Pineapple juice substitute?

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silentmeow

Senior Cook
Joined
Sep 14, 2005
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308
Location
Michigan, USA
Hello again everyone! I’ve been around here for a long time but have not posted in looooong time. I do check in everyday, that makes me a lurker I guess. My question is regarding using pineapple pulp in stead of pineapple juice in a Chinese recipe. The original recipe calls for 1 1/4 c pineapple juice to 2. Tbsps cornstarch. I have 1 1/4c pineapple pulp but can’t figure out how much cornstarch to use as the pulp is already quite thick. Can anyone help me make this palatable and not a congealed mass of pineapple?
 
First, blend the pulp into a puree. Heat wtth your other ongredients. In a cup, mix together 1/4 cup water with 1 tsp. cornstarch to make a lump free slurry. Bring your pineapple mixture to a simmer. Slowly stir in a bit of slurry at a time until you get your desired texture. Enjoy.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Maybe use about 3/4 c pineapple, plus 1/2 c water, liquefied in the blender. This will probably still have more pineapple flavor than canned pineapple juice. I always use fresh pineapple (or some that I froze), too, in things like that, instead of juice. Even the Vitamix doesn't turn it to "juice", so I add a little water, if the thickness is a problem.
 
Thank you for the help. I’ll keep you posted on the results. Also thank you for letting me back in to your community. I belonged to a fantastic place years ago and it sold several times over and the community was lost. I feel so good to be somewhere where my questions are not stupid. FYI, I asked my brother what I could do and you’d probably laugh at his reply. He belongs in the, “ people you know that think they can cook thread”. He boils sweet corn for 30 mins. to make sure it is cooked! Thank you again.
 
Hi there, and a warm welcome to you. I've been active here for a long time, and there's little that makes me happier than to see a long time lurker join the party with us. Tell your brother he can join us too and he'll get 50 answers about how to cook corn.:ROFLMAO:


About your pineapple question, it would be helpful if you posted the whole recipe so we can give you accurate advice.


For one thing, is your pineapple canned or fresh? If it's fresh, the answer could be different because of the enzymes in fresh pineapple. I have a cooking horror story about my fresh pineapple and shrimp kabobs.:rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the help, everyone. I ended up using only 1 1/2tsp of corn starch to thicken the sauce and it was perfect. A brief description of the recipe...the sauce is everything! The original recipe was from one of those racks at the end of the isle in the grocery store! The name is Chicken Waikiki. This is a 30 year old recipe, hence the sugar content!
Juice from one can of pineapple
1c sugar
3/4c cider vinegar
2T cornstarch
1T soy sauce
1/4t grated ginger
1 chicken bullion cube
Is the non-healthy recipe idea getting to you yet?
Bring the above to boil and biol for two minutes, cover and set aside.
In a skillet brown bone in skin on chicken pieces. Place in a casserole dish and pour the sauce over the chicken.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
While it’s cooking cut up bell peppers, all colors are pretty.
After 30 minutes remove from the oven and add the peppers and the pineapple chunks.
I use a turkey baster to suck up some of the sauce and dribble over the veggies.
Back into the oven, uncovered for another 30 minutes.
Remove and serve with rice.

This was the first dish I ever made that made me think, wow this is like take out food! I now have 3 woks, bamboo steamers and thankfully can get the seasoning for real Asian flavors. My DIL is from the Maldives so am now learning new foods and spices. It’s fun for me. My DH on the other hand is an old MPG kinda guy so I do everything in baby steps! I forgot, the pineapple was fresh which does change the liquid. It was fine and I’ll make it again in a year or if my daughter visits, whichever comes first. I also might mention this site to my brother but if a recipe has more then five step he calls it too complicated! He’s really a horrible cook but I still love him and I don’t have to eat what he cooks, his wife does. Thanks again..
 
That sounds like a recipe I'd really enjoy, SM. Honey would make a good sub for the sugar, but nothing sounds off to me and glad it turned out. :yum:

My warning about fresh pineapple was to prevent you from using it for a marinade, as it will break down protein like for my mushy and nearly dissolved shrimp and fresh pineapple kabobs I made for a business dinner party. ACCCCK...

Live and learn.:wacko:
 
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Here's a similar sauce that I use with my egg rolls. It's from one of my cookbooks, so i have permision to use it.:LOL:

Pineapple Sweet & Sour Sauce
This Pineapple based sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated. It compliments egg rolls, chicken stir fries, won tons, etc. It can also be used with ham and pastas.
*
Ingredients:
2 cups chicken broth (water can be used if no broth is available)
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 tbs. onion powder or 1/4 onion finely chopped
2 cloves crushed garlic
16 oz. can crushed or chunk pineapple (substitute 1/4 cup lemon juice if used for seafood)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar (substitute 3/4 cup white granulated sugar if lemon juice is used)
1/8 cup balsamic, or apple cider vinegar
1/4 chopped sweet pepper (optional but omit if lemon juice is used)
2 tbs. cornstarch mixed with 4 oz. water
*
Combine ingredients in order. After adding brown sugar, taste. Sauce should be fairly sweet with the ginger and chicken flavors tickling, not stomping the taste buds. Add vinegar and taste again. Add more brown sugar or vinegar as needed. But be careful. It is much easier to add just a bit more of something than it’s to try to remove it, or compensate for a too strong flavor.
Mix the cornstarch and water together, and pour into the gently boiling sauce. Stir rapidly to distribute until the sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and cover.

Just another option.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
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It’s an oldie but a goody. You are right about the juice in marinades. By mistake I marinated chicken overnight in pineapple, it was horrible!
 
It’s an oldie but a goody. You are right about the juice in marinades. By mistake I marinated chicken overnight in pineapple, it was horrible!

I used a fresh pineapple marinade on a pork roast, sealed in an airtight, vacuum packed bag overnight. I had read somewhere that the bromelain in the pineapple would tenderize the meat, and when rinsed off, wouldn't affect the meat flavor. Id did affect the flavor, and not in the way I wanted. The meat was mushy as well. Lesson learned.:LOL:

Cooking pineapple denatures the bromelain, eliminating its tenderizing property. this is why canned pineapple can be used in gelatin deserts, and fresh pineapple can't. The gelatin will not set if fresh pineapple, or papaya for that matter, is put into the desert. The canned versions are heated in the canning process, which renders both bromelain, and papain inert.

I love a good, fresh, ripe pineapple. But even just eating it, the natural acids, with the bromelain, can actually leave you with sores in your mouth, if too much is eaten.

As with all things, the more knowledge yu have about something, the better you will be able to use/enjoy it.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
You know just recently found a cool substitute for pineapple juice, you'll be surprised what it is. Yes, I took plums, peaches and ordinary zucchini, cooked compote from them and twisted in a jar. After a month, the zucchini was soaked in the sweet juice of other fruits and became like a pineapple. Very tasty
 

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