Blackberry-Wine Gelatin, aka, Yuppie Jello Shots

My friend recently became vegan and since then, making desserts that she can eat has required a little more creativity than it did in the past. She likes fruit, but not in sorbet, pie or tart form. She just took an important exam and I wanted to make something to bring over to her place, but knew that this would require some planning. My first thoughts were of Chocolate and Zucchini’s Chocolate Jelly with Pineapple and Violet, but I wasn’t sure if chocolate was vegan, since it has sugar and refined cane sugar is processed with charcoal made from animal bones. (Who knew?)

I then started thinking about the box of blueberries that I got at the dollar store the week before and a recipe from Martha Stewart several years back with gelatin and berries. Gelatin’s not vegan either, but agar is… After extensive web searching and then a final trip to my bookshelf to locate the original magazine, I decided to go with something else! Haha.

Grad students like wine. I had seen some blackberries at the dollar store… everything was falling into place.

One difference between agar and gelatin is that agar dissolves at a higher temperature than gelatin. I read this before cooking up the recipe, but didn’t really absorb the information until I got to one of the final steps of the recipe that involved pouring the hot wine and berry mixture into the agar mixture. The agar didn’t completely dissolve and I had to attempt to pour the mix back into the pot and melt it down. Fortunately the berries held together, but things were looking a little soggy. It made it into the mold and sliced pretty easily once solidified.

I wasn’t sure what to call it when people asked, because it’s not really gelatin or jello, and “agar” doesn’t really sound that appealing. I guess “jelly” might be appropriate. Who knows. Anyhow, they turned out nice, but maybe a little too solid. I am already envisioning those cute silicon ice cube trays in different shapes, blueberries, and different colors, but maybe I should just stop obsessing… hahaha, just kidding!

My friend liked them, and tried to get a buzz off the leftovers, to no avail, since there was only a half cup of wine in the whole batch. I guess that makes the recipe a success, unless you are actually trying to make an effective jello-shot. I wasn't going for that, or the "yuppie" portion of the subtitle, so I think everything worked out.