Jello - not just for children any more!

I like umeshu. I REALLY like umeshu. I'm not picky about it - I'll drink the cheap stuff with soda, I'll savour award winning umeshu on the rocks (a bottle U's father bought, from Wakayama and made with honey instead of sugar - WOW! really really really good).

So when I found a recipe for ume-shu jello I was intrigued to say the least.  I made up a batch, pouring it into two glasses instead of five as the recipe suggested as only two of the nice glasses were clean, the others were in the dishwasher.

A friend came over for dinner and after we ate I brought out the desert, and my friend and I each  had one glass. "Funny," I thought to myself, "I don't usually get tipsy on one glass of umeshu!". Of course, I don't normally down an entire glass of straight umeshu in under 5 minutes either... Really really good.

Really good.

The recipe was one I found on Cookpad (original cookpad recipe), so was in Japanese, but I've included it here in translation.


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Ingredients (for 5 servings - or two if I'm cooking!)

5 g   gelatin
2 tbsp  water
150 cc  umeshu
50 cc  water (or skip the water and up the umeshu to 200 cc - what I did!)
300 cc Mitsuya Cider / Sprite (I went with plain soda water and was very happy with the flavour)
50 g   sugar (I don't remember exactly, but I think I cut the amount of sugar)


Steps

- add gelatin to first amount of water, mix and set aside
- add umeshu, second amount of water, and sugar to a pot, heat on low heat until sugar dissolves, turn off heat
- pour gelatin/water mixture into pot with umeshu, mix until gelatin has completely absorbed into umeshu mixture
- add cider/etc and stir very gently, pour into cups and cool in fridge


I had a bunch of ume in the bottom of the bottle that I fished out, pitted, and cut up. The were a nice textural addition, but I'm not sure if I would put them in again. But the desert itself? Oh yes! Definitely a keeper!!