The Joys of Jell-O Recipe #180: Frosted Grapes

Straight out of the annals of New Ways with Jell-O Gelatin comes this recipe for Frosted Grapes, a very creative idea for a fruity, gelatin-y garnish or light dessert. 

Now, of course, after seeing this recipe, I had a few concerns: 1) how could I replicate the flavoring-and-coloring aspect of Jell-O without using it? 2) is the raw egg really necessary? and 3) would this all be worth it? I mean, how much exactly could gelatin and some flavoring add to grapes?

To tackle the first point, I decided to make two batches of frosted grapes, the first with "coloring" (in the form of red sugar crystals mixed in with granulated sugar and the gelatin), and the second without, using only granulated sugar and gelatin. As far as adding a flavoring agent goes, I decided to mix about a teaspoon of lemon extract in with the egg white to avoid dissolving the sugar, since lemon was the only flavor I had around that seemed like it would go with grapes. The quantities of all these ingredients are really going to depend on how many grapes you need to frost. In my case, I made around a pound and two teaspoons of gelatin and a couple of tablespoons of total sugar was way too much.

After several minutes of deliberation, I went ahead and used raw egg white. Though we live in an age of intense scrutiny over food safety issues, raw eggs have been eaten forever, and I wasn't about to let a petty little issue like salmonella deter me from accurately recreating vintage Jell-O goodness.

Other than the aforementioned ingredient substitutions, I made the recipe as written, and as I was getting the grape clusters sprinkled, I immediately noticed a few things. For one, when I mixed in the lemon extract with the egg white, whitish streaks appeared in the egg. I think acid cooks eggs a little bit. This didn't end up affecting the end product, but I
Now, of course, after seeing this recipe, I had a few concerns: 1) how could I replicate the flavoring-and-coloring aspect of Jell-O without using it? 2) is the raw egg really necessary? and 3) would this all be worth it? I mean, how much exactly could gelatin and some flavoring add to grapes?

To tackle the first point, I decided to make two batches of frosted grapes, the first with "coloring" (in the form of red sugar crystals mixed in with granulated sugar and the gelatin), and the second without, using only granulated sugar and gelatin. As far as adding a flavoring agent goes, I decided to mix about a teaspoon of lemon extract in with the egg white to avoid dissolving the sugar, since lemon was the only flavor I had around that seemed like it would go with grapes. The quantities of all these ingredients are really going to depend on how many grapes you need to frost. In my case, I made around a pound and two teaspoons of gelatin and a couple of tablespoons of total sugar was way too much.

After several minutes of deliberation, I went ahead and used raw egg white. Though we live in an age of intense scrutiny over food safety issues, raw eggs have been eaten forever, and I wasn't about to let a petty little issue like salmonella deter me from accurately recreating vintage Jell-O goodness.

Other than the aforementioned ingredient substitutions, I made the recipe as written, and as I was getting the grape clusters sprinkled, I immediately noticed a few things. For one, when I mixed in the lemon extract with the egg white, whitish streaks appeared in the egg. I think acid cooks eggs a little bit. This didn't end up affecting the end product, but I was careful not to get any of that part of the egg white on the grapes. I recommend using a flavor extract that is not terribly acidic. Almond, rum, or vanilla extracts might be preferable, for example.

Secondly, I noticed that it's fairly difficult to sprinkle the sugar-gelatin coating on evenly, especially with the larger sugar crystals. Even if you don't allow the excess egg white to drain off much, it's tough to get it all to stick to the grapes. I definitely recommend setting a side a good chunk of time to get this step done, especially if you are making a larger batch. Also, in regards to the stickiness of the grapes, I highly recommend using egg white instead of water, like some similar recipes recommend--after the grapes dry, they need the adhesive nature of the egg to keep it all together.

Finally, after letting the grapes dry in the refrigerator all afternoon, the frosted grapes were nice and frosty.
was careful not to get any of that part of the egg white on the grapes. I recommend using a flavor extract that is not terribly acidic. Almond, rum, or vanilla extracts might be preferable, for example.

Secondly, I noticed that it's fairly difficult to sprinkle the sugar-gelatin coating on evenly, especially with the larger sugar crystals. Even if you don't allow the excess egg white to drain off much, it's tough to get it all to stick to the grapes. I definitely recommend setting a side a good chunk of time to get this step done, especially if you are making a larger batch. Also, in regards to the stickiness of the grapes, I highly recommend using egg white instead of water, like some similar recipes recommend--after the grapes dry, they need the adhesive nature of the egg to keep it all together.

Finally, after letting the grapes dry in the refrigerator all afternoon, the frosted grapes were nice and frosty.

And I think they turned out nicely! I love the way they look like grapes left out during a frost (maybe that should have been obvious, but hey), except not all shriveled. You can see in this photo that some of the clusters are only white and some are white and red. I think the pure white ones turned out much prettier. Maybe it would be more effective to use the neon-hued Jell-O for these if you were serving them to a teenager's slumber party, but otherwise I can't imagine Technicolor Frosted Grapes yielding the same effect.

In this picture you can see more clearly how, despite my best efforts, the grapes did not get totally covered in sugar and gelatin, especially the red sugar crystals. In retrospect, though, I think that adds to the frosted effect, since frost also often falls on one side of an object. In terms of taste, these grapes were surprisingly good. They taste like they have a sugar crust, and the lemon flavor comes through just enough to be noticed through the grapes's juiciness. If it weren't for the egg-cooking issue, I would strongly recommend a fruity extract like lemon or raspberry to go with these. 

Moreover, though, is that these grapes look and taste fancy. They would be a real treat at a wedding reception as a garnish, especially an autumn wedding at a vineyard or something like that. But even as a garnish for your lunch at work on a Thursday in April, they make you feel a little more classy, and I think we all need a little of that every now and again. For how few ingredients this recipe requires, it certainly elevates the humble grape to a more formal and dessert-like state. Plus, they last a good long time, basically as long as your grapes would have lasted in the first place.

So, in conclusion, Frosted Grapes is a worthwhile recipe with numerous applications and potential variations, and it really highlights how versatile gelatin is.

The Joys of Jell-O Recipe #67: Fruit Pie Unlimited

Today I bring you one of those beautiful Jell-O recipes that is perfect for those occasions when you want dessert but don't want to shell out a lot of cash for ingredients: the Fruit Pie Unlimited.

As the recipe details, you can make this simple fruit pie formula with any number of fruit-and-gelatin combinations, but based on the photo from the recipe book, I wanted to make the peach version. Of course, instead of orange Jell-O, I used beef gelatin with a combination of peach nectar and the syrup from the peach cans to make it extra peachy.

I already had a frozen pastry crust in the freezer, so I decided to use that. Since the recipe is not terribly specific about ingredient quantities, I cut up two cans of peach halves (though two cans of peach slices would have been easier, I know), reserving the syrup. If you want to use a deep-dish pie crust, this would be a perfect quantity, but it ended up being too much to fit in my crust. As far as the gelatin goes, I used two-and-a-half teaspoons of gelatin, and that seemed about perfect, and to replace the two cups of water, one can of peach nectar and the syrup from both peach cans ended up being exactly the right quantity.

Other than those ingredient swaps, adding a small quantity of food coloring (five drops of yellow and one drop of red), adding a splash of almond extract, and omitting the extra sugar, I followed the recipe exactly. It was easy to make, and it turned out really nicely, even though I didn't go the extra mile and arrange the peach slices in concentric rings.

One note about gelatin making in general, though. These recipes always call for starting with half boiling liquid and half cold liquid. When you add gelatin to boiling liquid all in one go, it is very easy for it to clump up or get stuck to the bottom of your pan. What I recommend is divide your liquid in half, put half in a saucepan, and then sprinkle your gelatin over top. Let it sit for five minutes or so to give it time to "bloom" or absorb some moisture, then heat the pan up, stirring occasionally. You don't even need to get it to a boil; if it's hot enoughto start to steam, and the gelatin dissolves, you're good to take it off the heat and add the mixture to the cold liquid. This activates the gelatin just fine without risking it clumping, and only heating up half of the liquid then adding it to the cold liquid helps it set faster.

Those ripples on the surface of the gelatin are from the plastic wrap I used to cover the pie as it set. If you had the lid from a cake stand or something similar, that would be ideal to protect the pie from unwanted fridge odors while keeping the surface smooth. Alternately, I guess you could use something like plastic wrap or aluminum foil to mold shapes or patterns into the surface of the gelatin if desired--kind of like shaping scraps of pie crust and arranging them on top of your pie, only with fewer calories!

As I mentioned, the gelatin mixture ended up being too much to fit into one pie crust, so I ended up making three Fruit Cups Unlimited as well.

As far as the quality of the final product goes, I quite enjoyed this dessert. It is light and refreshing, perfect for a summer picnic or cookout, while getting a classic, rich dessert feel from the pie crust. If I could change anything about the way I made it, I would add another splash of almond extract and maybe a tablespoon of honey or sugar to the gelatin just to make it a little more flavorful, though between the peach nectar and the peach syrup, it already has quite a bit of sugar.

The only thing about this recipe that warrants a word of caution is that, while gelatin has a wonderfully long shelf life, gelatin + pie crust does not. During the first day of the gelatin being set, the crust stayed nice and crispy, but after that day it absorbed moisture from the gelatin and softened. My advice is to serve a pie like this at a gathering or event where it will all get eaten in one day instead of making it for just a few people to eat over several days.

Overall, this recipe is a winner. It's simple, sure, but it works, and I can easily see all of the other fruit-and-flavoring combinations working as well. I would be particularly interested in trying something like raspberries in pomegranate juice, or a tropical trio of pineapple chunks (canned, not fresh!) and sliced bananas suspended in coconut milk. For that, I would use something like Jumex Coconut-Pineapple nectar ramped up with a little coconut extract and sugar as the liquid.

Anyway, Fruit Pie Unlimited was a real treat, and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, easy, healthy-ish, or cheap dessert.