Dissolve gelatin in boiling water before the cold water is added to the mix when preparing it from scratch. If the gelatin is not completely dissolved before cold water is added, it will not set properly.

You go from collagen to gelatin by, to put it bluntly, boiling down the bits of animals that people don’t eat. When you boil down tissue and bones, this collagen breaks down into gelatin, which has shorter chains and more hydrogen poking out from the chain (chemists call this process hydrogenation).

Always add bloomed gelatin to warm liquid, or else you risk “ropes” forming in the finished product. The liquid should not be boiling hot, either — if it is, the gelatin won’t set up properly. Have all your ingredients measured out and ready to go before adding your gelatin to the warm base.

Probably the gelatin powder wasn’t mixed up well enough. The gelatin part separated a bit from the sugar and flavor part while setting, could be a temperature thing going from the counter into the fridge.

CAN YOU COVER JELLO BEFORE IT SETS? You can cover it with plastic wrap, but just know that it may take it longer to set up if it’s covered, especially if the Jello is still warm.

The most popular flavor of Jell-O is strawberry. Traditionally, all of the red flavors have dominated as the top-selling choices. Besides strawberry, these include raspberry and cherry.

The day before you colonoscopy, don’t eat solid foods, consume only clear liquids. These include clear broth or bouillon, black coffee or tea, clear soft drinks or sport drinks, clear apple or white grape juice, and Jell-O or popsicles (no red, orange or purple colors allowed).

The Science Buddies organization lists apples, strawberries and oranges as fruits that make excellent additions to JELL-O. Berries like cherries, blueberries and blackberries are also good choices. Lemons, peaches and plums work well in lemon-flavored JELL-O. Raspberries and cranberries make colorful options.

Fresh fruits such a pineapple, kiwi and papaya contain enzymes which break down these protein molecules, making them smaller, so they can’t tangle up, which stops the jelly setting. This is similar to how the enzymes in your stomach break down food.

An acid, like lemon juice, works with natural fruit pectin to form insoluble fibers, which promote gel formation by absorbing juice. Fruit cannot turn to jelly without adequate amounts of acid. Too little acid and gel will not form.

You can add almost any kind of fruit to Jello to make a colorful, delicious dessert. First, wash, cut, and layer your fresh fruit in a bowl or Jello mold. Then, mix regular Jello powder with water, or try using homemade vegan gelatin instead. Once the Jello sets, remove the dessert from the bowl or mold and enjoy!

Now add 2 cups of cold water, or some kind of juice (I use the juice from the canned fruit that’s why I save it), stir it again, and put it in the refrigerator. The fruit will be throughout the gelatin (the cold liquid is what makes the fruit rise a little so all of the fruit won’t sink to the bottom.

Generally speaking, most jello sets in 2-4 hours. Unless you make an extra-large jello dessert, 4 hours will be enough for gelatin to harden.