I recently was making some orange jelly which was going to be dipped in chocolate. I couldn't use gelatine to set the jelly as it returned to a liquid below the temperature of the melted chocolate. What other gelling agents could I have used, and what are their properties?
I'd like to expand my knowledge of what does what so I can choose the best agent for setting a jelly in a particular situation.
Best Answer
For your application you may want to use agar. It is easy to find, gels at room temperature, and will remain so to about 90C. The acidity of the orange juice will slowly (a few days) break down the agar, but it should give you enough time for a dish. Other agents include:
A good description of the gelling agents from a cooking perspective can be found in the sites on molecular gastronomy such as tech blog of the French Culinary Institute or Martin Lersch's hydrocolloid recipe collection.