Jelly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Jelly (disambiguation).
A jelly is a sweet or savoury food gel, usually made through the addition of gelatin or pectin to edible liquids. The word jelly has different meanings in the English-speaking world.
In Great Britain, it can refer to gelatin-based preparations (such as Jell-O, which would never be called jelly in the US), as well as savory preparations made of meat or vegetable juices. Sweet jellies include fruit jam or gelatin desserts such as Jell-O and blancmange. Savoury jellies include aspic or plain gelatin. Vegetarians and Vegans make jellies using agar, which is made from seaweed or grass jelly as opposed to animal collagen-based gelatin.
In the United States, it refers almost exclusively to firmed fruit juice preparations made with pectin. The usual U.S. distinction between jelly and jam is that the latter contains visible seeds or pieces of fruit, whereas the former does not. Jam is also often thicker and more spreadable. The traditional procedure for making jelly calls for the cooked ingredients to be put into a cloth bag. The liquid that drains through the bag without squeezing can be made into a transparent jelly. Jam by contrast is made from the whole fruit and liquid after cooking. Gelatin desserts are not ordinarily referred to as "jelly" in the US, and it is rare (though not unheard of) to use the term for savoury foods of any description. Mayhaw jelly is a delicacy in parts of the American South.
In the United Kingdom, jam is not ordinarily referred to as "jelly", although it was formerly so known in Scotland.
In cooking, a variety of terms are used to classify pectin-based jellies:
- "True" jellies are smooth-textured and made from fruit juice, such as grape jelly.
- Jams contain both fruit juice and pieces of the fruit's flesh. Jams are also called preserves.
- Marmalades are jams that contain some of the fruit's rind or peel. Citrus fruits are commonly used in marmalades.
- Fruit butters, such as apple butter are sweet spreads made of fruit cooked to a paste and lightly sweetened. These are known as curds in the UK.
[edit] Trivia
- Jelly has been eaten since Ancient Egyptian times.
- It is mentioned in early Anglo-Saxon recipe books.
- Mass production began in the 19th century
- The first concentrated cube arrived in 1932.
- By the early 1990s UK sales hit £37m a year.
- In the UK "Ice cream and jelly" became the most popular after-dinner dessert[citation needed], but has suffered a decline in that sense since the 1990s.
- A jelly roll is another term for a Swiss roll.
- Uncooked pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain and cannot touch a jelly mix as it will stop the jelly from setting properly by breaking down the gelatin. Papaya and pawpaw contain the enzyme papain, kiwi fruit contains actinidin, and figs contain ficin- all with similar effects. Cooking denatures the enzyme, rendering it inoperative.
- A popular delicacy among students at some colleges and universities is Jell-O made by replacing some of the water with alcohol, often a spirit. The resulting "Jell-O shot" cannot be spilled like a normal drink and can be consumed quickly if desired.
- A character from the anime Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo named in the English version Jelly Jiggler is based on a type of serving of Jelly.
