Saturday, January 29, 2011

Quince & Kiwi Jelly

Usually when I talk jelly, I'm talking the stuff you make in a jar and use for a glaze or on toast.

This time, I'm talking that wobbly childhood delight.


Except, you know, because this is Kat's recipe, it's gelatin-free and way more healthy than your average box of jello.

To replace the gelatin, we used one stick of agar-agar. If you don't know what agar-agar is, it's a clear seaweed derivative used in Japanese (and other Asian, I imagine) cooking. Please don't be freaked out by the name or the word seaweed. It's just like gelatin, in that it's totally tasteless.

Two sticks of agar-agar
 It sets the jelly a bit more firmly, I find. And, as I used to love the mandarin jellies I'd buy from conbinis in Japan, I was really excited to use this ingredient.

Even more exciting though was Kat's find of a pile of unloved quinces at the St. Lawrence market. She peeled and poached them, which meant they didn't turn pink (as quinces tend to do), but that's okay! I really enjoyed playing around with this recipe... and I think there's a TON of room for taking this to a whole new level of awesome.

poached quinces
 I loved taking photos of the jellies - they were just so luminous!


Quince & Kiwi Jelly

Ingredients

2½ cups fruit juice of your choice (think pure, and think pulpless - pomegranate, cranberry-kiwi, guava)
1 tsp Agar Agar powder (or one stick of agar-agar, ground up)
1-2 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
2 cups chopped poached quinces
5 kiwis, peeled and finely chopped.

Directions

1. Divide fruit between 6 mini bundt pans or dessert dishes. If you're planning to unmould the jellies, I recommend spraying the pans with cooking spray.

2. Place 1 cup of juice in a pot with agar powder and stir. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes to dissolve. Turn the heat on and bring the mixture to a boil. for 1 minute

3. Remove the pan from heat and pour the mixture into a bowl or large measuring cup. Add the remaining 1½ cups juice and stir. If your juice is a bit tart, add the maple syrup here.


4. Pour into pan/dishes and allow to cool for 10 minutes at room temperature before moving contents to the fridge to set for another 30-40 minutes.

5. Unmould by flipping pan onto a large cutting board. Serve with a side of whimsy.

4 comments:

Locavore Family said...

Yay! Quinces.

How did you find working with them? That's great you could still find them.

I love your jelly mold and really want to try this recipe real soon.

Happy Saturday.

Alyson said...

You know, my friend poached them and brought them over, so she did most of the prep work. I'm going to check out the market to see if I can get some more.

Anonymous said...

Don't try this with gelatin--the kiwis (and also pineapple) prevent gelatin from setting. Neat to know you can still use agar agar.

Alyson said...

I hadn't even considered using gelatin, but that's good to know!

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