Real Strawberry Gelatin

This lovely deep red dessert is beautiful to look at and smells amazing.  With a dollop of whipped cream, it’s everything a summer dessert should be without all the junk you get in a packet mix. Have you ever read the label on a box of Strawberry Jell-O? All those chemicals, red 40 (E129), and artificial flavors. Yuck! My easy to make strawberry gelatin dessert contains 4 ingredients and gets its color and flavor from strawberries!

Ingredients

• 16 oz fresh or frozen strawberries
• 2 to 3 cups water, divided
• 1/2 cup white sugar, or to taste
• 2 packets (2 TBSP) gelatin powder (I use Knox)
• Whipped cream to serve (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the strawberries in a heavy 2-quart pot, add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat so the water is just simmering. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, fill a heat-proof 4 cup measuring jug with 1/2 cup of cold water. Whisk in the gelatin powder and the sugar. Leave to bloom.
3. Strain the berries into something you can easily pour from. Push the berries into (but don’t stir or force them through) the strainer to get as much liquid as possible. Discard what is left in the strainer and clean it.
4. Strain the liquid a second time into the 4-cup measuring jug with the gelatin and sugar. This time, do not push anything that remains in the strainer, just discard it.
5. Whisk the hot strawberry liquid until the gelatin and sugar are completely dissolved. This could take up to 2 minutes, but generally, it only takes 1.
6. Taste the mixture, and adjust the sugar if needed. You’ll need to whisk until any newly added sugar is dissolved. Then, whisk in enough cold water to make the mixture equal 4 cups. I usually only have to add between 1/4 and 1/2 cup.
7. Pour the mixture into a 9×113-inch baking dish and refrigerate for 4 hours, or until set.
8. When you are ready to serve, either cut the gelatin into cubes or just rough it up with a fork and scoop it into serving dishes. Top with a big dollop of whipped cream, if you like.

Makes 4 to 6 Servings

Notes

• Even with 3/4 cup of sugar, this isn’t sickly sweet but you can cut the sugar back to 1/2 cup and it will still taste good.
• My camera battery was flat, so I took photos with my crappy phone camera.