This past summer when we were in Japan, my children went crazy for various Japanese jelly. In Japan’s hot and humid summer, we were always craving for some cold treats. Besides ice cream and shaved ice, we often picked up some fruit jelly (フルーツゼリー) when we shop at supermarkets or convenience stores. My daughter’s all-time favorite was this Mikan Jelly (みかんゼリー). Mikan is the Japanese word for a type of orange similar to clementine, tangerine, or mandarin orange. In winter months when fresh Mikan are in season, she would easily inhale 10 of them in one sitting if she’s not being watched. This simple orange jelly was something she totally enjoyed eating this summer. Ever since we came back to the U.S., she kept saying how much she misses her jelly and this went on like 2 months, non stop! Our house was under renovation and we didn’t have a kitchen, so I kept procrastinating by saying later, later, later…
Homemade Orange Jelly
The other day, when she was in school, I decided to pick up a can of mandarin oranges and made this jelly to surprise her. It’s really easy to make, and as a mom, I like that I can control the amount of sugar that goes into the jelly. When we came back from school and it was snack time, I brought these orange jelly in front of her, and she had this huge smile on her face and squealed. This is why I cook; her smile made my day 1000 times better.
Use Gelatin Sheet instead of Gelatin Powder for Orange Jelly
I’ve shared Japanese jelly desserts like Mizu Yokan and Fruit Jelly this year, but instead of gelatin, I’ve been using vegetarian/vegan-friendly Kanten to make jellies. The gelatin sheets are very thin and almost translucent. Each sheet is 2.5 gram and there are 20 sheets in the package. I smelled the sheet hesitantly because of the pungent issue with gelatin powder. What a surprise! The gelatin sheets do not smell at all. These gelatin sheets were super pleasant to work with, and if you are reluctant to make jelly because of the gelatin powder smell, definitely try the gelatin sheets! Plus, gelatin sheets result in a clearer, more transparent final product than gelatin powder. So what’s not to love when you basically have a clearer gelatin with a neutral flavor!
