I do remember eating an awful lot of jelly growing up and once I was fully grown up. As a grown up it would be eaten mainly in times of diet. It was meant to be a cheat bite. I would have it when I was feeling too hungry but not wanting to spoil my main meal. I remember many barbecues back home when someone would bring a beautiful looking jelly dessert. It would look like a patchwork of jellies, all different colours and flavours. Don’t ask me what it was made of because I haven’t got the slightest idea. I believe that a lot of the appeal had to do with the beautiful visual – it did look stunning. As I write I actually ask myself whether my mom was ever a big jelly maker. And sadly enough I cannot remember at all. She probably wasn’t.
Well, you might be asking how come I confess not to being a big jelly lover at the same time that I publish a jelly recipe. The truth is that sometimes I do review my likes and dislikes. Whether I shouldn’t give an item a go again. And in this spirit I decided to make this recipe. It looked terribly summery and if anything, it is appealing to the eye which is one of the first steps in having a pleasurable eating experience. Plus I would be using only fresh fruit and juice, none of that boxed stuff that one gets at the supermarket. My kitchen was full of berries which I had got at the local PYO – redcurrants, blackcurrants, strawberries, raspberries, and also some blueberries that I had been given. The only thing that stopped at my tracks was the mention of ‘perry’ in the recipe.
Perry…it made me scratch my head. I found out that Perry is a fermented pear drink – the pear equivalent of cider. It sems to have been very popular in Britain, mainly in the areas of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Plus Wales as well. I read that Perry is having a revival so it seemed a good idea to use it after all. A seasonal and local jelly recipe. This recipe was in the Greatest British Menu and it was served with elderflower ice cream. I did not go that far. I stuck only to the jelly.
Ingredients:
- 500ml Perry
- 75g sugar
- 4 sheets of leaf gelatine
- 125g mixed berries
Preparation:
Put 100ml Perry in a saucepan and boil it. As soon as it boils add the sugar and mix until the sugar dissolves completely. Whilst the Perry is boiling put the gelatine leaves in a small bowl with cold water – enough to cover the sheets
Remove the Perry from the heat once the sugar is all dissolved and set aside. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves and transfer them to the pan with the Perry, mixing until the sheets are dissolved. Add the rest of the Perry and let it cool.
In a separate bowl arrange the berries of your choice – you can divide the berries into 4 little containers of 125 ml each. Once the jelly mixture is cool, divide the mixture amongst the containers and put them in the fridge to set for one hour. After that time pour the rest of the jelly on the containers and let it set completely. This technique is to keep the jellies from floating to the top. Serve it as a refreshing dessert.
A wee bit of sugar 