For this culinary adventure, I decided to create an edible jelly version of Matiu/Somes Island, an iconic part of the Wellington Harbour. And since I can never just make it easy on myself, I decided to add a few layers and make it fizzy!
Now before we get into the jelly mongering, a little bit about the mould. This was made by maker Judith Leharivel-maker from layers of ply cut in the contours of Matiu island and then layered up with plaster to form the indents and final landform. The ply was coated with varnish before applying the plaster to prevent the moisture from soaking into the wood. It was then dried for a few days before the final mould was made. The island was then vacuum formed with PET, giving us our lovely food-grade mould.
And now for the yummy bits!
Multi-layered fizzy elderflower & raspberry milk Jellies
Now you can make this with any flavour you like and of course, you don’t need an island mould but it does make it rather exciting. For some great tips on jelly and how to easily adjust your recipe to suit, check out this helpful article from UK Jellymongers Bompass & Parr. The first step is to fill your mould with water to decide how much jelly you need to make. I had two moulds which were each 2.9 Litres so the following different jellies make approximately 5.8 Litres of total jelly or two islands.
Layer One: Elderflower Jelly with froth layer
2500ml of fizzy liquid (600ml soda water & 1250ml lemonade)*
25 x gold/platinum gelatin leaves
450ml Elderflower cordial mixed with 200ml cold tap water.
Chill soda and lemonade thoroughly-preferably for several hours in the fridge.
Place elderflower and tap water into a heatproof bowl. Cut gelatine leaves into pieces and place into the liquid so completely submerged. Set aside until soft-approximately 10 minutes. Place over a pot of simmering water until dissolved and strain into a large jug.
Cool this for 10mins or until thick and syrupy.
Pour the lemonade and soda in gently down the side of the jug and stir to mix. Working quickly pour into the mould and chill. Leave to set for 1-2 hours. The soda and lemonade will froth up and create bubbles which will solidify into a separate layer of froth once set. **
*For an alcoholic treat use Prosecco, cider or another bubbly alcohol.
**For a non-fizzy version use water and a simple sugar syrup and adjust to taste.
Layer Two: Raspberry Milk Jelly
2x 80-gram raspberry jelly packets (1 packet=500ml jelly) *
1 x gold/platinum gelatin leaf
200ml cold tap water
800ml whole milk or non-dairy alternative i.e coconut, almond
4 tsp pink food colouring
Same as before place tap water into a heatproof bowl. Cut gelatine leaf into pieces and place into the liquid so completely submerged. Mix in the packet jelly powder*. Set aside until soft-approximately 10 minutes. Place over a pot of simmering water until dissolved and strain into a large jug. Allow gelatin mix to cool slightly before mixing in milk. If you add it while too hot it will curdle the milk. Chill so cold but not starting to set. Pour jelly over the back of a spoon so falling gently on to the partially set elderflower layer.
*The packet jelly can be switched out for 1 tbsp of freeze-dried raspberry powder and 2 tbsp of caster sugar. If you do this increase the gelatin leaves to 6 total.
Layer 3: Elderflower Fizz Jelly
1450ml of fizzy liquid (725ml soda & 700ml lemonade)
18 x gold/platinum gelatin leaves
225ml Elderflower cordial mixed with 100ml cold tap water.
Chill soda and lemonade thoroughly-preferably for several hours in the fridge.
Place elderflower and tap water into a heatproof bowl. Cut gelatine leaves into pieces and place into the liquid so completely submerged. Set aside until soft-approximately 10 minutes. Place over a pot of simmering water until dissolved and strain into a large jug.
Cool this for 10mins or until thick and syrupy.
Pour the lemonade and soda in gently down the side of the jug and stir to mix. This time use a ladle to scoop off the excess foam so you have a clear base layer. Working quickly pour into the mould and chill. Spoon off any excess bubbles. Leave to chill overnight.
To serve
To serve the jellies, fill a deep gastro or sink with hot but not boiling water. One at a time put the jelly islands into a basin of warm water until a little of the jelly around the edge has melted*. Then with another person to help you (because flipping a 2.9 Litre jelly island is no easy feat!), quickly and surely flip the jelly onto your serving plate.
These jellies were served up at the PA19 LAunch party on lightboxes with a map of the Wellington harbour for a unique effect, check out the images of the final jellies here.
*Milk jellies will melt quite quickly due to the fat content so only leave the jelly in the water just long enough to get it out or your colour will run.
CLH FOOD DESIGN 