How to make lemon jelly?
Lemon jelly is a delicious and very healthy dessert. The dish contains few calories and is great for diet food. How to make lemon jelly will be discussed in this article.
What it is?
Jelly is a light dessert, the basis of which is most often the juice of berries or fruits and a thickener. As a thickener, gelatin or agar-agar is used, which bind all the elements together and form a homogeneous jelly mass. The homeland of the dessert is France.
The easiest way to make lemon jelly is to combine lemon juice and gelatin. It is also allowed to add whole slices of lemon or pieces of other fruits and berries. In this case, the mass should be saturated yellow and at the same time transparent so that the pieces of food are clearly visible.
Lemon jelly can not only be eaten as an independent dish, but also used to prepare other desserts, such as cakes and pastries.
Benefit and harm
The main components of lemon jelly are lemon juice and gelatin. The benefits of the dish are due to the beneficial properties of these ingredients. First of all, lemon contains a large amount of vitamin C, which favorably affects the immune system, strengthening it. Citrus fruit is also rich in other vitamins and minerals.
Lemon has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, and also has a tonic effect, increases efficiency and improves brain activity. As for the harm of lemon juice, first of all it concerns possible allergic reactions to the product.
The benefits of dessert are due to the content of not only lemon juice, but also a thickener.
As a binding element, as mentioned above, agar-agar, pectin or gelatin can act. Agar-agar helps to remove harmful substances from the body, and also normalizes cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Also, the component improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Agar-agar, subject to moderate use (up to four grams per day), does not pose a danger to the body. If you do not follow the consumption norms, then the product will negatively affect the intestinal microflora and cause diarrhea.
Pectin, like agar-agar, removes harmful substances from the body. Also, the substance improves metabolism. Problems in the body can only arise due to excessive consumption of pectin, which can cause diarrhea.
The benefit of gelatin primarily lies in the beneficial effect on the joints and bones, which the product strengthens. Gelatin also improves the condition of the skin and hair.
The product is easily absorbed by the body, but contains a large amount of protein, so it can harm people who have certain health problems, such as:
- urological diseases;
- heart problems;
- thrombosis.
Recipes
There are several ways to make lemon jelly. Each method differs in the components used. In addition to jelly and a thickener, other fruits and berries, as well as milk, may be included in the dessert.
Classical
The classic version of lemon jelly does not imply the use of additions in the form of fruits and berries. To prepare such a dessert, you will need the following products:
- two large lemons;
- 30 grams of gelatin;
- one liter of drinking water;
- 6 large spoons of granulated sugar without a slide.
If you want the jelly to be more tender and trembling in consistency, then the amount of gelatin must be reduced to 20 grams. Citruses must be washed well and peeled. The fruit is cut into two equal parts, the seeds are removed and the juice is squeezed out in any convenient way. On the stove, it is necessary to heat the water, dilute the sugar in it and bring to a boil.
Gelatin must be dissolved in a small amount of cooled syrup in proportions of 1 to 8, that is, 30 grams of gelatin will require 240 milliliters of product.
The mass should swell, which will take some time. The swelling time depends on the brand of gelatin and can take from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours.
After the mass has swollen and become homogeneous, the remaining syrup must be heated on the stove, but not boiled. Gelatin is added to the hot syrup and stirred until smooth. Squeeze the lemon juice into the total mass and mix everything again. After that, the dessert must be poured into molds and sent to the refrigerator for complete solidification, which will take about 4 hours.
Lactic
Making milk jelly with lemon is a little more difficult than making a classic dessert. This dish will consist of three layers, the preparation of which takes quite a long time.
To prepare the first layer, you will need the following products:
- 5 grams of gelatin;
- half a glass of milk;
- a large spoonful of granulated sugar;
- a small spoonful of coconut flakes.
Sugar and coconut flakes are added to milk. The mixture must be brought to a boil and cooled. Gelatin is diluted in 40 milliliters of cooled liquid and allowed to swell. After swelling, the product is combined with the rest of the milk mixture, which needs to be slightly warmed up so that the gelatin dissolves well. The mass is poured into a mold and sent to the refrigerator for 50 minutes until completely solidified.
In the meantime, it is necessary to prepare the middle layer, which will consist of the following components:
- 5 grams of gelatin;
- half a glass of drinking water;
- two large spoons of granulated sugar;
- one large lemon.
Water must be mixed with sugar and brought to a boil. The syrup is cooled and diluted in 40 milliliters of gelatin. The mass is left to swell. Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the lemon and add it to the syrup.
After the gelatin mass has swollen, the syrup is heated again, but not brought to a boil, and the swollen gelatin is introduced into it. The mixture is mixed until smooth, poured into a mold and sent to the refrigerator until completely solidified.
The third milk layer is prepared in the same way as the first. To save time, you can initially make a double portion of milk jelly, but divide it into different forms. When all three layers have hardened, you can mold the dessert.
How to serve?
When serving jelly, it is important that the walls of the dishes are transparent, then the texture and color of the dessert will be clearly visible. It can be glass goblets or bowls. Fresh mint, pieces of fruit and berries can be used as a decoration and addition to the dessert.
Another serving option is to form lemon wedges. The blank for slices is formed at the stage of jelly preparation. To do this, another liquid mass with gelatin is poured into a lemon peel, cut into two identical halves. After the dessert has frozen, it is divided into equal slices.
The process of making lemon jelly, see the video below.