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I had never made my own jelly before. My only experience of it up until now had been from childhood or when I was dieting in my early twenties and it was the only dessert allowed. I have been spoiled by the saccharine sweetness of these packaged cubes.
After trying my hand at jelly two weeks ago I am hooked. My January drizzle has met its match with these intense fruity delights. I am entranced by the beauty of the jeweled colours shimmering as the shy sun catches a slight wobble.
My favourite jelly I have made so far has been these bouncy pots of lemon and thyme. Bompas and Parr, the fine connoisseurs of all things wobbly explained that the acidity of the pure lemon juice would counteract the gelatine so shots of orange are also needed to help it out. This does give the jelly a more rounded citrus flavour without losing the desired lemon tang and the thyme adds just a touch of herbal earthiness.
This week I have been out too many times in the evening, too much wine, too many late nights and early mornings. I can feel my head quietly pulsing. As I reach for the refreshing sunshine burst of jelly I can feel my head clearing, the slight sharpness sending an awakening spark down my back and I feel rejuvenation is a mere weekend away.
Lemon and Thyme Jelly
300ml lemon juice (6-7 large lemons)
200ml orange juice (about 3 oranges)
150g agave nectar or honey
2 sprigs thyme
4 leaves gelatine
- In a medium sized saucepan heat the lemon juice, orange juice, agave nectar and the 2 sprigs of thyme until just under boiling.
- Remove from the heat and let stand in the saucepan for 1 hour for the thyme to infuse.
- Strain the juice and pour back into the saucepan.
- Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 mins, then squeeze out the excess water.
- Add the gelatine to the juice in the saucepan and warm gently until the gelatine melts, do not let boil, it should only take a couple of mins.
- Pour into glasses and leave to cool for a couple of hours.
- Add a couple of small sprigs of thyme to the tops of the jellies, pressing down slightly to submerge.
- Put the jellies in the fridge to set overnight.
Any tips on keeping the jelly clear rather than cloudy?
The jelly is cloudy for a couple of reasons. Firstly when you squeeze lemons and oranges the juice itself is cloudy. This recipe also uses agave nectar (or honey) both of which are not clear so will add further colour to the jelly. If you strain the fruit juices so they don't contain any extra bits and heat up the juice with caster sugar until it melts instead of the agave syrup then the jelly won't be as cloudy but probably still won't be as clear as it could be. I hope that helps.
Hi Georgina! Curious about your gelatin leaves. We have gelatin that is "170 bloom" (firmness grade, about medium). Do you know what grade your gelatin is?
Interested to try this lemon gelee!
Love your blog - making the glace cherries from your larder recipes now.
Thanks!
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca, I used Dr Oetker's Platinum Grade Gelatine Leaves which seems to be the standard grade of the gelatine that is sold in the UK. I'm not sure how it equates to the 170 bloom grade which you have. 4 leaves usually sets about 550ml of water - I don't know if that helps... Thank you for your comments and let me know how you get on with the recipes.
Hi Georgina
Dr. Oetker says 4 leaves platinum grade gelatine leaves equals 12grams of powdered gelatine. Cheers Judy
Good to know - thank you!
Those pictures are great - especially the second one. Lemon jelly was pretty darn tasty too 🙂