Here’s a light, summery dessert that will dress up any picnic table and not blow your diet.
I used a white grape/peach 100% juice blend and added agar to create a healthy, updated “Jell-O” mold. The red, white, and blue layers are also 100% fruit–and 100% adaptable.
Feel free to use your favorite combination of fruits, though some, such as kiwi, pineapple, fresh figs, papaya, mango, and peaches, contain enzymes which break down the gelling ability of agar (cooking the fruit sometimes may solve this problem).
Strawberries and blueberries are among the most antioxidant-rich foods; blueberries especially have been proven to do everything from improving night vision to fighting cancer to lowering cholesterol!
Inspiration for this delicious dessert came from Berry and Banana Terrine at Simply Recipes.
Red White and Blue Fruit Terrine
Ingredients
- 2 cups white grape-peach juice (or juice of choice)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon agar powder
- 2 tablespoon agave nectar (optional–use only if your fruit is not very sweet))
- 10 ounces strawberries
- 2 bananas
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries
Instructions
- Put one cup of the juice in a saucepan, and sprinkle the agar over it and allow it to soften for a few minutes. Then, heat on medium-high, stirring, until the agar is completely dissolved and the juice begins to boil. Stir in the remaining juice and the agave (optional) and remove from heat.
- Allow the agar mixture to cool slightly while you prepare the fruit. Be sure to stir the juice every minute or so.
- Remove the stems from the strawberries and slice them lengthwise. Place them on the bottom of a loaf pan, prettiest sides down. Slice the bananas and place them on top of the strawberries. Put the blueberries in an even layer on top of the bananas.
- Gently pour the juice mixture evenly over the berries. It will start to jell immediately, so work from side to side to make sure it’s distributed evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled and jelled. Invert over a platter to serve (you may need to lower the pan into a large bowl of hot water to loosen the edges and run a knife along the inside of the mold.)
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Lesley
I just made this yesterday as a treat at a summer dessert party, and it turned out absolutely perfectly! Looked exactly like the picture! And it was delicious! I have to admit though, I’m simply not a big fan of bananas in desserts. Could you recommend something to replace the bananas with that won’t interact negatively with the agar?
SusanV
If you’re trying to keep the red-white-and-blue theme, apples could be used instead of bananas. If not, you could really use any fruit you like. I think peaches would be delicious.
Susan B
I am wondering whether I could use a clear trifle dish instead of the loaf pan- I wouldn’t plan on ‘unmoding’ it- just serving directly from the trifle dish, What are your thoughts- do you think I’d have any issue with it setting properly? Thanks!
SusanV
I think that would be beautiful and would set with no worries at all. Hope you enjoy it!
Paula Fredrikson
I checked my local health food store for Agar yesterday and they didn’t have it. Would Whole Foods? or do I need to go to a specialty market? Thanks!
SusanV
I’m sure Whole Foods would have agar in some form, but if you have an Asian grocery store nearby, it will probably be much, much cheaper there. I buy it in little packets under a brand called “Telephone.” There’s a picture of a packet in one of the photos on this post.
Paige
I just want to say thank you! I made this for our 4th of July party and it was a big hit. My husband and I are finishing our first six weeks of the ETL program and I needed a dessert that would fit the plan and please our guests. I got so many requests for this recipe that I posted the link on my Facebook wall.
I thought the jelly, which I made with Trader Joe’s organic white grape juice, was delicious – good enough to eat on its own.
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Alex
I used the fruits and gelled some blended strawberries (with a dash of OJ to help blend) and put them in a freshly baked healthy pie crust from http://www.asksasha.com/Healthy-Cooking/Healthy-Easy-Pie-Crust-Recipe.html and the result was spectacular. Now I have a special treat that isn’t all that bad to serve my toddler on her birthday – I prefer the graham cracker crust and fruit to cake myself!
Gabriel
Except now you’ve added half a cup of OIL to a perfectly healthy recipe.
LS
I have a package of vegan “unflavored jel dessert” from Natural Desserts – do you think I could use this in place of the agar?
http://nutradrinkco.com/natural.htm
Susan Voisin
It might work, but I think you’d be safer if you followed the package directions and added the fruit to it.
kimia
I have guests in 2 days and want to make this dessert but strawberries would be too expensive can you recamend something eals?
Susan Voisin
You can use almost any fruit you want. How about watermelon? Just be sure to drain it well after cutting so that it doesn’t make it too wet.
kimia
hi thanks for your help
will the watermelon hold ?
Alyssa R
Hi Susan, Do you know how long it takes to set? I’ve had mine in the fridge for four hours and it is still liquid-y. Wondering if maybe I didn’t make the agar-apple juice jel right?
Susan Voisin
I’m sorry to tell you but if it hasn’t set by now, it isn’t going to. Agar will start to set while it’s still hot and should be completely set within an hour or two. I wonder if your agar powder wasn’t as strong as mine. I can’t think of any thing you could do wrong, so it’s probably the agar itself. 🙁
Myrt Fredrickson
What is agave????
Katie
Hi Susan,
I followed your receip to the T but used a combination of store bought mango, papaya juice. It came out good, I won’t say great because it didn’t gel very firmly, it was still loose and when I cut it, everything kinda fell apart. Should I be using the same juice your recipe calls for, or increase the amount of agar for a firmer texture? Please advise.
Thanks.
Susan Voisin
The enzymes in raw pineapple, fresh figs, papaya, mango and peaches decrease agar’s. gel-ability, so I’m afraid your choice of juice caused the problem. I would change juices because even with increased agar, it might not hold it’s shape for cutting.
Katie
Can this be made using soy milk?
Susan Voisin
I don’t see why not.
Vicky
Fabulous recipe Susan, pinned for later (I think I will share on my Gluten Free Afternoon Tea FB Page too!)