♨ Boozy Jellies

Happy 2017! New year, new type of post - as we tend to dabble with cooking. Quite a bit in fact, as we try to find ways to keep down our calorie intake, as well as our sugars and carbs, whilst increasing fibre and proteins.

During the Christmas period we tried to make boozy jellies using standard pre-flavoured gelatine packs from the supermarket but we were less than impressed with the results - with one pack the jellies were too soft and did not set, with two they set but they still broke whilst coming out of of their moulds. Worst of all they were absolutely jam packed full of sugar, 44.3 g per 100 g to be precise, providing a whopping 365 kilocalories per 135g packet / 570 ml of finished product! Sheesh!

A long time ago I picked up a pack of Agar grass (a.k.a. China / falluda / falooda / grass ) from a Chinese supermarket; today I finally gave it a go and we really loved the result. Best of all, agar is extremely low calorie (only 26 kcal per 100 g), and it only takes 10 g to make one pint / 570 ml of jelly. It is completely clear, flavourless and it sets in minutes - our jellies were set about 10 minutes after we had finished filling the last mould (47 bite-sized jellies in total). No refrigeration required. It is solid but not rubbery, and it retains shape and detail brilliantly. Oh, agar is also vegetarian and vegan friendly.

So, here is the recipe we used to make Clementine And Spiced Rum Jellies:

350 ml clementine juice (I squeezed 8 fresh ones)
215 ml Morgan Spiced Rum
10 g Agar grass

1. Pour the juice in a large measuring jug (this is to avoid spillages in the microwave). 
2. Add the agar, making sure all strands are submerged in the liquid.
3. Microwave until the liquid boils and all of the agar has dissolved completely (in our 900W microwave this took two three minute-cycles, stirring in between).
4. Add the rum. If you wish you can add some sugar or sweetner to taste.
5.  Stir the mixture well.
6. Pour the liquid into your moulds and leave to rest until set, preferably in the fridge.

That's it! Completely natural, low sugar, low-calorie boozy jellies.

You can adapt the recipe to suit your taste, just ensure to use 10 g of Agar grass for every 570 ml of liquid.

Enjoy ;-)