Fruit Juice Gelatin

I am still on the quest of finding new things to pack in my husband’s lunch. This recipe was actually an “old” recipe that I had forgotten about and rediscovered. It’s based off of a recipe shared by a close family friend growing up.

By the way, The Nourishing Portable Food Carnival is tomorrow, so get those ideas ready to share! As I have at least two more posts to share for the Carnival, I am getting a head start by sharing this one today.

Making your own gelatin desserts are very simple to make. There is absolutely no need to buy those sugary, fake flavored jello boxes! For a much more satisfying and natural snack, you can use fruit juice and fruit to make your own “jello”. It’s great for lunches, snacks, taking on picnics, and even as part of a dinner. Because it tastes so much better, and looks so much nicer, my family used to serve this often to relatives or guests and it always went over very well. It’s a more gourmet, nourishing choice, that also doesn’t take much more work than making jello! We also found that people not “into” health food loved this recipe. This recipe has really worked well for us! (This Post is also part of WFMW)

You can definitely play around with what type of juice you want to use. Obviously, since juice plays the main role, you want to pick one that is very flavorful. Growing up, we used apricot nectar. Although I don’t like apricot fruit that well, I love the juice. However, you do have to find a juice that isn’t full of sugar. I have found some very nice apricot nectar juices that were sweetened with other added juices, such as white grape, instead of sugar.

This time I decided to try a new flavor and used a papaya juice (which was also a cane sugar free juice mix) and I LOVED it. While I am sure there would be some juices that would taste bland made into a gelatin, there is plenty of room to experiment. We like to put berries in as well. Some little kids might not like that part as well, so consider the age factor for those you are making it for. But for us adults, it’s a wonderful addition.

Fruit Juice Gelatin

4 cups of juice (my choices- apricot nectar, or a papaya juice mix)
6 tablespoons water
1-2 tablespoon gelatin (see note above)
1/4 cup of honey
2 cups of berries, fresh or frozen (I used raspberries and blackberries)

1-Put the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Leave for 5 minutes to soften.
2-Meanwhile, heat about two cups of the juice and the honey on the stove and bring to a boil.
3-Place the gelatin/water mixture in a medium size bowl and add the hot water, stirring for one minute and the gelatin is thoroughly dissolved. Then, add the rest of the juice.
4-In 8 ramekins or a small casserole dish, place your berries and pour over the gelatin juice mixture. Place in the fridge overnight,or for at least 3 hours to set. When cool, you can cover with plastic wrap.