028 / 75 · Cold Supper Centerpieces
Ham Pineapple Pepper Supper Ring
One ham-pineapple ring, about 3¾ cups (900 ml); 4 modest cold ham-course portions · Active 35 min · Total 10 hr 30 min
Print recipe · PDFPink cooked ham and canned pineapple make a sweet-savory ring in a pale clear broth gel. Finely cut red pepper supplies crisp color without a heavy creamy dressing. Canned heat-processed pineapple is essential to the gelatin method.
Pineapple must be heat processed
Fresh or raw frozen pineapple can prevent gelatin from setting because of its active enzymes. Use canned pineapple packed in juice, and use canned juice from the same heat-processed product. Drain the pieces, blot and cut them small before weighing. Do not add raw pineapple as a decorative crown: it would change the food as well as the image. A commercially canned ingredient is a deliberate choice, not a shortcut to be silently replaced.
Ready-to-eat ham, no cooking inside the ring
The ham must be fully cooked and labeled ready to eat cold. A cured ham requiring cooking is unsuitable for this assembly method. Cut off tough rind and divide the meat into small pieces that a fork can handle in a cold slice. Pepper dice are finely cut and dry, and the gel is allowed to become syrupy in the refrigerator before the pieces go in. The ring serves four modest ham-course portions; the sweetness comes from pineapple rather than an extra spoon of sugar.
Ingredients
- 2 standard ¼-ounce envelopes unflavored powdered gelatin (14 g total), of specified setting strength
- 6 tablespoons cold drinking water (90 ml)
- 1¼ cups clear ready-to-use low-sodium chicken broth (300 ml), divided
- ½ cup canned heat-processed pineapple juice (120 ml), from pineapple packed in juice
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar (15 ml)
- 9 oz fully cooked ready-to-eat plain ham (250 g), safely chilled, tough rind removed and cut into ½-inch (1 cm) pieces
- ¾ cup canned heat-processed pineapple pieces AFTER draining (120 g), patted dry and cut small
- ½ cup finely diced washed red bell pepper (60 g), dried
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon neutral oil (1.25 ml), for wiping mold
Set out
Knife and clean board, Sieve and clean towel, Small saucepan, Mixing bowl and spoon, Scale and measuring jug, Metal ring mold of at least 1¼-liter capacity, Paper towel, Food thermometer, Cold platter, Refrigerator
Allergens
No major US allergen identified in the base ingredients. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Check ham is cooked ready to eat cold and within its original deadline through service; keep cold. Check canned pineapple and juice are heat processed, drain the fruit, blot and weigh 120 g. Check mold capacity, dry and oil lightly. Bloom gelatin over 90 ml cold water in mixing bowl 5–10 minutes.
- Heat 150 ml broth to 140–150°F (60–65°C), take off heat and stir into bloomed gelatin until dissolved. Stir in remaining 150 ml broth, pineapple juice, vinegar and pepper. Refrigerate 25–40 minutes, stirring gently every 10 minutes, until lightly syrupy.
- Fold in cold ham, dry small pineapple pieces and dry finely diced red pepper. Spoon into ring with at least ½ inch (1.25 cm) headroom; keep any excess in a separate covered refrigerator cup.
- Cover and refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below at least 8 hours until firm. Allow 10½ hours total for cutting, suspension and setting, starting with cooked cold ham and canned pineapple.
- For unmolding, set a cold plate beside the refrigerator. Dip only the outside of the metal mold in warm, not hot, water, about 100°F (38°C), for 5–8 seconds without letting water touch food. Dry the outside, loosen just the upper edge with a clean fingertip and invert onto the plate. If stuck, repeat a brief dip rather than shaking violently. Refrigerate again immediately if not serving now. Cut 4 modest cold ham-course portions.
Gelatin starting strength
Use food-grade unflavored powdered gelatin with a manufacturer benchmark of 7 g for about 2 cups (500 ml) plain liquid. Weigh the stated grams: envelope sizes and powder density vary. A flavored dessert packet, collagen peptides, sheet gelatin or agar is not an equal substitute.
Cold service
This is an original retro-inspired recipe, not a recovered 1960s formula. Gelatin is animal-derived; the vegetable ingredients do not make the dish vegetarian. A reliable refrigerator and the stated earlier ingredient deadlines are essential.
Ingredient labels
Prepared ham and broth can add wheat, soy, celery or other allergens. Read pineapple and gelatin labels as well.
A useful detail
Free liquid is 525 ml: 90 ml bloom water +300 ml broth +120 ml canned juice +15 ml vinegar. Ham 250 g, pineapple 120 g and pepper 60 g bring finished volume to about 900 ml. Fourteen grams gelatin gives a firm inclusion-filled ring without raw pineapple enzymes.
Another way
- Use 60 g dry finely diced yellow bell pepper instead of red.
- Use 250 g fully cooked chilled ready-to-eat turkey as a clearly named poultry variation, respecting its original clock.
Keep it well
Keep covered at 40°F (4°C) or below. Use within 2 days of assembly AND within 3 days of the meat’s original cooking, or an earlier commercial opening/use-by deadline, whichever comes first. Count the overnight set. Use only meat whose original deadline extends through setting and service. Keep cumulative unrefrigerated preparation and service below 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C); discard beyond those limits. Do not freeze the finished gel.