Garden Desserts All Natural Cherry Jel (Pack of 5)

I have used Garden Desserts twice to make panna cotta. The first time, I mixed the product with the sugar, added 1.5 cups of heavy cream, and added an additional 0.5 cups of milk. Finally, I added one tablespoon of vanilla extract. I then brought the mixture to a boil stirring constantly. Almost simultaneously, the mixture showed some thickening and some wisps of steam. I poured the mixture through a strainer into three molds of two-thirds cups each. The product set very quickly. I then placed the molds in the refrigerator to chill. To serve, I dipped the molds briefly in hot water. The desserts unmolded perfectly.I am impressed with how quick and convenient the process was. These considerations would mean nothing, however, were it not for the excellence of the result. The gel melted in the mouth and was in no way rubbery. The texture was similar to that of a well-made egg custard. There was no off-taste, and there were no inconsistencies in texture. The result was as good as could have been expected given the ingredients.The second time, I dissolved the sugar in one cup of heavy cream and one-half cup of milk, added one-fourth of a vanilla bean with its seeds scraped into the cream, and added four cardamom pods that I had split in half. I brought this mixture to a boil, removed it from the heat, and allowed it so steep for ten minutes. I then dispersed the product in one-half cup of cream, added this cream to the steeping mixture, and brought the combination back to a boil while stirring constantly. As before, I poured the thickening mixture through a strainer into the molds and set in the refrigerator to chill.The result was even better than the first batch due to the substitution of vanilla bean for extract and the addition of the cardamom pods. The product imparted no taste whatsoever, and it allowed the full flavor of the bean and pods to come through. As previously, texture was simply perfect. This is a truly extraordinary product, and I look forward to trying it in other applications.

This works well for jello. According to the box (and my own experimentation) you need to boil the liquid to set it, so if you have a recipe like panna cotta that doesn't involve boiling the liquid it won't work well. The jello dessert you can make with this is nice though, and kid approved. I would definitely recommend (as others have done) slightly reducing the amount of liquid that you put in.Also, I don't know if gelatin based jello does this too (it's been so long since I've tried it!) but if you leave this in the fridge for more than a day the leftovers will start to break back down, with liquid separating from the gelled dessert. So I recommend eating any results directly!

The gelatin was caked in the package like it had been exposed to moisture. I tried three different batches of marshmallows, and there were hard plasticy chunks in each batch - this stuff never dissolved in the mix, and I'm no novice to marshmallows.

Just like the gelatin I used to eat as a kid, I suggest removing about a tablespoon or more of liquid from each batch before adding the jel, you'll get a jigglier jello

Healthy substitute for gelatin. Works great. No odd taste. I made gelled fruit blocks and "worms" for the grandkids.:)

Odd flavors in both raspberry and orange. Simply do not jello correctly with even the simplest additions. Might be okay on their own.

Used first package tonight to make Jel-o (cherry koolaid, sugar, one packet, water) and it turned out excellent! Will buy again

Looking for a jello substitute for my vegetarian daughter and this worked quite nicely, much better texture than the seaweed replacement I found elsewhere.