Homemade Orange Jello – With a Probiotic Surprise
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Last week, I posted my recipe for fermented orange juice, a great way to get probiotics, enzymes and vitamins into your diet. Plus it is super delicious, even for kids!
Over the weekend, I came across a post on probiotic-infused lemonade jello by Mommypotamus. She had been inspired by Food Renegade's lacto-fermented lemonade (which is delicious, by the way, especially in the summer!).
I made sure to ‘pin' her lemonade jello recipe for future use and then I realized…HELLO!…I have all of this fermented orange juice which tastes like Orangina. Why not make some fermented orange jello!
Who doesn't love Jello? Unfortunately, the common packets at the local grocery store are full of artificial colors, artificial flavors, sugar possibly from GMO sugar beets and other yucky stuff!
This snack is full of grass fed gelatin, which is rich in collagen and is excellent for support of your joints and connective tissue as well as your hair, skin and nails. It is also healing to your digestive tract as well as a decent source of protein. Plus, the fermented orange juice brings its own benefits, including increased vitamins, increased good bacteria and increased immunity.
The resulting texture was a little different than traditional Jello. I would say it is a little creamier than regular jello. I also noticed it melts a little faster. Not a big deal if you are eating it as a snack, but if you having it out on a buffet, it may need to be kept on ice.
And, I would say it will last a 3-4 days in the fridge. After that it gets melty…still tastes good, but melty. Not sure why? Any thoughts?
My daughter has been polishing off bowl after bowl of this stuff and officially gave it the ‘thumbs up!' (She liked to stir it around and make it melt…not sure why!)
Fermented Orange Jello
Ingredients
- 2 cups fermented orange juice
- 3 tbsp grass fed gelatin orange container
- 1-3 drops orange or lemon essential oil (optional)
Instructions
- Heat 1/4 cup fermented orange juice, over a medium-low flame.
- VERY slowly, whisk in the 3 tablespoons of gelatin. This is key to prevent clumping.
- Remove from heat, and let cool almost to room temp.
- Mix the cooled orange juice with the remainder of the juice, stirring well.
- Pour into a mold or container (I used a 6x9 pyrex).
- Refrigerate until firm.
- Enjoy!
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Wow, that sounds so easy. I have been wanting to make homemade jello and now I will.
Thanks
Enjoy! Let us know how it turns out!
This looks very good, but you are killing the good bacteria by heating the orange juice.
You are correct. Which is why I only heat 1/4 cup of the fermented oj to stir in the gelatin. Then after cooling a bit, I add the 1/4 cup of oj/gelatin to the remaining 1 3/4 cups fermented oj that has not been heated!
I would use more gelatin -so it doesnt melt. I make juice jello for my girls and some juices need more jello than others. 🙂
Agreed! My daughter doesn’t like it too firm…so I have to find a balance…softer than a ‘jello jiggler’ but not melty!!! And you are right, each juice seems to require a smidge more or less gelatin!!
Whenever you hear about probiotics, all you hear about is yogurt. So it is good to see there are other foods besides that. But in addition to diet, there are also probiotic supplements.
I’ve done a lot of research on probiotics, because I needed to find a way to stop recurring yeast infections. There is growing research, and studies, that show they can help fight it.
This is a very delayed response to your question but I thought I’d chime in about why it doesn’t set/is melts. Citrus fruits and a lot of other tropical fruit contain digestive enzymes that partially break down the gelatin and prevents it setting entirely. Usually if you want to use them you can heat the juice to kill the enzymes but in this case you’d kill the probiotics too. Melty jello is probably still good.
Ah, that makes sense. Like why pineapple won’t work in jello molds. And yes, melty jello is still delicious! 🙂
This looks delicious. My family would love this so much! I love that your recipe uses essential oil too! What are some of your favorite essential oils?