I’ve wanted to try making jelly for Nicholas for a while. I wanted to experiment using pure fruit juice without any sugar to see how sweet it could be without adding any sugar (or as little as possible).
The other day at the supermarket I saw some cute individual jelly moulds and they were also super cheap (six moulds for a pound!), so I bought them and decided to experiment immediately.
I used gelatine leaves rather than gelatine powder. Supposedly the leaves produce a smoother texture than the powder; they’re also easier, for some reason, to find in British supermarkets. Whether you use leaves or powder isn’t important. What is important is to check the directions on the back of the gelatine packet in order to work out how much gelatine you need to use for the amount of liquid you need to fill your jelly mould/s.
I wanted to make one small jelly. I filled my mould up with water and then measured the amount of water I needed to fill my mould (about 150ml). My gelatine packet said to use 4 leaves for 1 pint of liquid (that’s about 570ml) so I decided to use 1 leaf for the 150ml of liquid I needed.
I was very happy with the results – a soft wobbly jelly that was definitely sweet enough, and it dissolves in your mouth so it’s also perfect for babies. I was assuming hubby and I would get a spoonful each at the end. I was wrong. Nicholas devoured his dessert in a couple of minutes, not much more, licking his plate clean!
You can use any freshly squeezed juice (orange, apple, pineapple, etc.) or buy good quality unsweetened pure juices. Just make sure you get a taste of it before you give it to your munchkin!
SUGAR-FREE CLEMENTINE JELLY
Prep time: 15 min plus refrigeration overnight
Cook time: 0 mins 🙂
Makes 1 toddler serving
1 gelatine leaf (about 1.5g)
2 tbsp cold water
4 or 5 clementines, squeezed to produce about 150ml of juice
Cut up the gelatine leaf into small pieces (about 1cm) and put in a small heatproof bowl. Add 2 tbsp cold water and leave for 10 mins.
While you’re waiting, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil then drop the heat to low.
After 10 mins, melt the gelatine completely by putting the bowl over the saucepan of hot water (if your bowl is small, use a heatproof colander over the saucepan and place the bowl inside the colander). Stir until completely dissolved.
Remove from heat and pour into the clementine juice, stirring to mix. Pour into your jelly mould and refrigerate overnight.
Serve on its own or with some chopped pieces of fruit.
Variations:
- use any unsweetened fruit juice or combination of juices
- to add a minty flavour, soak 1 or 2 mint leaves in 2 tbsp of hot water and leave to cool, then use the water to dissolve the gelatine
- for a toddler, add some small pieces of chopped fruit to set in the jelly
thegingerbreadmum 