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Despite the fact that jelly has been served at the table for a long time, it gained its wide popularity only in the 60s of the last century. Now such a dish of gelatin and other viscous bases is included in complex recipes for making sweets or just lean food.

Using the basic cooking recipe, everyone can give the initially tasteless, odorless consistency a certain flavor and aroma. To do this, it is enough to figure out how to make a jelly base at home. And only then experiment with additives to determine which solution will appeal to a particular consumer.

Historical information and subsequent development

The harbinger of the appearance of jelly in its pure form was glue. It was created using a special filamentous hydrolyzed collagen. The first mention of this method of obtaining the progenitor of the modern dish is found in the historical writings of Pliny, where he spoke about the creation of such a glue extracted from fish.

If we talk about old cooking recipes that are more reminiscent of jelly that is familiar today, then 1400 appears here. It was then that cooks began to use pig ears, which include a huge concentration of collagen, as a base for jelly.

Despite the fact that today the dish is most often served with fruit, there are many instructions on how to cook an analogue from meat, poultry, and other products that cannot be called sweet. Having abandoned such a complicated method with boiling pig ears and subsequent filtering of the substance, modern culinary specialists resort to simpler technologies.

Until fruit treats came into use, chefs put only one meaning into the meat counterpart – protecting perishable foods from loss of taste and nutrients.

Later, chefs who worked for wealthy Catholic families who did not eat meat on Fridays began using homemade fish jelly as a nutritious alternative.

But all this time only gelatin was used for cooking. Finding a worthy substitute for him happened quite by accident only in 1660. ^[1]. The author of the discovery was the Japanese owner of a local cafe. It caught his eye that some of the soups served, even when frozen and then thawed, perfectly keep a thick consistency. These soups had only one thing in common – seafood.

The man could not miss his chance to share his discovery with the whole world, so he told an enterprising relative about the unusual conclusion. Almost immediately, they started the process of harvesting and post-processing red algae, which guarantees just such a gelatinous effect.

Harvesting from algae quickly won the trust of consumers not only in Asia. A little later, the practice of their use spread throughout Europe. Chefs, open to everything new, quickly realized that due to the concentrate of algae, today known as agar-agar, it will be possible to prepare milk, sour cream, cottage cheese jelly or even freeze an almost transparent cake of sour cream and juice.

At the same time, Northern Europe found its own relatively budget alternative, which allows you to create frozen dishes. Here, another type of red algae, Irish moss, was the main ingredient for creating a thickener.

Another step towards obtaining gelatin was the invention of a double boiler. Thanks to the efforts of Denis Papin, who presented his invention to the world in 1682, kitchen workers got a chance to simplify the extraction of a valuable substance from animal bones.

But even this positive shift was not enough to launch the industrial production of the thickener. I had to wait almost a hundred years, so that instead of a confusing instruction, albeit painted step by step, people received a ready-made bag of concentrate in their hands.

In the middle of the XNUMXth century, various types of natural thickener began to be jokingly called culinary plastics. Today they are included both in the composition of the lean menu, and in complex meat dishes. But still, most chefs use jelly as a dessert, creating creams, pies and other delicacies with it, being sure that their calorie content is much lower than that of store-bought goodies.

The main composition of the product

If we talk about the preparation of sweet versions for serving, then almost all reviews indicate the need to add factory-made gelatin. Due to it, it turns out to quickly prepare jelly from any berries (currants, strawberries, raspberries) or create a culinary masterpiece from jam, compote, frozen berries, cottage cheese. However, many are interested in whether it is possible to replace the transparent factory mixture with something else.

For this, experts advise taking pectin or agar-agar. ^[2]. They can also be added to an orange or chocolate dish. Moreover, in the absence of food allergies or individual intolerance to the component, such desserts from oranges and other fruits are allowed to be consumed even by children.

Despite the fact that you can still find gelatin in its pure form on store shelves, experienced hostesses advise you to abandon it if you want to cook even a simple cherry soufflé. The problem of why it is better to hold a natural product for jelly, jelly and aspic lies in its specific taste. Because of this, carefully cooked cheesecake will get a slight unnecessary aftertaste. It will appear due to the fact that real gelatin, which is of animal origin, is obtained by first boiling, and then drying with grinding animals:

• bones;
• tendons;
• other parts of the body ^[3].

Because of this, it’s so important to stick to the recipe, even if it calls for winterizing jellied preserves rather than bear-shaped gummies.

But for the preparation of jelly from cocoa, strawberries, yogurt, raspberries, cranberries and other sweet ingredients, it is better to use pectin. This is the name of a component of plant origin, which does not spoil the taste and freezes perfectly at high temperatures. Its main problem is color. If you overdo it with concentration, then all the work will go down the drain, because instead of a beautiful cake with transparent layers, the cook will get white muddy stains.

People who adhere to proper nutrition have in stock several simple versions of harvesting pectin from the most concentrated fruits. Most often, a healthy dessert ingredient is obtained by boiling gooseberries. To achieve the desired result, you will have to add sugar with an eye to the starting amount of gooseberries and the minimum amount of water. And then the workpiece will need to be wiped through a sieve. After cooling, the mass can even be cut into pieces, dyed with safe dyes, used to create flowers, decorating a pre-baked biscuit with them. The so-called “broken glass” technology, which involves pouring material into molds, is in particular demand. Then a dye is added to each container: black, green, whatever. In addition, you can manually refine the flavors, making an apple, lemon, banana or creamy aftertaste.

Then it remains only to put everything in the refrigerator, and then create a multi-layer structure, or send the chopped cubes to a shortcrust pastry basket.

Another popular type of thickener is agar-agar, which is made from red algae. Its main trump card is the composition with the inclusion of a large number of polysaccharides. A sweet dish created on its basis will become a source of replenishment of the body’s energy reserves.

Cookies, like any other diet baking, will only benefit from the decor of jelly prepared in this way. But here it is important to remember one nuance: the quality of the product can vary not only from manufacturer to manufacturer, but even from batch to batch. In order not to spoil the dish, it is extremely important to conduct a small preliminary test:

1. Dilute a test small portion of agar-agar according to the instructions.
2. Send the test sample to the freezer for a minute.

If after the specified time everything has successfully frozen, then there should be no problems. If the composition is far from solidification, it is worth increasing the concentration.

Auxiliary components of the composition

Almost always multi-colored jelly includes fruit juice. He is the source for:

• vitamins;
• minerals;
• other biologically active substances.

A nutritionist or an independent study of the positive properties of a particular fruit will be able to specifically explain how such a tasty mass made by oneself is useful. But here it is worth considering that when boiling from blueberries, sea buckthorn, pineapple and even aloe vera, some vitamins, like organic substances, are lost.

But the benefits of such a product will still remain, even if canned juice prepared correctly is used. He will be pleased with the presence of:

• calcium
• potassium;
• gland.

Some fans of experimenting instead of including juice, prefer to add cola or coffee concentrate. The latter is often involved in order to create a natural three-layer dessert “Bird’s Milk”. Here, yogurt filling is combined with coffee, and then the finished cake is decorated with various jelly cut out already from coconut, peach, cranberry, poured into a baking sheet or tray with a thin layer of jelly.

If the proportions are correct, then this kind of decoration is suitable even for those who do not know how to decorate a sand cake.

A beautiful mass is not complete without the inclusion of sugar. Otherwise, the natural base will turn out to be sour or without a pronounced taste at all. This is confirmed by the reviews of people who share their experiences through the forum.

But you will have to pay for the sweetness by adding calories to the final dish. Because of this, those who want to get a low-calorie dessert should abandon the practice of adding sugar.

Obvious benefits and unobvious harms

Ordinary gelatin, produced according to all quality standards, does not pose any harm to human health.

Instead, it has a positive effect on the state ^[4]:

• joints and bones;
• hair and nails;
• skin.

Moreover, its use is not limited to cooking, because the main ingredient of jelly is often found in professional cosmetology.

With a moderate intake of jelly based on an animal-derived thickener, the body receives 18 vital amino acids ^[5]responsible for the supply of energy for the following organs and systems:

• muscular system;
• nervous system;
• brain.

Additionally, the main ingredient of jelly contributes to the normalization of metabolism.

But if traditional gelatin, obtained from jelly, is the best helper for joints, then the active components of agar-agar help to establish staggering intestinal motility. Inside, the body is mechanically cleaned by removing accumulated toxins, toxins and other harmful elements from the body. It is not for nothing that such a food assistant is perfect for those who seek to lose weight, put in order the liver that has suffered from the attack of toxins.

Pectin functions according to a similar principle, designed to rid the body of residues of salts of heavy metals and radionuclides. ^[6].

Once in the intestine, it begins an active adsorbing activity. Presented jelly, for example, from bananas, is allowed to be consumed even by those who suffer from diabetes, obesity, and impaired metabolism. If you don’t get carried away with whipped cream to give it a special sweetness, you can even get rid of bad cholesterol deposits, as well as positively affect the functioning of the kidneys and liver.

If you use not a dry mix created in the factory, but a self-prepared blank, then you can count on its long-term storage in cups. To please yourself or your guests with another portion of goodies for Easter, you just need to get a cold pre-prepared base that does not lose its useful qualities for a long time.

Often the use of such mild sweetness helps to strengthen the heart and all connective tissues. It also has a beneficial effect on the vascular walls, which become more plastic, which allows you to normalize the blood pressure of the eater.

Properly prepared jelly soufflé will be a significant help in improving mental activity, which will affect the increase in labor productivity.

Some doctors insist on the need to include a dish in the diet for those who often experience injuries, but at the same time complain about poor blood clotting. If you consume jelly regularly, you will be able to establish this process.

And those who are always in favor of experimentation will love the opportunity to get dense, but low-calorie mass, using vegetables for this. The most unusual option for its preparation is the attraction of carrot juice, which will enrich the composition with a number of nutrients.

The harm of jellied goodies usually involves two scenarios: overeating, or eating it with synthetic components. Semi-finished products that allow you to create even blue, even pink, sweet or tasteless jelly are now sold everywhere. If you want to enjoy a healthy product, then preparing a jelly cake, or just filling in glasses, is made from proven ingredients from scratch.

In addition, those who have the following health problems should refuse dessert. ^[7]:

• thrombosis;
• urolithiasis disease;
• disturbed water-salt balance.

For a patient with the listed pathologies, a gentle jelly-like soufflé will only harm.

Dairy Fantasy: A Simple Recipe

The history of cooking knows many options for making sweet types of jelly, but one of the most popular, in addition to the classic fruit that does not require special skills, is milk.

To prepare it, you need only 10 g of unflavored gelatin purchased in advance and tested during the preliminary test, as well as four yolks. Sweetness will provide 3 tbsp. l. sugar, and a pinch of vanillin will be responsible for the aroma. You will also need a glass of milk with a fat content of 3,2%. But fruits or berries are allowed to choose at your own discretion.

First you need to warm up the milk. While it is heating, along the way, you have to grind the yolks together with sugar, after which hot milk is added to the sugar composition and mixed all together.

Gelatin is required to be filled with water of a suitable amount, which can be specified in the factory instructions on the package. After the workpiece swells, it is added to the yolks, and then sent to a small fire, waiting for the moment when the mass thickens.

Raspberries, banana slices, peach slices are placed on the bottom in pre-prepared molds and jelly is poured. Then it remains only to wait for complete solidification, which will take from three to five hours.

In order not to spoil the taste characteristics, experienced confectioners do not recommend using aluminum utensils during cooking. Because of this metal, the final product will be saturated with an unpleasant “iron” taste, and will also lose its original brightness.

Another helpful recommendation from culinary professionals includes preheating the bottom of the dish where the gelatin will be added. Otherwise, the hostess will have a long struggle with the resulting lumps, which are very difficult to mix.

Two-layer joy: milk with cocoa

If you want something more complex, then you can try your hand at creating two-layer jelly compositions. For this, you will also need 10 g of gelatin. But this amount of base will require less sugar (only 2 tablespoons) and more milk – one and a half glasses. A pinch of vanilla is enough to give a delicate aroma.

The second layer will include 1 tbsp. l. cocoa powder and the same amount of condensed milk. Chocolate chips are used at will to decorate the finished culinary masterpiece.

Dissolution of gelatin is carried out according to the instructions. Along with this, half of the poured milk and 1 tbsp. l. sugar is mixed in a saucepan, sending to the fire. Condensed milk, cocoa and vanilla are also added there. Then the workpiece is cooled to approximately 50 degrees and only after that the swollen gelatin is laid out.

Jelly is poured into molds and put in the refrigerator.

The second layer is created according to an identical scheme. First, the remaining milk is heated along with sugar, and then gelatin is laid. After waiting until the composition cools down sufficiently, and the first layer freezes well, the white filling is poured over the brown one into the same molds.

As soon as both layers are frozen, they are taken out of the molds, sprinkled with chocolate chips, or milk / dark chocolate grated on a coarse grater and served.

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