How to make clear jelly (3 unique ways)
In this brief guide, we will discuss how to make clear jelly. There are many ways to make clear jelly; some simple and some complex. To make clear jelly, you may or may not need a thickening agent such as agar-agar or gelatin, flavoring, and accessories of your choice. Clear jelly is useful in modern cooking techniques such as molecular gastronomy and 3D cakes.
How to make Clear Jelly?
Jelly is fascinating to everyone and easy and fun to prepare. You can make clear jelly in any way you may like as; creative dessert or cake decoration. There are plenty of options and designs you can try.
Due to its unique texture, it has versatile uses in foods. Moreover, it retains its shape; and could be molded into one that we like. Its taste, texture, and appearance can be according to your preference.
You could use one of the following procedures depending on the desired outcome:
- Pure Fruit Jelly (No thickening agent required)
- Jelly and fruit Dessert
- Clear Jelly with 3D Art
Pure Fruit Jelly (No thickening agent required)
You do not need a gelling agent when you make pure fruit jelly with high pectin fruits and their peels. All you need is a correct concentration of sugar and cooking time. The pectin in the fruit would help your jelly to reach a nice firm texture. You just put your fruit juice inside a jellybag or a clean pillowcase and hang it over a bowl.
You could use an additional thickening agent such as agar-agar or gelatin powder.
To get your jelly clear as possible, do not use under-ripe fruit or press hard on the juice bag. Let the juice drip on its own. Also, be sure to not leave it out in the open and store it in a sterilized jar immediately.
Thickening Agents
Agar-agar is obtained from algae and is suitable for vegetarians. In Asian countries, it is called China grass. Agar-agar is more stable than regular gelatin. It gives a smooth and clear look.
Gelatin is animal-based. When choosing your gelatin, opt for ‘super clear gelatin’ as ‘clear gelatin’ might have a yellow tint.
When choosing a thickening agent, you need to consider its Bloom value. Gel strength or bloom value ranges from 30 to 300. This number determines how long it would take for the jelly to set. The higher the bloom value, the sooner the gel would set but be stiffer.
Clear Jelly Formula
Mix a tablespoon of gelatin in half a cup of cold water and wait for ten minutes.
Then you heat 2 cups of sugar, 1 tsp of citric acid, and 3 cups of water. Stir until the sugar dissolves. When vapors start to appear, cut off the heat so that the water does not boil. Add your dissolved gelatin to it, and let it completely homogenize.
Now you put in food flavoring of your choices such as strawberry, watermelon, or cotton candy. Add 2 or 3 drops of clear food flavoring. Pour it into a container and try to eliminate as many air bubbles as possible using a fork, then refrigerate for a few hours.
Other FAQs about Jelly which you may be interested in.
How long does unopened jelly last?
Can you get sick from eating expired jelly?
Clear jelly with 3D art
After you have made your clear jelly, you can carve your designs inside by adding ideal images to turn your clear jelly into 3D art.
This gelatin-based artwork is a visual treat made using clear jelly on the exterior and filled with milk-based gelatin. The milk-based gelatin design injected inside the clear-jelly hemisphere is customizable. The design selection could be flowers and butterflies for gentle souls. While for occasions like Halloween, you could make exciting and scary designs such as spiders and worms.
You can use hypodermic needles and syringes to inject your colors into the clear jelly. You also need to arrange condensed milk and different food colorings for the engravings. To make your flower mold, you can mimic petal shapes by inserting spoons and filling them up. If you intend to make shapes such as spiders and lizards, you could use carved vegetables. You can also buy some plastic toys so that the art would be easy to fill in.
Jelly and fruit Dessert
Use Tropical fruit pieces such as kiwi, mango, jackfruit, and pomegranate. When using agar gar, use agar strips or powder and put it in a pan filled with boiling water. When the agar dissolves completely, add your flavor or clear juice to it.
In your mold, layer up your cut-up fruits and pour in your mixture. Eliminate as many air bubbles as possible. Let it set in the fridge.
Remember not to let it boil before you add gelatin. To avoid clumping and grainy texture, first, dissolve the gelatin in some hot water.
Conclusion
In this brief guide, we discussed different ways to make clear jelly. Due to its physical properties, there are many ways you could follow to make clear jelly. Some of these recipes require a gelling agent such as agar-agar or gelatin.
Citations
https://edmondscooking.co.nz/how-tos/how-to-make-clear-fruit-jellies/
https://tasty.co/recipe/galaxy-clear-jelly-cake
https://gelatinartmarket.com/pages/preparing-clear-gelatin
https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/41369/secrets-to-making-crystal-clear-gelatin
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/520517669411877464/
