Vegan Jello
Vegan Jello
Vegan jello is quick and easy to make as you only need three simple ingredients: fruit juice, agar powder, and sweetener. You can easily find agar at health food stores, Asian markets, or online. Within a few minutes and a simple process, you can make your own delicious homemade vegan jello.
It is made with real fruit juice and frees from all kinds of allergens so everyone can enjoy it peacefully. Especially kids love to enjoy sweet jello, so you can make it at home and keep them away from store-bought candies and jello.
Fruit juice
You can make fruit juice from different types of fruit. The majority of people use seasonal fresh fruit juice or store-bought juice packs to make jello. You can use mango, cranberry, grape, melon, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, banana, peach, lychee, orange, and many more.
I suggest you not add pineapple, kiwi, or papaya, as they have enzymes that cause regular jello not to set perfectly. But the canned versions do work well and set the jello perfectly. You can add fresh fruit chopped toppings to make the jello look more beautiful and tasty.
What is agar?
When you are making pudding, soups, or sauces, then gelatin will be your first choice. Most people have been using gelatin for years, but it is made from animal tissues, skins, and bones, which is not a good option for vegans. If you are a vegan and want to have a healthier alternative, agar powder is the best option for you.
Agar powder is made from a seaweed named red algae, which is very nutritious. You can find them in powder, flake, and bar form that can be combined with liquid and simmered to make a thickening structure for various desserts, soups, and sauces.
It is enriched with calcium, chlorophyll, red and blue phycoerythrins, carotenoids, lutein, and zeaxanthin.
The advantage of using agar powder is that you can set it at room temperature, and it successfully keeps its shape at a warmer temperature. But on the other hand, gelatin requires refrigerating to set, or else it will melt in outside warm temperatures. The versatility and comfortability make it more popular than gelatin to chefs. Read More Here.
Agar health benefits:
Let’s look at the most popular and healthy ingredient: agar used to make delicious desserts. In short, ‘agar’ is a vegan, dairy-free, firmer gelling agent that thickens sweet and savory dishes.
Agar is obtained from red algae, which is very rich in minerals and vitamins, including calcium, fiber, magnesium, potassium, amino acid, folic acid, essential fatty acids like omega 3 and omega-6, and many antioxidants. We all love to have these nutritional facts in our delicious dessert or next sweet treat.
For Weight Loss
Agar is an excellent source of dietary fiber that works to digest effectively. Also, it is low in sugar, fat, calories, and carbohydrates. It works as an appetite suppressant, attacks and absorbs water that increases bulk with few calories, which gives a feeling of fullness.
For Strong Bones
Agar has a rich amount of calcium, potassium, and magnesium that helps to boost the strength of tissues in bones and teeth. Some of the issues like osteopenia and osteoporosis become very common as you turn older. To treat these conditions, you need to have the proper nutrients that agar contains fully.
Promotes Digestive Health
Agar is an excellent source of fiber where it can make our body digest properly. It is the best home remedy to relieve constipation. It acts as a natural laxative, adds bulk to the stool, and helps properly relieve constipation and the digestive process. Use agar with fruits juice or pulps to make it even more effective.
For Brain Health
Agar has galactose which is commonly known as brain sugar. It is important for developing brain cells, especially for children and babies. Also, it can be helpful to fix mood swings, depression, and anxiety.
For Skin and Hair
Agar helps to soften the skin if you use it as a face pack. Vegetarian agar is a good option for the skin as it does not dry up too tightly and does not make it too painful.
Along with external benefits, consuming it is also beneficial for our hair and skin. It is enriched with nutrients and minerals that are important for hair growth and glowing skin.
Where To Buy Agar?
While you probably can get agar from specialty grocery stores or health food stores, I would recommend checking any Asian grocery stores, if you have access to one. I find they have the best quality and are priced satisfactorily, instead of being horribly overpriced.
If you can’t buy locally from an Asian market, it is completely understandable. I have found the brand I’ve used for years for a good price on Amazon here.
Vegan Jello Recipe
- Fruit juicer
- Agar powder
- Sweetener
How to make Vegan Jello?
- Add fruit juice to a saucepan, then stir in the sweetener and agar powder.
- Start boiling the mixture over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer. Constantly stir for a minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour the jello mixture into a mold. Allow the mixture to chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator to set it completely.
- Add vegan ice cream and fruit toppings to make the vegan jello more fresh and delicious!
Tips for making Vegan Jello
- Make sure to boil the jello for at least five minutes to activate agar powder and make it set properly.
- Avoid using kiwi, pineapple, papaya juice to make the jello as it will not set properly.
Jello Mold Making Tips
You can make jello in a mold and also add fruits as toppings to make it more natural. However, we find vegan jello not so jiggly and pliable like traditional jello. If you add a double amount of agar powder with 1 tsp. By adding tapioca starch to the mixture while cooking jello.
It makes the jello more firm and gives it a stretchy feel like traditional jello. You can also take the jello out from the mold without breaking it.
After cooling the jello, you may want to add fruits as toppings. After cooling the jello for 10 to 15 minutes, it will start to thicken but still be liquid. At this point, add the chopped fruits or berries to the jello. In that way, the toppings will stay up on top and not sink to the bottom.
More Vegan Dessert Recipes:
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Vegan Jello
Equipment
- 1 saucepan
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon agar powder
- 1 1/2 cups fruit juice flavor of your choice
- 1-2 tablespoons sweetener maple syrup, agave, cane sugar
Instructions
- Add fruit juice to a saucepan, then stir in the sweetener and agar powder.
- Start boiling the mixture over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer. Constantly stir for a minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour the jello mixture into a mold. Allow the mixture to chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator to set it completely.
- Add vegan ice cream or fruit toppings to make the vegan jello fresher and more delicious!
I Love vegan Jello this one is very delicious
This is something I would definitely try in the near future: thanks for the share and knowledge