It’s a cherry season! Sadly it’s almost at the end of the season here in Northern California. Before local cherries are gone, I wanted to make a low-fat dessert using fresh cherries. In Japan, cherries mean rainier cherries. I’ve never had bing cherries until I moved here. Now I like both of them but I like bing cherries better because they are sweeter.
I am going to use kona-kanten (粉寒天), commonly known as agar powder or agar agar powder to replace gelatin to make this dessert. You can find agar powder at Asian markets or some American markets. I’ve got mine from the bulk section of a local co-op grocery store. You only need little to make jelly. I wanted to give some creaminess to this jelly so I decided to add coconut water and coconut meat.
I will share the step-by-step instructions but the shorter version of the recipe and the listing of the ingredients are available at the bottom.
1. Crack open young Thai coconut to get water. Scoop out the meat. If you get jelly-like coconut meat, use the entire meat. If you get hard solid meat, use a half of meat from one coconut. If you don’t have access to fresh young Thai coconut, you can use bottled coconut water and soaked coconut flakes (coconut flakes should be soften).
2. Mix coconut water and pitted dates in a blender and blend until dates are blended well with coconut water (no big chunks left).
3. Add coconut meat and pitted cherries in the blender and blend well.
4. Put water and agar powder in a pot and stir well. Bring the mixture to boil. Keep stirring with a spatula. This is agar powder before mixing with water.
5. After the agar powder mixture starts to boil, keep stirring it and cook for two minutes over low heat. When it’s boiled, the mixture gets thick and pasty.
6. Pour 1 1/2 cup – 12 oz. (350 cc) of the cherry and coconut mixture into the agar powder mixture slowly. Set aside the remaining cherry and coconut mixture. It will become the sauce. Keep stirring the mixture while cooking until almost boiling (but not boiling).
7. When the cherry and coconut mixture is well incorporated into the agar powder mixture, remove from the heat.
8. Pour the jelly mixture into glass jars or jelly molds. I used 4 oz. mason jars. I put a couple of pitted cherries in the jars first and pour the mixture (optional).
If you’d like, you can put some cherries on top for decoration when the mixure gets slightely cooler (wait for five minutes).
9. Uncover and set in the refrigerator for two hours.
10. Remove jelly from the jar and pour the sauce (see step 6) or eat it from the jar.
This is what it looks like when I took it out from the jar.
The texture isn’t’ smooth like Jello. It’s kind of crumbly.
It’s good to eat it as is but the sauce makes it sweeter and give a nice presentation.
- 1 heaping cup pitted cherries
- ¾ cup (6 oz.) coconut water
- Coconut meat - 1 coconut if soft, ½ coconut if hard
- 3 medium size medjool dates or any dates of your choice
- 2 tea spoons agar powder
- ½ cup (4 oz.) water
- Cherries for garnish (optional)
- Pour coconut water and dates in a blender and blend.
- Add coconut meat and pitted cherries in the blender and blend.
- Mix agar powder and water in a pot and bring it to boil. Keep stirring. Continue to cook it over low heat for two minutes.
- Pour 1½ cup (12 oz.) of the cherry and coconut mixture into the agar powder mixture slowly. Save the remaining to use as the sauce. Keep stirring the mixture.
- Remove from the heat when the cherry and coconut mixtures is incorporated into the agar powder mixture well.
- Pour the jelly mixtures into jars or jelly molds.
- Uncover and set in the refrigerator for two hours.
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