In our house if Jamey is around, he drinks it. But if he's not, I must confess, I dump it down the drain. Even though we use the "extra light" syrup option, I still envision all that sugar going down my children's throats. Plus, we're not juice-drinkers anyway, so it's not something the kids ask for.
That said, when I read Zoë's post about making homemade gelatin from leftover canned fruit juice, I got excited about the idea. Don't ask me how this is different than just letting my kids drink it, because it's not, but I thought the idea was fun and since we're not usually jello-eaters either, this would be something special.
The kids loved it.
I made the gelatin using nectarine juice (from canned nectarines) following Zoë's recipe exactly (you can find it here). It turned out really well- it was plenty jello-y, rivaling the boxed variety just fine. The recipe calls for orange juice concentrate and I happened to have some left over from when company was here, but I thought the orange flavor over-powered the nectarine flavor a bit. Next time, I'll try it without the concentrate. Her recipe also suggested adding chopped fruit, which I didn't do, but that addition would have made it healthier and all-round yummier.
So, what do you do with the leftover juice?
I know I'm going to learn a thing or two from you all. I always do:-). Pin It
I am curious to see how others use their juice as well. I can my peaches in just water, so I'm left with a light peachy flavored liquid that I've frozen for a future use that I haven't determined yet. I figure there must be something good it can be used for!
ReplyDeleteI've been putting my peach juice in the freezer and saving it to add to iced this summer for peach tea. I make the extra light syrup also so it adds just a bit of sweetness to the iced tea.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I don't use syrup when I can just real sugar. After seeing this post i will make jelly with our left over juice!! Never thought of that!! I guess I will just add pectin and see how it goes!:) thanks!!
ReplyDeleteI can raspberries just so my husband can have the juice! (Using a very light syrup, of course.) I really like Tara's idea of adding left over juice to iced tea . . . that's my beverage of choice and I admit I do always sweeten mine with a smidge of our honey. As for the juice from other canned fruits, when I serve them with breakfast or as a dessert, I put the fruit AND juice in the dish and we consume the juice right along with the fruit. I can understand how that might be a little more difficult when serving small children though. (Oops, drop, slop, spill.)
ReplyDeleteWe live in the tropics, and in an area where ice cream and sherbet are rare treats. We save the sweetened juice from all of our canned fruits in the freezer, and when we have enough we mix it with condensed milk and freeze (stirring often) to make a fruity ice cream sort of thing. I'm not sure anyone else would appreciate this (and sorry, we don't have a recipe, we just sort of wing it), but when you're sufficiently ice cream deprived, this seems really good!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea!!! What fun it would be to make with our granddaughters. Thank you for sharing.
DeleteBrilliant! I always pour it down the drain much to my children's dismay. These are great ideas. Maybe mix it with yogurt and the last couple of peach slices that they always fight over and put it in popsicle molds?
ReplyDeleteI had a coworker who always made jelly with her leftover cherry juice. It was fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI guess I've never thought about what to do with it. Unless somebody sneaks in to drink it, I dump it. Now I think I'll make some jelly or jello. At least it's real fruit juice and not just a flavor.
ReplyDeleteI've tried it with just a touch of the oj concentrate and thought it was a bit bland. Then again, I love the fake flavored jellos so I like a bit more of a powerful flavor...or else I'd probably give in and make the fake stuff :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you guys liked the jello! We also occasionally water down the juice and then drink it. I figure the sugar is at least being spread out over a longer period then being consumed all at once :)
Great idea! I need to use up the pears I canned last summer to clear out some space for this canning season. I see pear cobbler and pear jell-o in this weekends to-do list!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I am a pharmacist too. I really appreciate that there are others in the medical community that also value saving money, natural eating and growing your own food! Thanks for the inspiration!
Ours becomes popsicles.
ReplyDeleteMy friend freezes it in ice cube trays. A cold glass of water with one of the syrup cubes tastes lovely on a hot day or any day for that matter.
ReplyDeleteI use the light syrup from canned fruits in our oatmeal instead of water.
ReplyDeleteI don't add any sugar when canning peaches and pears, just water, so the juice is just juice, and everyone in the family always wants some in the bowl with the fruit. I never have any left over to worry about!
ReplyDeleteSince my sole reason for canning peaches is to make cobbler from Oct through May I just use the light syrup as part of the liquid in the fruit base. For the canned pears the juice just replaces water when making gelatin salads and desserts. The juice left over from the store bought canned pineapple slices "canned in it's own juice", I have used to make popsicles with mashed banana and yogurt. Crushed pineapple I don't drain, just use as is in the recipe.
ReplyDeletethat Zoe!! She inspired me, too, and I made jello-cups for the kids' lunchboxes. Blogged here:
ReplyDeletehttp://thriftathome.blogspot.com/2013/03/homemade-jello-cups-for-lunchbox.html
I did not use the OJ concentrate and the kids adored them, but I haven't actually tasted them yet. It's so nice to have a special treat to put in their lunches!
We have a soda stream, we use it for making "soda". You can just pick up a bottle of club soda and do the same thing.
ReplyDeleteWe make popsicles with the juice. Sometimes I add fresh or canned fruit, too. My kids love them.
ReplyDelete