Homemade jelly is a delicious dessert that can be customized to the chef’s liking. A wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and even meats can be added to it, as seen in the Jell-O salads of yesteryear. This is because gelatin has binding agents that naturally hold all the ingredients together and even allow for fun layering. However, there are some seemingly innocuous fruits that could easily bring your homemade jelly to ruin.
Gelatin is a protein that keeps its shape because of its polypeptide chains, which connect to each other in a spring-like formation. This gives gelatin its bouncy properties and keeps it held together. Fruits that contain proteases, a specific type of enzyme, will cause a chemical reaction that prevents these polypeptide chains from tangling together and setting properly. There are several popular fruits that contain these proteases, including pineapple, mango, kiwi, guava, and papaya. Featuring any of these ingredients in your homemade jelly will likely lead to an end result that simply falls apart instead of keeping its shape and having the iconic wiggle factor. However, there are plenty of other ingredients that work perfectly in gelatin, so stick to those to make the best homemade jelly.
More tips for homemade jelly
Making homemade jelly is very simple; you need only combine powdered gelatin and fruit juice and melt it over the stove before pouring it into a pan and letting it thicken in the fridge. Then, you can add any whole ingredients you want in the mix (besides the aforementioned fruits with proteases, of course) before pouring it into a mold and chilling it overnight.
To keep your gelatin from sticking to the mold, spray it with oil beforehand. Be sure the gelatin is fully set before trying to remove it, or you risk everything falling apart. If you’re still struggling to remove it from the mold after chilling, set it in hot water for a few seconds before trying again.
When it comes to flavors, the sky is really the limit. Jell-O itself has made some very unique flavors over the years, and any ingredient that won’t ruin the gelatin’s binding ability is fair game. Fruit is most common, but you can add nuts and desserts like caramel, or even alcohol. The latter is most commonly done via Jell-O shots, such as these Pistachio-Amaretto Jell-O Shots, but you can very easily make the same recipe without branded Jell-O.
