PINEAPPLE DESSERT

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PINEAPPLE DESSERT

• INGREDIENTS
• 1 can of pineapple in slices
• 1 can of evaporated milk
• 1 packet of pineapple gelatin
• PROCEDEMENT
• - Pour the gelatin into a bowl with the juice
  from the can of pineapples and leave it aside for
  a few minutes.
• - Cook over a slow heat (so as not to burn it)
  until all the gelatin has dissolved.
• - Beat the evaporated milk in a bowl until it is
  thick and foamy (it is best to use an electric
  mixer). In the kitchen, foams are made by adding
  a gas to a prepared mixture. In this particular
  dessert, this gas is air the same as with
  beaten egg whites.
• - Add the lukewarm gelatin mixture to the foam
  and fold in gently so as not to destroy the air
  bubbles.
• - Add the slices of pineapples and mix in very
  gently.
• - Place in the fridge.
• After a few hours, you will have a great solid
  dessert.
• What about using fresh pineapple? It might be
  even better! And so it might, but it wont, for
  the simple reason that it wont solidify. Its
  true! Do you know why?
• Well, in order to explain, we have to go back a
  little to talk about some other things first. The
  first is that gelatin is a protein, that is to
  say, a chain molecule which is made up of
  aminoacids (there are 21 different aminoacids).
  It is extracted from animal tissue. Havent you
  ever seen the fatty layer in the sauce that forms
  on roast fish or meat. That is gelatin. Now, when
  we heat the gelatin with the juice, these
  chains pass into the solution, because heat
  increases the movement of the molecules. But when
  it begins to cool, the molecules begin to move
  more slowly and sometimes, they meet. When this
  happens, they join together. When they are
  completely cold, they form a kind of
  three-dimensional net which holds the pineapple
  juice (which is a blend of water and juice).
  Hence the final semi-solid consistency that we
  all know.

Photograph of foam (or mousse) seen through a
microscope
Chains
Net formed by molecules
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PINEAPPLE DESSERT (cont.)
Fresh pineapple, on the other hand, contains an
enzyme which causes the protein chains to be
broken up into very small pieces. And with small
pieces it is not possible to create the net we
talked about. Result our dessert stays runny.
Have you ever heard of enzymes? I bet you have
heard them mentioned in washing powder ads. The
enzymes are the so-called gluttons. The
gluttons of the washing powder break up the
molecules that form the stains, just as the
gluttons of the pineapple break up proteins -
in this case, the gelatin chain. And pineapple
isnt the only bad guy. If you try figs, kiwis,
papayas or ginger instead of pineapple, you wont
be any more successful. But one question
remains why doesnt this happen with canned
pineapple? Well, the answer is that canned
pineapple goes through a sterilisation process
before being canned in order to preserve it. This
sterilisation is carried out using heat, which
makes the enzyme inactive. The chains arent
broken up and everything goes as planned.
However, if you only have fresh pineapple at
home, you can use it as long as you boil it in a
little water for about 5 minutes. It will lose
some flavour but you will get the consistency you
want.   A word of warning What we are talking
about here is gelatin. There are packets which
say gelatin but if you check the list of
ingredients you will notice that they are
carbohydrates. And the enzymes of pineapple,
kiwi, papaya or ginger dont gel with
carbohydrates only with proteins.