08 May 2012

Orange jellies

We're going on a time warp here - back to a time when I used to dream about these in the weeks of lead-up to my birthday party. My mum was fairly anti white-bread, definitely anti-sugar and not much of a baker, but she used to make these sunshine smiles with plain old oranges and a packet of tartrazine-fueled jello. As far as a kid's concerned, that's probably better than my all-natural, no colour, no preservative, low sugar version below. But, this is almost as easy, and healthy enough to pop in a school lunchbox for kids who otherwise refuse to eat fruit. And it's really all about that orange-peel grin in the aftermath anyway...

Ingredients:
  • 6 oranges
  • 10g packet gelatin
  • 2 tbsp raw sugar
  • water (about 200ml, depending on oranges)
Instructions:
  1. halve the oranges and squeeze gently, so the skin retains its shape. Strain the pips out of the juice (I like to leave the pulp - more fiber) and scrape the remaining flesh from the peel so only the white pith remains. 
  2. add juice and sugar to a measuring jug, then top up water to 500ml. Adjust sweetness to taste, then heat over the stove in a saucepan until almost boiling and stir in gelatin until it dissolves.
  3. Let jelly mix cool a little, then pour into orange peel halves (try sitting them in a muffin pan for stability) and refrigerate until set (about 4-6 hours) 

Notes:
I used some small, sweet, and juicy Syrian blood oranges, but many other citrus would work - lemons or limes with extra sugar and a dash of vodka could make a nice adult treat! I filled some silacone cupcake moulds with the left-over juice. For presentation, cut the oranges into quarters. You could easily use gelatin sheets instead of powder - adjust your liquid ratio according to information on the packet.



1 comment:

  1. These are the recipes that make me excited to be mom. What a great treat.

    ReplyDelete

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