Jello.... How about something different?

Gelatin or Jello.- We all grew up with Jello and know all about it, for the most part, but there is a whole other world of using gelatin that will amaze you and no, it's not just your granny's jello salad anymore.... I won't go into where and how gelatin is obtained or you'll stop reading right here but suffice it to say that we'll mention some cool ways to use gelatin......

Apart from the fact that it does contribute to nutritional needs, it's good for your hair and nails due to being rich in collagen, beauty items, etc. there is the regular flavored gelatin and the flavorless gelatin used for more savory or custom uses too. It can help in jelling mousses, marshmallows, make foams, panna cotta, custards, jello shots and more. Hey, I still remember my Nina's Avocado Salad Mold and had a Christmas Salad once in Charleston that was strange but amazing. So gelatin can be both sweet or savory, very flexible.

So refrigerator cheesecake, mousse pie, Dream Cake, all these and more all have gelatin in common.

I received quite a few emails asking for the recipe to the gelatin I posted, so here it is:

CONDENSED MILK GELATIN WITH FRUIT CENTER.- 

2 Condensed Milk cans
1 Evaporated Milk Can
1 Cup Whole Milk
1/2 Cup Water
3 Unflavored Gelatin Envelopes, I used Knox (or 3 Tbls gelatin powder)
1 large gelatin bag, D'Gari Brand, Ref Fruits Flavor (large Jello Box)
3 cups of water, boiling
Fruit, your choice (I used strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry mix to fit your mold
1 large mold, spray with non-stick spray or wipe lightly with oil
1 small mold, to fit inside larger mold (should leave space all around to allow for other gelatin)

Make sure your molds have some oil or sprayed. Center , smaller mold with be prepared first. Put the 3 cups of water to boil (if you're using other size or brand of gelatin and it uses 4 cups of water, you will use only 3 cups here since we want it to jell somewhat hard and stand by itself).

Put the unflavored gelatin and pour into the 1/2 cup of water and allow it to rest and hydrate. Sprinkle on top, a little at a time, so it will get hydrated.

Measure the water you need for your flavored gelatin into a pan. Heat to hot. Once the water is hot, add the flavored gelatin and insure it's well dissolved. Put about 1/4 inch of this gelatin on the bottom of your small mold and refrigerate so it will gel well. Once it sets, place your fruits inside the mold and fill the mold with the flavored gelatin. Refrigerate until firm.
NOTE: If your fruits are tart, sprinkle with sugar beforehand and mix well before adding to your mold.

While your gelatin is getting firm, we will mix the milk gelatin. In a pan over med-high heat add the whole milk, evaporated milk and condensed milk and get it hot but not boiling mixing all the time, once its hot, take off the heat and you will add your hydrated unflavored gelatin. Mix really well and insure no lumps.

Now take your larger mold and pour about 1/2 inch of milk mixture into the mold, refrigerate until firm. Once this is firm, you will take your smaller mold and turn to remove the fruit from the mold, you can take it into your hand or a very lightly wet plate (so it will slide off gently), run a knife along the edge to get some air into the mold and it should release.

On your now firm milk jello, place the fruit jello in the center of the milk gelatin, leaving equal space all around. You will now fill the larger mold with the milk mixture so it is completely filled. Refrigerate at least 4-6 hours or until set firm.

Once your gelatin is firm, invert onto your serving platter.

NOTE: You can top this gelatin with anything you like when serving, more fruit, whipped cream or anything you'd like.

I made a flavored syrup taking about 1 1/2 cups of the fruit, placed in a small pan with about 1/4 cup sugar and on medium high heat brought it to a boil mixing all the while. Lowered the heat to simmer for about 10-20 minutes so the fruit releases it's juices while pressing and mixing down the fruit.

Choose a jar, a fine sieve and a funnel plus a spoon. Place the funnel in the jar, the sieve over the funnel and the hot fruit in the sieve over the funnel and start adding fruit while pressing down on it to get the most liquid out of the fruit. This will give a syrup which you can use over almost anything you'd like (pie, cake, pancakes, etc)

Hope you enjoy and decide to try your own gelatin creations, they're easy and quite good looking!