Jelly two ways: Rhubarb jelly and orange jelly

After the success of my lovely Christmas jelly, I vowed to make more jellies in 2011.


The rhubarb jelly is the most gorgeous colour of any foodstuff I have ever created. The delicate pink is delightful and makes you smile just eating it!


While you can set your jelly in any glass, plastic, ceramic or tin dish (don’t use anything with a non-stick coating – the acidity will damage it) I think something this pretty a colour demands clear glass so you can see its beauty from all angles!


You cook the rhubarb with orange and ginger to add depth to the flavour. I’m not sure you’d know they were there – they don’t add obvious flavour but I think they do something in the background, and the orange provides extra juice.


The rhubarb should be soft and cooked, but still retain its shape. These pink chunks then go into the serving dishes to be encased in jelly:


The rhubarb juice is pink and fruity. Here it is after the gelatine has been whisked in – it should be completely lump free:


But what if you want lovely home-made jelly but don’t have time for cooking and straining the fruit? Simple. Buy the best quality fruit juice you can and use that instead.



This orange jelly didn’t taste like any orange jelly I’d had before; it tasted like solid fruit juice. Amazing. It lost none of its zingy fruit quality and the texture was amazingly soft and wobbly. Just to be a bit retro, I added mandarin segments but you don’t have to!


The quantities given below can easily be doubled up. Please don’t be put off by the length of the method below – this is the method for BOTH jellies!

Ingredients:

For the rhubarb jelly:
1kg rhubarb (I used forced rhubarb i.e. the really pink stuff, grown indoors)
40g fresh ginger
2 small or 1 large orange
280g caster sugar
300ml water
7 leaves gelatine

For the orange jelly:
1 litre orange juice (I used Tropicana smooth)
75g caster sugar – optional, but jelly sets less sweet than it tastes as liquid. I added the sugar and the finished jelly wasn’t too sweet
9 leaves gelatine
1 small can of mandarin segments

To serve: ice cream or double cream

Method (rhubarb jelly first, then the orange jelly)

Rhubarb: Trim ends off rhubarb and wash, then cut into 2-3cm chunks and place in a large saucepan.
Cut the orange into slices; peel ginger and cut into slices and place both in the saucepan with the rhubarb.
Add the sugar and water.
Put the lid on and cook over a gentle heat until the rhubarb is just tender – you don’t want it to collapse. Check it every 5-7 minutes so that you catch it at the right time.
Strain the rhubarb over a small saucepan so you don’t lose the juice.
Pick out the orange and ginger from the rhubarb and discard.
Place the leaf gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 10 mins.
Gently heat the rhubarb juice until it is almost boiling. Remove the pan from the heat.
Squeeze all the water out of the gelatine leaves and then whisk into the hot rhubarb juice to dissolve.
Spoon the cooked rhubarb between 6 glasses (obviously this depends on the size of your glasses) or 1 large bowl.
Sieve the rhubarb juice and gelatine mixture and then pour over the rhubarb in the glasses.
Refrigerate for at least 6 hours to set, or ideally overnight.
Serve with vanilla ice cream or double cream.

Orange jelly: place approximately 1/3 of the orange juice in a saucepan and add the sugar, if using.
Place the leaf gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 10 mins.
Heat the orange and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the orange is hot but not boiling.
Remove from the heat, squeeze all the water out of the gelatine leaves and then whisk into the hot orange juice to dissolve.
Add the remaining orange juice to the saucepan and whisk to ensure that the gelatine is completely dissolved.
Spoon the mandarin segments between 8 glasses (obviously this depends on the size of your glasses) or 1 large bowl and then pour the orange jelly into the bowls.
Refrigerate for at least 6 hours to set, or ideally overnight.
Serve with vanilla ice cream or double cream.
Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have made.
Eat.