This "jello" is made with fresh orange juice and sugar. It tastes like sweet orange juice, with a slight tartness in each bite from the orange zest. With so few ingredients-mainly orange juice-it's important that the juice be good quality as the gelatin will taste like the juice.
I like to use juice from freshly squeezed oranges, though you can buy good quality fresh orange juice in the market. Any juice can be used for this dish--I also like a combination of half each lemon and lime juices, or cranberry juice for Christmas, garnished with mint leaves for the red and green colors. (Is that too over-the-top cute?)
Yield: 12
Ingredients:
- 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 tablespoons orange zest, chopped
- 1 3/4 cups fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 egg whites
Preparation:
Combine gelatin and sugar in a large bowl. Add boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Stir in zest, orange juice and vanilla. Chill, stirring occasionally, until mixture is slightly thickened (about 1 hour). Add unbeaten egg whites. Beat at high speed until mixture thickens and begins to hold its shape (about 10 minutes). Pour into a 6-cup serving bowl and chill until set. Top of gelatin will be light and airy, like snow.
May be made up to two days ahead and kept in the refrigerator, covered, until serving time.
Note on uncooked egg whites:
While raw eggs can be a concern in regard to salmonella, infection is usually only present in traditionally raised commercial hens. If you purchase eggs from healthy chickens, the risk of infection is dramatically reduced. Only sick chickens lay salmonella-contaminated eggs, so if you purchase cage-free, organic chicken eggs there is little need for concern.
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