Treat your little ones to this simple two ingredient homemade jelly – made from fresh fruit juice it even counts towards their five-a-day.
At the moment I feel like I’m on a bit of a voyage of discovery, realising that some things I thought would be tricky to make are actually really easy to make. Last week I shared how to make butter (so stupidly simple, you really should try it), and today I’m sharing how to make jelly from fresh fruit juice.
My two boys love jelly. On a Sunday morning we’ll often head to our local garden centre for brunch where, in addition to toast, beans and sausage they always ask for a pot of jelly and it disappears first (we’re not always the best at saving pudding for after dinner in our house – what about you?). As I was recently sent some fruit juices to review I thought it would be a great opportunity to make some jelly.
This jelly is really simple to make with just two ingredients – fruit juice and gelatine to get it to set (you can use other drinks such as orange squash if you prefer). If you’re the sort of parent that worries about what goes into what your little ones are eating and prefer to avoid artificial flavours, colours and other additives then this is the perfect solution. A quick check of the ingredients of some pre-made jellies online revealed a few of the things you may prefer to avoid. Personally I don’t worry too much about these things (although I do often worry that I should!) but giving these to the boys for their pudding and seeing how much they enjoy them, makes me feel a tiny bit smug :-).
The lack of artificial colours means that they’re not as vibrant as some pre-made jellies, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the boys at all.
So easy to make, but…
I had such ambitious plans to make a beautifully moulded jelly to share with you. I’ve practiced and practiced but sadly I’ve not yet mastered the art.
A fair bit of googling suggested that the trick is that once the jelly has set, you pop it into a pot of warm water to help loosen the edges. I’ve found that this starts to melt the jelly meaning that it comes out of the mould easily (great so far), but melting the edges of the jelly means that you lose the definition of the shape. Fine if you’re doing something simple like a big dome, but really no good if you’re attempting cute little dinosaurs as I was!
If anyone is a whizz at freeing jelly from it’s mould then please come and share your tips in the comments. I’m going to keep practicing and I hope to be back soon to share the secret.
Not just for little ones
I’m going to let you into a little secret… I love jelly too. More specifically jelly and ice cream. So I made a grown-up version too :-).
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Two ingredient fruit juice jelly
INGREDIENTS
- 400 ml fruit juice
- 4 sheets Dr. Oetker Platinum Grade Leaf Gelatine*
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill a bowl with cold water and pop the leaf gelatine in to soften for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the fruit juice in a saucepan on a low heat - you want it to be hot but not boiling. Once hot remove the juice from the heat.
- Once the gelatine has softened remove it from the cold water and squeeze out any excess liquid. Pop it into the hot juice and stir until it has melted.
- Pour into your serving dishes and put them into the fridge to set. Refrigerate until the jelly is firm.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Gluten-Free
- Egg-Free
- Dairy-Free
- Nut-Free
- Soy-Free
- Corn-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are commonly available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Tammy says
Can I use Suregel gelatin? If so how much?
Charlotte Oates says
It’s not one I’ve tried but it should be fine. The directions on the pack should tell you the correct ratio of juice to gelatine for each particular brand.
Willow says
we make homemade apple juice every year so i used that now i’m just waiting for them to be a jelly
Willow says
our oven is not going to work for a week could i put the juice in the microwave for 2-3 mins
Charlotte Oates says
It should work fine. just take it out and stir it regularly to make sure it heats evenly.
Willow says
which juice should i use there’s just so many flavours and choices let me know what you think
Charlotte Oates says
This should work well with any juice, so just pick your favourite. I like it with a good quality cloudy apple juice.
Zoe says
Hi, This is a great way to have healthy jelly. Just a word of warning though – I used red grape juice, and the results look like something you would dissect in a Biology lesson! Tasted good though!
Kirsty says
Hi Charlotte – to get the jelly to come out of more complicated moulds, butter them (as you would a cake tin). You’ll find you need to use very little warming to get them to come out. Love your site.
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks for the tip, I’ll try that next time.
Mel says
I can’t stand jelly, but I can actually see myself eating these fruit juice ones. The little ones love jelly, so we’ll give your recipe a go soon. x
Charlotte Oates says
If you don’t like jelly because of the very sweet favour in the packet ones then these are perfect as you can pick your favourite juice, if it’s a texture problem then you still won’t like them 🙂
Beckie says
I *love* jelly, and somehow I’ve never got round to making my own, maybe this is the nudge I need! #cookblogshare
Charlotte Oates says
You should definitely give it a go, it’s really easy and making your own you can make any flavour you like.
Wheelie Good Meals says
Great ideas, I’m like you I love jelly, I’ve pinned #TastyTuesdays
Charlotte Oates says
After posting this I’ve discovered quite a few others who secretly like jelly too!
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
These sound to have gone down a treat your family. We too loved jelly as children but looking at the array of ingredients in shop bought ones, it’s a wonder we weren’t more hyper! Given how natural these are, we certainly should be making our own.
Angela x
Charlotte Oates says
If you’re worried about what’s in the ones your giving your little ones then this make a great alternative to pre-made jellies. Now that I know how to make them they’re going to become a regular in our house as the boys love them.
Amy says
This is definitely something my boys would love. I don’t think it matters that they are not vibrantly coloured as the fruit you serve it with adds great colour. I’ve not got any tips on freeing jelly from moulds, sorry!
Charlotte Oates says
Even without the fruit my boys have never complained about the colour – if it looks like jelly then they’re always happy! They’ve also never complained that they’re in a pot rather than a fancy shape so I don’t need to worry too much about the moulds.
Sarah says
What a lovely read – totally delicious! #TastyTuesdays
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Sarah x