Pomegranate and Apple Jelly.
One spoonful will tell you this is not the wobbly children's dessert made
by stirring a fruit flavored powder into water. This homemade jelly uses
real fruit juices so you get to appreciate the intensely tart yet sweet
flavors of the pomegranate and apple. Serve it on its own, or with a
sprinkling of pomegranate seeds, a dollop of whipped cream, a scoop
of vanilla ice cream, or a drizzling of custard sauce.
I did not realize how delicious homemade jelly could taste,
and how easy it is to make,
until I read about it in Tessa Kiros' lovely book Apples for Jam.
It really is as simple as stirring unflavored gelatin into real fruit juice.
Now, you can use any flavor of juice you like, but for this recipe
we are layering pomegranate juice with apple juice. The flavors of these
two fruits go so nicely together. Not surprising actually because
"pomegranate" means "an apple with many seeds". When you make homemade
jelly try to use juices that
are labeled 100% real juice and my preference is to use unsweetened, so you
can adjust the amount of sugar to taste. For
the pomegranate juice I normally use POM's
Pomegranate Juice (or POM's Pomegranate Blueberry Juice). And for the
apple juice I like to use
Martinelli's Apple Juice. (You can use sweetened fruit juices, just
leave out the sugar that is called for in the recipe.)
Of course, we need to set the fruit juice and I use unflavored
powdered gelatin. It is commonly sold in a small box
which holds four paper envelopes, each containing 1/4 ounce (7 grams) (scant tablespoon) of
tiny granules. These
granules are tasteless, colorless, and odorless and in order for
them to become a thickening agent, you need to first soften them in cold
water until they become all swelled and spongy. Next, the gelatin needs to
be dissolved
in a hot liquid. Always check to see if the gelatin has completely dissolved,
by dipping a spoon into the hot liquid to see if it's clear. While this
recipe uses powdered unflavored gelatin, you can also use the clear,
paper-thin leaves (or sheets) of unflavored gelatin. It's widely used in
Europe and in North America you can sometimes find it in gourmet or
specialty baking stores, or on line. To use this type of gelatin, you
first soak the sheets in cold water until they look like wet plastic
wrap. The sheets are then heated until liquefied. One sheet of gelatin
will usually gel about 1 cup (240 ml) of liquid.
Pomegranate
Jelly: Sprinkle the gelatin
over 1/3 cup (80 ml) of cold water. Let this mixture sit for about five
minutes, or until the granules
have become swelled and spongy. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat
the pomegranate juice and sugar until very hot (do not boil), stirring
constantly to dissolve the sugar. Next, stir the softened gelatin into the hot juice
and place this mixture over a low heat and stir constantly until the gelatin has
completely dissolved. Again, do not boil. Remove from heat and let cool for about 10
minutes before pouring equal amounts into six - one cup (240 ml) serving
glasses. Refrigerate for about 3 - 4 hours or until set.
Apple Jelly:
Once the pomegranate jelly has set begin the apple jelly. Sprinkle the gelatin
over 1/3 cup (80 ml) of cold water. Let this mixture sit for about five
minutes, or until the granules
have become swelled and spongy. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan,
heat the apple juice and sugar until very hot (do not boil), stirring constantly
to dissolve the sugar. Next, stir the softened gelatin into the hot juice and
place this mixture over a low heat and stir constantly until the gelatin has
completely dissolved. Do not boil. Remove from heat and let cool to room
temperature (about 20-30 minutes) before pouring over the set pomegranate jelly.
Refrigerate for about 3 - 4 hours or until set (can be made a day ahead).
Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds and/or softly whipped cream or vanilla ice
cream.
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