Jelly is a Western sweet in semi-solid form and is made from edible gelatin with water, sugar, fruit juice. Also known as gel, it has a crystal clear appearance, bright color and soft taste. According to the classification, pudding is also a type of jelly.

If too much sugar is not added, low-sugar jelly is also considered a good thing for weight loss, because it can effectively increase satiety and play a role in deceiving the body.

Jelly is a dessert that is completely coagulated by the gelatin action, the ingredients are not complicated, and there are also preached on the market that the prepared jelly powder can be formed as long as it is refrigerated with warm water. The use of jelly powder to prepare jelly liquid is the most convenient and time-saving method, because all the solidified raw materials, i.e. jelly powder, are prepared and sterilized in the factory, and then dried and packaged for the market. Users only need to follow the instructions and dosage ratio table on the product packaging, which is very convenient to use.

However, the simpler the cooking, the more it returns to the basics, and its taste depends on the precision of the ingredients, and this is an exclusive secret recipe, which naturally makes many imitators a headache, if not, Sikong Yao can develop it himself.

In order to create a beautiful shape, different molds are used to shape the jelly, and it is possible to produce finished products with different styles and shapes. Under normal circumstances, the process of jelly cooking is made by processing processes such as jelly liquid preparation, mold mounting, and refrigeration.

The process flow is: preparation of jelly liquid, mold installation, refrigeration and setting, demoulding, and decoration.

The preparation method of jelly liquid is relatively simple, generally soaking gelatin first, and then melting it in water. Then add the required ingredients, that is, mix the jelly. The preparation method of jelly liquid depends on the different coagulation materials used, and there are two common ones: using jelly powder or using gelatin.

However, the pastry chef who uses jelly powder to cook jelly is probably a beginner at the level of a rookie, and its taste is not bad, but the taste is far from using gelatin.

The use of gelatin to prepare fruit is also a more commonly used method, and the commonly used trade names of gelatin are white gelatin, gelatin sheet, knot powder, knot strength sheet, fish gelatin powder and so on.

Although the above materials are all classifications of gelatin, there are some deviations in usage. When actually using, it should be used according to the instructions for the use of different raw materials. If gelatin sheets and knot sheets are used, you need to soak the knot sheets in cold water before making them; If knot powder is used, it is required to soak it in a small amount of cold water before mixing.

And Sikong Yao discussed it with Li Na before. Use agar to make jelly. It's another way.

Agar is a polysaccharide extracted from seaweed. At present, it is one of the most widely used algins in the world, which can significantly change the quality of food and improve the grade of food when used in food.

But relatively with gelatin. Its price is very high, but expensive is also expensive with complaints, it has coagulation, stability, can form complexes with some substances and other physical and chemical properties, can be used as thickener, coagulant, suspending agent, emulsifier, preservative and stabilizer, is incomparable to gelatin.

In addition to being added to jelly to enhance the taste and enhance the taste, agar is more widely used in the manufacture of various beverages, ice cream, pastries, gummies, canned food, meat products, eight-treasure porridge, white fungus bird's nest, soups, cold foods, etc. Even in addition to edible, the use of agar in the chemical industry and medical research should not be underestimated.

Mixing agar with gelatin can make the suspension of powder particles more uniform, which will not precipitate, but also cause embarrassing delamination, and can make the crystals more transparent and bright.

However, what the battlefield Hara sawami took out at this time was neither gelatin nor agar, but konjac powder!

Sikong Yao was like an empowerment when he was empowered, and said with emotion: "I see, the cherry blossom jelly is made of konjac powder." ”

Konjac is the only cash crop found today that can provide a large amount of dextran, and the use value of konjac in the field of food and medicine will continue to be developed and demonstrated.

Although China is the country with the largest amount of konjac cultivation, Japan obviously knows how to use this ingredient better than China.

The edible value of konjac is that it is generally welcomed by people, and the main ingredient of konjac is glucomannan , which not only contains ten kinds of amino acids and a variety of trace elements required by the human body, but also has the characteristics of low protein, low fat and high fiber, and high swelling rate.

Because konjac has strong water absorption, if it is made into dessert, it can evenly mix all the water to form an unobtrusive taste.

Thinking about it this way, the cherry blossom jelly I ate in Huaxianglou at that time was definitely not made of konjac powder, and it seems that Li Na did not get 100% of the original recipe from Yingzi's predecessors, so she kept a hand.

Sikong Yao was overjoyed, if he had just ended this holiday practice plainly, I am afraid that by chance, he learned the method of cherry blossom jelly from the battlefield Hara Zemi, and probably only got an inferior formula like Li Na.

The most taboo thing for a chef is to give his own cuisine to one person without reservation, and the so-called teaching apprentices to starve the master to death is no longer applicable in the culinary world.

However, Sikong Yao was by mistake, originally just wanted to reconcile the contradiction between the father and son of the battlefield Yuan, and then took this opportunity to make a request to leave Renqian Flavor House, but unexpectedly plucked the heartstrings of the battlefield Yuan Zemi, and after untying the heart knot of the battlefield Yuan Fengxue, it also made the battlefield Yuan Zemi willing to teach Sikong Yao the full recipe about the cherry blossom jelly.

Sikong Yao gently grabbed a handful of konjac powder and kneaded it in his hand, but it was completely different from the feeling that it looked a bit like flour, the powder touching his fingertips was quite fine, without any impurities.

Konjac powder is widely used in Japan, and as for how to screen it, Battlefield Hara Zemi naturally has a set of methods, saying: "This konjac powder has been processed for more than 30 times and purified repeatedly. If the konjac flour is not pure enough, it will turn slightly yellow, and the ones that are as white as flour are mostly mixed with bleached powder, but I have never seen anything like that in Japan, let alone eat it, and it will not taste good. ”

Sikong Yao heard that Yuan Ze was so proud of the battlefield, but he felt very uncomfortable in his heart. Battlefield Hara Zemi is Japanese, and it is understandable to have a sense of honor for his country, but his words emphasizing that there is no doped konjac powder in Japan made Sikong Yao feel very complicated after listening to it.

put the konjac powder back in his hand, and smiled bitterly in his heart, how could this kind of thing be blamed on the battlefield Yuan Zemi? Blame the unscrupulous manufacturers in their own country who are blinded by interests, which is something that cannot be blamed on others.

Thinking like this, Sikong Yao suddenly recalled the situation in Huaxianglou at that time, when she said that maybe she could replace some of the gelatin with agar, she obviously saw the complicated look in Li Na's eyes, and a little fanatical anticipation.

At that time, Sikong Yao only thought that Li Na was in order to be able to cook better cherry blossom jelly, but now that she thinks about it, with Li Na's experience and ability, she naturally will not know that she needs to improve the taste of jelly with better ingredients or a combination of ingredients.

The more she thought about it, the more Sikong Yao felt that in addition to the expectation in Li Na's eyes at that time, there was a more complex emotion, that is, helplessness and sadness.

In fact, it's not that Li Na doesn't want to, but because she can't buy qualified konjac powder in China......

Sikong Yao sighed, this is an indescribable sadness.

Although konjac flour has to be refined more than a dozen times or even dozens of times, it is only divided into three grades.

The first is low-viscosity konjac flour.

This konjac powder cannot swell in cold water, but it needs to be mixed with a little cold water before warm water can be added when brewing, and the water temperature must be high, and even need to be turned down in the microwave, or heated on the boiler to ensure that the brewing is a transparent paste.

The second is medium-viscous konjac flour.

Compared with the first konjac flour, it is much more viscous, but the viscosity can also be considered medium, it does not need to be mixed with cold water, it can be easily expanded directly in warm water, and because it can be fluffy with only warm water, subsequent operations and adjustments will be much easier.

Even the low-viscosity konjac flour is much stronger than what can be bought in China, and when I think about it, there is a sense of sadness in my heart for no reason.

As for the export-grade high-viscosity konjac gum, it can even be expanded in cold water, the content of glucan is very high, and the satiety is excellent, and there are some international chain supermarkets in China that can buy it, but in addition to dessert fanatics who pursue the ultimate taste, who wants to spend so much money to buy? Not to mention the service in the restaurant.

When eating in a restaurant, you have to bear some of the costs of the non-food itself, such as the decoration of the store, the employment of staff, etc., and if you add the cost of high-quality ingredients to this meal, it will be daunting for diners.

Although there is a price difference between the three kinds of konjac powder, according to the battlefield Yuan Fengxue's view, the ingredients themselves are not good or bad, and the three are compared with each other, although the high-viscosity konjac glue is the best for cooking, but in terms of taste, the low-viscosity konjac glue is obviously better.

Sikong Yao was stunned, and immediately analyzed the characteristics of the three konjac powders, if the three konjac powders can be blended according to a certain proportion, they should be able to create a better taste and effect. (To be continued......)