Paw Prints

I have a recipe clipping from the 90′s for a yogurt pie prepared in an 8″ graham cracker crust. The pie had the ratios of 1/2 packet of gelatin to 1 c water to 1c yogurt to 8 oz of cream cheese, and i’d often made it with mixed berries. I made it several summers in Philadelphia but haven’t felt much motivation since moving to California until now.

I found a second recipe that looked interesting, and i used up the last of the gelatin making it. (I was intrigued by the pineapple-gelatin combination, but then read that the problem is with *fresh* pineapple.)

Since i’d wanted to replace the gelatin with a vegetable gelling agent, i gave tapioca a try in a berry variation. I used ratios more like the new recipe, which did not call for cream cheese. I’m not sure i prepared the MINUTE® tapioca appropriately: it said it could be microwaved on high for ten minutes, stirring every three minutes. I think this may have overcooked it. It seemed very gelled when done, but when mixed in with the yogurt i think it did not reset. I poured it over blueberries and laid out stripes of sliced strawberries across the top.

The first “pie” provided a good control case to compare to the tapioca-yogurt mix. It certainly gelled and could be cut with a knife, leaving solid bar shapes. The tapioca-yogurt mix retained some definition, but couldn’t be served retaining shape. Since i was leaving out crusts in both cases, if the texture doesn’t change much it begs the question of why not just flavor the yogurt and be done.

Both were yummy though!

Quick research this afternoon suggest that cornstarch may set up more firm, but needs a higher gelatinization temperature.

Mixing yogurt with something hot deserves two points of attention. one is that the active cultures die above 120° F, the other is that non-fat yogurt will curdle.

More about gelling agents, and pineapple & gelling agents, after the cut.
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