protein. So it does good to our body when we eat these fruits as food and not working well with the gelatin. 

I will surely try Kiwi and papaya as we go along just to check if I have got it right. What are the fruits you are trying?

You can keep in touch with me by my Instagram account @coolbrain5 and #coolbrain. Happy school from home.

Happy Easter. 

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Sriram
Sriram
3 years ago

Enjoyed reading this – sure got promise to come up with bright ideas!

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