My opportunity to bring Glüh-Brew syrups to those in the Capertee area today was foiled by bad weather as the market was postponed. So with unexpected time on my hands I finally bit the bullet and took to the task of photographing the dish for this long-promised recipe. I had prepared the jelly a short while ago and my fear of not producing the perfect image caused me to postpone and postpone again this photo shoot.
These days most of the world expects visual perfection at every glance….
I feel like I’m the odd one out. Someone once said to me “perfection is boring”. I loved that idea and would have to agree. If we take the time to look around, Nature offers us its perfection in a flower, a butterfly or a spiderweb adorned with dew drops, but upon closer inspection even they may contain subtle asymmetries and unexpected variations that make the beauty even more interesting. Therefore, the imperfections of my jelly dish are all really just interesting rather than shortcomings. Ok, I’m drawing a long bow, and I wouldn’t presume to compare my offerings with those of Nature. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that, given perfection doesn’t exist anyway, (you can debate me on that one another time) if we can set aside our fears around our perceived imperfections, then what we make and do in this world, whilst not perfect, can still be fun to create and share and, in this case, also fun to eat! So I cast aside my angst around imperfect plating and food styling and got on with the job.
I don’t like buying a new item for a one-off use…
so I try to make use of what I have around the house. In the past I have seldom made jelly, and when I have, I usually just made it in any old kitchen bowl and dished it out from there. But for this blog I thought I’d give a jelly mould a go. Only one problem: I don’t have a jelly mould! So I tried a bowl as mould and it was too shallow. My jelly broke 🙁 But the good new is that I was able to melt it down again and re-set it into a smaller bowl which created a deeper jelly. I used the smallest of my three Pyrex mixing bowls and it worked just fine. The jelly spread out a little on the plate, but I was happy with the result and have made it look as pretty as my minimal styling skills allowed.
I poached some pears in a 50/50 mix of Glüh-Brew and water…
after peeling, quartering and coring them. Cutting the fruit into smaller pieces requires less poaching liquid but you could easily use whole, small pears or pear halves. You don’t even have to cover them completely with the poaching liquid, but you do need enough to at least half cover them, and then you can turn them while poaching and they’ll still soak up the flavours of the liquid and cook nicely. If you have time, you can even put the pears into a container for a couple of days with the liquid and this allows the pear flavours and the poaching liquid flavours to combine even more.
For a crunchy element…
I crushed some almond Spekulatius biscuits and sprinkled them over the dish as the final touch. Remembering the birthday cake incident, where we ate the cake before I took the photos (insert eye-rolling emjoi here), I took my photos, selected the one that worked the best and then commenced my kitchen clean-up. I mixed up the left-over crushed biscuits with the left-over cream and put them in a little container for another day. Then (as part of the clean up 😉 I licked the crunchy cream off the spoon and realised how delicious it was. I reckon that mixture could be piped onto the jelly instead of using the cream and crumbs separately. Also, the cream & crumb mix could be served with the poached pears alone if you don’t have time to make the jelly.
Important note: Please remember that this jelly is made using alcohol so eating it will count towards your standard drinks. Check your wine and port bottles for information on their alcohol content, please consume wisely and don’t eat jelly & drive 🙂
Glüh-Brew mulled wine jelly with poached pears
Make sure you leave plenty of time for the jelly to set. Ideally this could be prepared the day before you intend to eat it.
Ingredients:
- 630ml of mulled wine made to your taste using Gluh-Brew syrup and any red wine
- 70ml port
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 7 leaves gelatine prepared as per the packet directions – I used a basic brand and the jelly was set but not super firm. You could also use gelatine powder in the quantities recommended on the packed. If you like a much firmer jelly, use more leaves or a stronger quality leaf.
- 2 pears, peeled, cored and cut into your preferred size. You could also use small, whole pears.
- Gluh-Brew syrup
- water
Optional toppings to taste:
- Fresh whipped cream
- Crushed Spekulatius biscuits
Method:
Soak gelatine leaves as per their packet instructions. Warm mulled wine and port together in a pot then squeeze liquid out of gelatine leaves and add them to the pot, stirring until dissolved. Pour the mulled wine mixture into your mould or serving dishes and refrigerate until set. This will probably take several hours at least.
Place pears in a small pot. At a ratio of 50% Glüh-Brew syrup and 50% water, mix enough to cover the pears at least half way, then heat at medium temperature until the liquid is simmering. Reduce heat, cover and simmer gently for about 10 minutes and then turn the pears. Alternatively you can mix enough poaching liquid to completely cover the pears and then you won’t have to turn them. Test the pears for firmness from time to time during simmering and when you’re happy with their “done-ness”, remove them from the heat and cool. Refrigerate until serving time.
When you’re ready to serve, un-mould the jelly onto a serving plate, remove the pears from their liquid and arrange them decoratively around the jelly. Pipe the cream (if using) onto and around the jelly and sprinkle with the crushed biscuits, or mix the crumbs into the cream and pipe on. Just make sure that the biscuit pieces are small enough so that they don’t block the piping nozzle. Alternatively, spoon the jelly directly into serving dishes, add some pear pieces, dollop the whipped cream on top and sprinkle with the crushed biscuits. Serve the poaching liquid on the side to be drizzled on top if desired.
Enjoy!
