How to Save The Jello: What to Do if the Jello Did Not Freeze

If you were planning to make the perfect chłodeche by digging up Grandma’s recipe in an old notebook, but something went wrong – we’ll tell you how to resuscitate the chłodeche and how to thicken the chłodeche without gelatin.

Every hostess would like to boast that she has mastered the preparation of such a complex dish as chłodec and she has conquered her grandmother’s recipe.

However, let’s be honest – just a frozen broth, which you have thickened with a huge amount of gelatin, making it rubbery, and a real chłodecake – it is not the same.

Why the jelly won’t solidify:

Wrong meat.

Meat is not the best meat for the perfect jello. There are no gelling agents in the meat, so if you don’t want to nervously figure out what to do if the jelly won’t set, take care of the bones right away.

Lots of water.

Water should only cover the meat a little bit. If you have a five-liter pot with only one kilogram of meat, even after five hours of cooking, you will have to think about what to do if there is a lot of water in the jello and how to thicken the jello without gelatin.

High heat

The chłodec should not boil. The pot is put on the lowest heat your stove is capable of and the meat in the broth is languishing, not boiling. In this case, the broth will not boil out, and even after 4-5 hours of cooking, the liquid in the chłodnik will be almost as much as you poured at the beginning of cooking.

Adding water

It is strictly forbidden to add water to the jelly, since you will be diluting the broth, reducing the concentration of gelling agents. If you feel that there is not enough liquid, reduce the fire to a minimum and think about how to save the chłodec by not increasing the volume of liquid.

Not enough time to set

Chłodec is a dish that does not like to rush. Chłodec should be boiled for at least 5-6 hours, and then to properly cooked chłodec, it will need to stand in a cold place for at least another 8 hours. It is best to put the dish in the refrigerator overnight. If you’ve made the perfect chłodeche – it will solidify.

Not enough gelatin

If you have little or no gelatin, and you do not know how to thicken the jelly without gelatin – use only meat on the bone for cooking, preferably with a lot of gristle. If the chłodec does not solidify how much gelatin to add you will have to decide by eye, depending on the concentration of the broth.

If even after a night in the refrigerator, the broth is more like soup than the perfect chłodec, the search for tips on the net on how to thicken the chłodec without gelatin is no longer your story. If you do not know how to save the jelly, bring it to a boil and add gelatin strictly according to the instructions on the package. Certainly, the gelatin will affect the taste of the jelly, but the dish will eventually harden.

Uncooked jelly

Many housewives question whether it is possible to finish boiling the jelly the next day. Yes, you can. If you do not have time to wait long at the stove, it is better to put a pot with broth in the refrigerator and finish cooking it the next day, when there is time. It is not necessary to pour the broth into molds that are not ready, since it is easier to finish it the next day than to think about how to save the chłodnik, which does not solidify.

How to overcook frozen chłodecake

If you’ve made too much chłodnik that you just don’t have anyone to eat quickly, freeze it. You will increase the shelf life of the product without spoiling its taste. However, not all housewives know how to overcook frozen chłodecake and are afraid to experiment, not understanding what will happen if you reheat the chłodecake.

Nothing bad will happen. Chłodec can be frozen, but it should be stored only in a tightly closed container, so that the broth does not acquire a foreign smell.

But how to boil the frozen jelly – this is a separate point. Frozen jelly should be thawed at room temperature, and then it should be brought to a boil, but do not let it boil. If the frozen chłodeche comes to a boil, it will darken. It is not necessary to add extra gelatin to the frozen jelly. When the jelly comes to a boil pour it into molds and put it in the refrigerator for 7-8 hours. You will never tell the difference in taste between frozen and freshly cooked jelly.

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Written by Emma Miller

I am a registered dietitian nutritionist and own a private nutrition practice, where I provide one-on-one nutritional counseling to patients. I specialize in chronic disease prevention/ management, vegan/ vegetarian nutrition, pre-natal/ postpartum nutrition, wellness coaching, medical nutrition therapy, and weight management.

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