Sugar-Free Homemade Fruit Jellies (Marmalade)

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   To start, pour a cup of warm boiled water over the gelatin. Per its package, my gelatin needs 40–60 minutes to bloom. If you want a firmer jelly, just use a little more gelatin.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash the oranges well and cut them in half.

3. Step 3:

   

   Squeeze the juice from all the oranges. I use a manual citrus juicer, but you can squeeze them by hand.

4. Step 4:

   

   No matter how careful I was, a few seeds still ended up in the juice. So I'd strain it through a sieve — that takes out the pulp at the same time. You can also use cheesecloth folded into several layers.

5. Step 5:

   

   Wash and peel the bananas. The banana is the main source of sweetness in this recipe. So if you want a sweeter jelly, add more banana — but don't forget to keep the gelatin in proportion! Or just add a little honey.

6. Step 6:

   

   Wash and peel the kiwi. I add the kiwi less for its flavor than for its seeds — they give the finished jelly a pleasant little crunch. No need for pricey chia seeds!

7. Step 7:

   

   Cut up the bananas and kiwi and put them in a blender. You want a smooth, even purée.

8. Step 8:

   

   Blend the fruit until smooth. Don't worry about the kiwi seeds. With a regular kitchen blender they'll stay whole and intact — unlike a high-speed smoothie blender, which would definitely grind them up.

9. Step 9:

   

   Pour the banana-kiwi purée into a saucepan. Add the fresh orange juice and stir well.

10. Step 10:

    

    Heat the fruit mixture over low heat, stirring constantly. Bring it to a boil, give it another minute, and turn it off.

11. Step 11:

    

    My gelatin needs to be warmed over low heat without boiling. Stir until the lumps fully dissolve.

12. Step 12:

    

    My gelatin's label also calls for straining it through a sieve, so I do that too.

13. Step 13:

    

    Pour the fruit mixture into the mold where you plan to set the jelly. Add the gelatin. Try to pick a mold that gives you a jelly layer no more than about 1 inch (2–2.5 cm) thick.

14. Step 14:

    

    All that's left is to stir the two mixtures together until smooth. From there, the jelly does all the work itself. For the first 2–3 hours it should rest at room temperature. Then move it to the refrigerator until it's fully set.