Flavorful Fruit Spheres (Caviar Gelatin)
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Equipment
- Dropper or squeeze bottle
- Strainer (fine-mesh)
- Bowls
Ingredients
- ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons of fruit juice measure separately
- 1 tablespoon of gelatin unflavored
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- Cold water
- Ice
Instructions
- All the ingredients ready? Let's begin!
- Fill a mason jar or tall container with 2 cups of vegetable oil.
- Put the oil in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours or as much as overnight (it is important to ensure that your oil is cold enough to form a sphere).
- Pour 2 tablespoons of the fruit juice into the bowl. Using 1 tablespoon of the unflavored gelatin, drop small portions into the fruit juice. Stir until there aren’t any visible lumps.
- In a separate container, pour ¼ cup of the fruit juice. Then, pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until it starts steaming.
- Combine the gelatin and juice mixture with ¼ cup of juice. Mix until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
- In a squeeze bottle, pour the mixture and then transfer it to the refrigerator for 10 minutes to let it cool. You may also use a bowl instead of a squeeze bottle if you prefer.
- Please note that you should set your timer for 10 minutes and remove the mixture from the fridge when ready. If you wait too long, the mixture will get too thick and become unusable.
- Fill a large bowl about halfway with ice cubes. Remove the oil from the refrigerator and put it in a bowl with ice cubes.
- Put more ice around the oil container to ensure that the oil stays cold when the sphere is formed. If you are using a squeeze bottle, gently squeeze the bottle and watch the droplets fall into the oil. They should form a sphere and sink to the bottom. If you use a dropper, suck out some of the gelatin liquid in the bowl and then drop a small drop into the oil.
- To make a larger sphere, continue to drop the liquid in the same position. Continue until you have used up all the gelatin liquid.
- Pour the oil and balls into a fine mesh strainer set on the top of another bowl. If you want, you can save oil. Rinse the ball in the filter with cold water to wash off the oil.
- Enjoy your Flavorful Fruit Spheres – Caviar – Gelatin!
Video
Nutrition
We got a surprise for you! When most people hear of caviar, fish eggs are usually one of the first things to come to mind. Thanks to the science of molecular gastronomy, we’re going to show you how to make some delicious fruit “caviar” without the fish eggs.
This science-based recipe is definitely one that you’ll want to try with your kids, as it’s loads of fun and geared toward the younger age groups. That doesn’t mean you won’t have a fun time making fruit spheres, though.
Gelatin caviar is worth spending a few minutes of your afternoon making. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment, either. So if you’re ready to try out this tasty treat, read on to learn more.
Notes & Tips
This is a fun experiment/recipe to do with your kids. Or, if you are a teacher and you have the necessary equipment and tools, your students will enjoy having fun with this neat science project. Best of all, they get to eat what they made!
If you end making too many fruit spheres, simply put the extras in the fridge. Just be sure to store them in a sealed container. Also, it’s a good idea to line the inside of the container with a little bit of vegetable oil first.
Doing this will prevent the gelatin spheres from sticking to the inside of the container and allow for easy removal. It will also keep the fruit spheres from sticking to each other. That way, you won’t have a messy glob of gelatin on your hands.
It will be less messy for your kids to eat, too. Please note that you need to wash the vegetable oil off of the fruit caviar before consuming it.
Substitutions
You don’t have to make “caviar” with fruit juice only. The fact is that you can use a variety of ingredients to reach the same conclusion. You can try many different juices, or you can make caviar with chocolate milk, ketchup, hot sauce, and much more.
We like the gelatin spheres because they’re just so tasty and perfect for kids. You can even try to outdo yourself and make even bigger fruit spheres. Try different liquid substitutions to see what kind of results you get.
Common Questions
This is a form of science that centers on both the chemical and physical processes that occur in cooking. If you are a fan of boba tea, you may have tried bursting boba or a small boba made from fruit juice. The bursting effect in your mouth from bob is a good illustration of molecular gastronomy.
A common molecular gastronomy technique is one known as spherification. This is the process of making soft, slimy balls similar to caviar. Your children will appreciate how spherification turns their favorite juice into edible fruit spheres.
Sides & Pairings
Fruit spheres are unique little treats that go well with yogurt, cookies, fruit snacks, and just about anything else your kids love to snack on. Or, you can just enjoy these on their own. The nice thing about fruit caviar is that you can store them in the refrigerator and snack on them whenever you like.
We hope you enjoyed this interesting recipe. It’s certainly one that is unlike most others. If you want to learn about more recipe ideas for snacks, be sure to head on over to our Recipes section and explore the many unique meals and treats that we’ve compiled for your consideration. We even have a whole assortment of vegan recipes here.
