Ingredients
- 4 cups UFC coconut water
- 1 Tbsp (8 g) agar agar powder (see note)
- 6 Tbsp sugar (or to taste)
- Fruit of your choice: I used mango, pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, mandarin slices, and kiwi fruit. Make sure the fruits are good! If they're not ripe or sweet, the dessert won't be good.
- 1.25” silicone cube mold, or another mold of your choice (silicone will make it easier to unmold)
Instructions
Prep the fruit:
- For fruits that are smaller than the mold (blueberries, blackberries, mandarin slices) leave them whole. For larger fruit, cut them into small pieces no larger than ¾ inch. For strawberries, choose a small one and cut them in half.
- Place fruit into the molds, a few pieces per piece if they're small, but make sure you don't crowd the mold or the jelly won't be able to hold together. You want to leave plenty of room around the fruit so that it will be well surrounded by the jelly.
Make the jelly:
- Put 2 ½ cups of the coconut water in a small pot, sprinkle agar agar powder on top and stir.
- Turn the heat on and bring to a full boil while stirring frequently. Once it comes to a full boil, turn off the heat, then check that the agar agar powder has fully dissolved by spooning some liquid into a metal spoon, then pour the liquid off and look to see that there are no specks of agar powder remaining on the spoon.If there are specks keep heating and stirring till they're gone.
- Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Add the remaining 1 ½ cups of coconut water to help cool it down faster. If using delicate fruits that turn soft easily like strawberries, don't do this until it's warm (you should be able to put your finger in it with no problem) so that it won't cook the fruit and turn it mushy. You can start using it on other sturdier fruits first (pineapple, mangoes, mandarin oranges will do fine) and come back for the delicate ones once it's cool enough.
Assembly
- Transfer the coconut water into a container with a pouring spout. Fill each mold with the coconut water until it just comes under the rim (don't let it flow over or the pieces will be connected together at the top and won't have clean sides).
- Let cool until at least the top is set (for easy no-spill transport), then move them to the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours so they will be nice and cold for serving.
- To unmold: simply turn it upside down, holding it slightly above a serving plate, then push on the bottoms of all the pieces until they slide out. If you're using a hard mold, you can insert a toothpick into the side while holding it upside down over a plate, then push it slightly and it should slide out easily.
- Flip them upside down for serving. Enjoy!
Important Note on Unmolding: Do not unmold or cut agar jelly until close to serving time. When agar jelly is uncontained, water will slowly seep out because it's an unstable gel. A small amount of water loss will not affect how it tastes, and if it has to sit for a couple of hours unmolded that's fine, but you want to avoid it when possible. If you want to give it away to people, I recommend making it in clear heat-proof plastic or glass cups that you're willing to part with.
Notes
Make sure you're buying pure agar agar powder with no sugar or any other ingredients added (you need to check the ingredient list.) Also if measuring by volume, you need to use agar agar POWDER. If using flakes, use the weight in grams.