Make wiggly, jiggly, delicious jello at home with your favorite juice!
I remember how much I loved Jell-O growing up. Those bright colors and jiggly spoonfuls of fruity gelatin were always fun to eat. Fast-forward to when I became a mom and started reading ingredient labels. All those artificial colors and flavors worried me, not to mention the high amounts of sugar and chemicals I couldn’t pronounce. However, once I learned how to make homemade jello, I could happily serve it to my children.
One of the reasons I love making gelatin from scratch is that I control the ingredients, such as using organic 100% juice without added sugar. And if keeping the sugar content as low as possible is an issue, unsweetened cranberry, grapefruit, lemon, and lime juices are great options. In fact, you can see how grapefruit juice turned out in the photos below. There’s nothing like the refreshing taste of jello made with fruit juice instead of those chemical-laden boxed mixes.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy gelatin is to add fruit before it has time to set. Growing up, I always enjoyed jello with canned fruit cocktail or mandarin oranges. Sliced or chopped berries, peaches, bananas, melon, plums, cherries, grapes, and apples are great additions to the jello. Since apples and bananas may brown, you might want to toss them with a bit of lemon juice before adding them to the gelatin. Cool your jello to room temperature before adding any fruit. If your fruit sinks to the bottom of the dish, you might want to wait until it is partially chilled but not set to add the rest of the fruit.
Choosing the best juices for homemade Jell-O
It’s best to choose clear, filtered juice when making homemade jello to achieve that “see-through” gelatin appearance. Of course, if you like pulpy juice, they will work—they just won’t have that same clear appearance. Blueberry, grape, and blackberry juices provide darker gelatins, while strawberry, cherry, and orange bring brightly colored gelatins. You can contrast them with peach, apple, pear, lemon, grapefruit, or lime juice gelatins to create an assortment of colors and flavors. Combination flavors work just as well, especially cranberry-grape, cran-apple, and cran-blueberry.
*Notes: Not all juices work when making jello. Some fruits, and subsequently their juices, contain proteases—protein-digesting enzymes that can hinder gelatin’s setting ability. These enzymes break down the protein chains in gelatin. Using raw pineapple, mango, papaya, guava, fig, passion fruit, or kiwi juice will cause these issues. However, using canned, heat-treated juice or heating these raw juices to boiling can destroy the enzymes that prevent gelatin from setting.
Highly acidic juices—such as grapefruit (used in this recipe), orange, lime, and lemon—may slightly weaken the gelatin’s setting, but should not cause any real issues and are less problematic than juices from the enzymatic fruits listed above.
How do I store leftovers?
Refrigerate homemade jello in an airtight or tightly covered container for up to 5 days. I often cover my bowl or dish with plastic wrap, and that works fine.
Serving suggestions
Homemade jello is a perfect dessert any time of the year. One of my favorite ways to enjoy it when I was young was to mix it into a bowl of ice cream. As the ice cream melted, and I chopped up the Jell-O, it was like a party in my mouth. Try it with this Blueberry Ice Cream Recipe, Cherry Ice Cream Recipe, or Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream for a fruity delight. Add a dollop of this Whipped Cream to top it off. You can also serve jello with Apple Butter Cookies, Honey Cookies, or gluten-free Almond Butter Cookies for a light and tasty dessert.
Homemade Jello
Ingredients
- 4 cups fruit juice see notes above for what juices work best
- 2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin powder
- 1 tablespoon honey optional
Instructions
- Pour about 3 1/4 cups of the juice into a small saucepan.
- Add unflavored gelatin powder to the remaining juice. Whisk until it dissolves and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Heat the juice in the saucepan over medium-high heat until it is very hot and you see a few wisps of steam, but do not let it boil.
- Pour the bloomed gelatin and honey (if using) into the hot juice and whisk until the gelatin is fully dissolved.
- Pour the mixture into 1/2 cup servings in jars or one large dish. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until set.
- Once it has set, serve and enjoy. If you used a large dish, cut it into squares. Keep any leftovers refrigerated.
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