Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable (29 page)

7.
Remove from oven and place on wire racks to cool.

Yield:

About 30 chips

Storage:

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 months.

Variation:

Chocolate-Dipped Fruit Chips

With the addition of tempered chocolate, these chips go from a simple snack to elegant confection. Melt and temper 1½ pounds of bittersweet
chocolate
. Dip each fruit chip halfway into the tempered chocolate, and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper to set, about 1 hour.

General Description:

These wiggly, jiggly jelly candies are tart, sweet, and made with real fruit juice
. The use of gelatin to make colorful, fruit-flavored confections began with the invention of Jell-O, and family parties and restaurant buffets haven’t been the same since. Jell-O is already flavored, but it is easy to use unflavored gelatin and fruit juice to make fresh fruit jellies at home.

History:

The use of gelatin for sweet dishes became popular in the Victorian era, when gelatin was sold in individual sheets. Today it is still sold in sheet form in Europe and in professional culinary supply stores worldwide. Powdered gelatin was invented in America in 1845. In the late-1880s, Pearle Wait and his wife added fruit flavoring to gelatin powder and christened it
Jell-O
. They sold their confection to Orator Woodward, who founded the Jell-O Company in 1923. Meanwhile, plain powdered gelatin was sold by the Knox Company
as an all-purpose product. It is the most popular brand of unflavored gelatin to this day.

Serving Suggestions:

Make rainbow jellies by pouring a layer of jelly mixture into a baking pan, then pouring a different-colored layer on top after the first has set. Or add chopped fruit to the jelly mixture before it sets.

Candy-Making Notes:

Almost any clear fruit juice can be used to make fruit jellies. Avoid using fresh tropical fruits such as pineapples, papayas, mangoes, or kiwis; they contain an enzyme that prevents the gelatin from setting properly. But canned tropical fruits will work because the heat involved in the canning process kills the enzyme.

Recipe:

1.
Set aside a 6-by-6-inch baking pan, molds, or dessert glasses of your choice.

2.
Combine the gelatin with 1 cup of the fruit juice and let dissolve for about 5 minutes.

3.
Combine remaining the fruit juice and sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring
occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.

4.
Add in the gelatin and stir until it dissolves fully into the mixture. Add food coloring if desired.

5.
Pour mixture into pan, molds, or dessert glasses. Refrigerate until it has fully set before serving. Cut into cubes if desired.

Yield:

About 20 cubes

Storage:

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Variation:

Champagne Jellies

Replacing the fruit juice with Champagne creates an elegant version perfect for hors d’oeuvres or dessert. Substitute the fruit juice with Champagne or sparkling wine. Create a simple summer dessert by layering cubes of Champagne jelly in glasses with fresh berries.