Sugar-free agar zefir (healthy)

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make sugar-free zefir with agar-agar? Gather the ingredients. Use enough apples so that, peeled and combined with the berries, they weigh about 400 grams. Thicker honey is better — mine was quite runny, which got in the way a bit.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash and dry the apples. Peel them and remove the cores. Cut the apples into small pieces.

3. Step 3:

   

   Take a heavy-bottomed saucepan and weigh the apples together with the currants — you should have 410 grams.

4. Step 4:

   

   Cook the fruit down to a purée. You can do this however suits you — in the microwave, oven, or on the stovetop. I did it on the stove over the lowest heat; it took about 15 minutes. The apples should turn soft.

5. Step 5:

   

   Blend the purée until smooth. If it's too thin, cook it down a little more.

6. Step 6:

   

   I also pushed the purée through a sieve so no currant seeds would end up in the zefir. Measure out 155 grams of the finished purée.

7. Step 7:

   

   Divide the honey into two parts — 150 and 210 grams. Stir 150 grams into the fruit purée and let the mixture cool.

8. Step 8:

   

   Because my honey was so runny, my purée came out thin too and the finished zefir spread a little. With a thicker purée that won't happen.

9. Step 9:

   

   Cover the agar-agar with cold clean water. Leave it for 15 minutes.

10. Step 10:

    

    Divide the egg white into two parts. Beat one half with a mixer to stiff peaks.

11. Step 11:

    

    Put the cooled purée in another bowl. Add the other half of the egg white (unbeaten). Start whipping the mixture on high speed. It'll lighten and grow in volume.

12. Step 12:

    

    Then add the whipped half and keep whipping. From here, if you don't have a stand mixer, you'll want a helper. Add the remaining honey (210 grams) to the pan with the agar-agar. Set it over low heat. Stirring constantly, bring the agar to a full dissolve, then to a boil. Boil the syrup for 1 minute.

13. Step 13:

    

    Pour the hot syrup into the whipping fruit mixture. Pour it in a steady stream, away from the sides of the bowl, so it doesn't cool too fast. Agar starts to gel at 105°F (40°C), so you have to work quickly.

14. Step 14:

    

    After adding the syrup, beat the mixture for another 2–3 minutes. It'll get much lighter and increase a lot in volume.

15. Step 15:

    

    Transfer the mixture to a piping bag.

16. Step 16:

    

    Pipe the zefir into rosettes on prepared parchment. Because of my runny honey they spread a bit, but they still set up well. Let the zefir dry at room temperature for about 20 hours. Then sandwich them together in pairs. To keep them from sticking, you can dust them with starch.