Pineapple & Jello – Interesting & Possible W/O much Bromelain
Fresh Pineapples and Jello – a combination that sounds so good, but not quite doable due to the presence of bromelain, an enzyme in fresh pineapple that prevents the gelatin from setting properly. I haven’t thought about pineapples with jello in years, but one day, a friend posted on Facebook of a vintage recipe from Dole that involves canned pineapples and jello. I’m unsure where the recipe originated from, but it looks like a page from an old magazine.
The photo intrigued me instantly, and I knew I had to make this. I went to the grocery store and bought a 3oz packet of Lime Jello, a can of Dole pineapple rounds, and a jar of maraschino cherries.
The recipe I used is printed on the Dole photo above, except I added some maraschino cherries to add some more color. The important part is to ignore the jello packet instructions and reduce the water by half so that the gelatin is more concentrated, leading to a stiffer layer of jello surrounding the pineapple.
Ingredients –
- 1 can of pineapple rings (20 oz)
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 3oz jello (I used lime)
- Maraschino cherries (optional) Other fruits that can set in jello will work too. I used approximately 10 Maraschino cherries in mine.
Step 1
Open the can of pineapple and pour out all the juices. Leave the pineapple rings in the can. Feel free to center the pineapple rings. I kept the juice in a separate cup since it’s delicious and I can make some cocktails out of it. Feel free to stuff the center of the pineapple rings with fruits that are compatible in gelatin. I stuffed mine with maraschino cherries (approx. 10)
Step 2
Heat 1/2 cup of water to boil. Remove from heat, and stir in the jello powder.
Step 3
Pour 1/2 cup of cold water into the mixture and stir.
Step 4
Pour the jello mixture over the pineapple rings until near the top of the can. The pineapple rings will slightly float up at this point. I saved the remaining jello mixture and stirred in additional water and let it set in the fridge for a jello treat, but you can always open another can of pineapple and pour the remaining jello in there if you want to make more.
Step 5
Place the can in the fridge and let it set 6+ hours. I set mine overnight to ensure it set completely.
Step 6
Run hot water along the sides of the can, and then use a can opener to cut off the lid of the closed side of the can and slowly push the canned pineapple jello out of the can.
Step 7
Cut, and enjoy!
This one was definitely the most interesting thing I’ve made in November. This treat tasted mostly of pineapple with slight jello flavor and texture in addition to the maraschino cherries. I quite enjoyed this, but for more flavor balance, you could slice the pineapples and maraschino cherries and mix them up with the jello in a larger container, which defeats the fun and purpose of making this treat directly from the can. This treat definitely looked interesting, and I’m so glad I tried it. I’ll definitely try this again with different jello flavors. I chose lime because of the “ad” and green just looks lovely against the yellow and the red.
