Dragon Fruit Jelly

Who likes dragon fruit? Quite frankly I am not a fan. Why? Because it doesn't taste like much. It has a peculiar flavor, is barely sweet and the only thing appealing about it is the stunning ruby red color.

There is also a white variety which, on the outside, looks very much the same  as the red one. So you need to be careful when buying to make sure that you get the color that you want.

There was a time when I used to buy dragon fruit to make smoothies for the health benefits. It is rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. I have since stopped taking it just because I got lazy washing the blender hah..hah... 

Ever since I started making jellies, I found it to be fun and eating chilled jellies is indeed refreshing on hot days. Besides, my partner is a fan of agar agar and suggested that I put fruits in it.

Seeing that the red dragon fruit has such an attractive color, I decided that my next jelly is going to be a dragon fruit jelly. So I searched for a recipe. I settled on Wendy's recipe with adaptations. Wendy used lemon juice to amp the flavor of the dragon fruit but since I did not have any on hand, I used orange juice instead. I also sweetened the jelly with sugar instead of honey.

As you may notice, the dragon fruit seeds make the jellies even more attractive but I did not get an even distribution of the seeds. Perhaps the way to do it is to stir the jelly before pouring into each mold because the seeds tend to sink.

The addition of orange juice lent a tangy and flavorful taste to this jelly. I reckon the next time I make this jelly again, I would add more orange juice to further enhance the flavor.

Dragon Fruit Jelly

Recipe source : Adapted from Table For 2 ..... or More

Ingredients :

- 200ml dragon fruit puree (I mashed the flesh of one dragon fruit and measured out 200ml)

- 2 tbsp orange juice

- 800ml water

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 1 packet agar-agar powder (10g)

Method :

1. Put water and sugar into a saucepan and bring to a simmer.

2. Add agar-agar powder and stir continuously until sugar and agar-agar powder dissolve.

3. Bring to a boil briefly and remove from flame.

4. Stir in dragon fruit puree.

5. Pour into prepared molds (I used silicone mold) and leave to cool.

6. Then place in the fridge to chill before removing from the molds.