Vintage Homespun: Jelly

All things Jelly!

I am very excited to share my love of all things Jelly today.
Jelly is not only for children to enjoy. As adults, we can indulge & create amazing color, shape & flavour combinations with a twist. This will take you on a wonderful textural & visual experience.

Enjoy!

Jelly is a beautiful fruit-flavoured dessert or savoury made by warming and then cooling a liquid containing gelatin or a similar setting agent in a mould or dish so that it sets into a semi-solid, somewhat elastic mass.

Wobbly Jelly Goodness!

Celebration Jelly

Yummy Blancmanges!

blancmange - definition of blancmange

A flavored and sweetened milk pudding thickened with cornstarch, a dish made with almond milk, from Old French blanc mangier ...

How Gorgeous!

Don't You Just Want To Eat Jelly Now?

Claret Jelly, on display in the Victorian Kitchen exhibit at Tudor House and Garden, Southampton, Hampshire

Check out this beautiful blog!

My Kitchen Snippets

Fruit Jelly

Jelly Preserves

Quince, Violet, Lemon & Thyme

Quince Jelly

Recipe

Quinces

Water

Sugar

***

Wash quinces thoroughly to remove fuzzy coat. Cut quinces into quarters or eighths, depending on the size of the fruit so all the pieces have approximately the same size. Place quince pieces in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and add just enough water so it reaches the top layer of quinces but does not cover the fruit. Bring to a boil and simmer gently until the fruit becomes soft, stirring occasionally to submerge the fruit on top so it gets a chance to cook through. Poke around to check that all the pieces have softened (quinces will cook through at a different rate depending on how ripe they are – it could take up to 1 1/2 hours). Once all the quince is very soft, remove from heat.

**You can take a break at this point. Leave the quinces in the water, let cool and place in refrigerator once cool for up to 24 hours. If you refrigerate the cooked fruit, you will have to reheat it slightly to release the liquid before starting the next stage.**

Strain the juice through a fine mesh sieve and then through a cheesecloth to remove any impurities. Don’t mash the fruit or squeeze the cheesecloth too much or the jelly will become murky. Reserve fruit pulp for paste (refrigerate unless using immediately).

Measure the juice as you pour it into a (smaller) heavy-bottomed saucepan. For every cup (250 ml) of juice, add 2/3 cup (150 g) sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface. After about 20-30 minutes, check regularly whether the juice has “gelled.” To do this take out a small spoonful and let it cool. Once cold, the juice should have thickened in the spoon, and when you try to pour it the drip is not liquid but heavy, as though it was sticking to the spoon.

Sterilize jars in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes. As soon as the juice has “gelled,” remove from heat and pour immediately into sterilized jars and close tightly. Keeps unopened for up to a year; once opened should be stored in the refrigerator.

Quince Jelly!

Yellow Jello!

Berry & Prosecco Jelly Recipe

Ingredients

8 punnets mixed soft fruit (blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries)

4 leaves beef gelatine

140 ml elderflower cordial

2 heaped tablespoons caster sugar

425 ml Prosecco, chilled

This recipe is from: Happy Days with the Naked Chef

Method

This is a great dessert that is really tasty. It freshens the palate and you can make it before you need it − it keeps for about four or five days. You can make one large jelly in a tureen mould or dish, or you can do individual ones. Use any combination of fruit, but not pineapple or kiwi fruit, as the jelly won't set if you do.

First of all, decide whether you want to make one big jelly or small individual ones. If you are making a big one, it's a good idea to line the bowl with clingfilm first. Put your ripe fruit into your mould or moulds and refrigerate. Put your gelatine leaves into a bowl with a little cold water to soak for a minute, then drain and add the gelatine back to the bowl with the cordial. Rest above a pan of water over a medium heat and stir constantly until the gelatine and cordial become a syrup. At this point you can add your sugar, stir till dissolved, then remove the bowl from the heat and let it sit at room temperature for a minute or so.

Take your fruit and Prosecco out of the fridge. The idea being that your fruit, moulds and Prosecco are all chilled, so the bubbles stay in the jelly when it sets and they fizz in your mouth when you eat it - beautiful! Pour the Prosecco into your cordial mix, and then pour this over your fruit. Some of the fruit might rise to the top, so using your finger, just push the fruit down into the jelly mix so that it is sealed and will then keep well in the fridge. Put back into the fridge for an hour to set.

To serve, dip your mould into a bowl of hot water to loosen the outside of the jelly, then turn it out on to a plate. Great served with a little crème fraîche but just as good on its own.

Watermelen & Feta Salad

Recipe graciously shared with blessings from Geoff Lindsay.

250g Yarra Valley Persian feta
1/2 seedless watermelon, cut into 2cm cubes
4-5 drops rosewater
16-24 jumbo green olives
1 punnet sunflower shoots
6 leaves mint, julienned
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper
1 lemon, juiced

Tomato jelly
500g ripe tomatoes, unskinned
5 gelatine leaves

Method

First, make the tomato jelly by pureeing the tomatoes in a food processor. Transfer the puree to a muslin bag and leave to hang overnight from a rack in the fridge with a bowl underneath to catch the liquid.
Soak 5 leaves of gelatine in cold water to cover for half an hour, then squeeze them to remove excess water. Measure tomato juice obtained - it should be about half a litre. Heat this liquid to boiling and add the squeezed gelatine leaves. Whisk for 3-5 minutes or until thoroughly dissolved.
Chill in a deep container for about two hours.
To prepare the feta, drain it from its marinating oil and reserve the oil. In a mixer or processor, whip the feta, gradually pour in 2 tbsp of the reserved oil and whip until fluffy.

To assemble
On each of 4 plates, arrange 4-6 pieces of watermelon. Sprinkle with a drop of rosewater and insert an olive between each piece of watermelon. Place a small dessertspoon of the whipped feta on top.
Place some sunflower shoots and the julienned mint leaves on top of the feta. Season with olive oil, pepper and lemon juice.
Just before serving, dip a dessertspoon into hot water, then into the jelly. Carefully invert a spoonful of jelly on top of the sunflower shoots. Serve at room temperature.

Lavender infused Quark Blancmange with Fresh Raspberries & a Drizzle of
Lavender Syrup

365g quark
400g cream
125g lavender caster sugar
3 gelatin leaves (titanium strength sets approx 250mL liquid)
Fresh raspberries
Lavender Syrup

In a saucepan heat up cream & quark, add lavender infused caster sugar (taste & adjust to your liking) & whisk until sugar & quark have dissolved to a smooth texture (do not over heat mixture)
Meanwhile soften the gelatin in cold water for approx.3 minutes or until soft
Squeeze water out of the gelatin and place in the saucepan

Stir & pour into individual moulds or large mould

Refrigerate overnight for best result

Turn out from moulds

Voilla!

Ingredients

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon dried lavender

Directions

Bring to a boil water, sugar and lavender, stirring occasionally. Once at a boil, bring to a simmer for 2 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and let cool. Will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator if well-sealed.

Beautiful Vintage Moulds!