Immunity gummies recipe
This is something I love to make when the fruit bowl is looking a little tired. Half-eaten apples, wild roadside plums, slightly soft nectarines. Basically anything that can be stewed. I add a handful of frozen elderberries too. I pick them in season and stash containers away for moments like this, though dried elderberries would work just as well.
Add in a handful of medicinal herbs from the garden and it edges into the glorious territory of kitchen folk medicine, the kind our grandmother’s grandmother might have made. They’re simple, adaptable, and a deeply satisfying way of using up scungy fruit while creating something nourishing from food that might otherwise have ended up in the compost.
Ingredients:
For the fruit base
• About 2 cups chopped fruit (apples, plums, stone fruit, pears, berries, whatever needs using)
• A handful of elderberries, optional
• 1 to 2 cups strong herbal tea, see below
• Raw honey, to taste
For the herbal tea
Use what you have growing. This time I used:
• Thyme
• Sage
• Oregano
Brew a strong pot, stronger than you would drink.
You could substitute many other herbs or spices such as rosemary, lemon balm, echinacea, ginger, cinnamon, or cloves.
For the gelatin
• 3 tablespoons (30g) gelatin powder
• ½ cup cool water
Method:
Make the tea
Brew a strong pot of immune-supporting herbs. Let it steep well while you prepare the fruit.
Prepare the fruit
Remove all stones, pips, and seeds. Chop roughly.
Stew
Place the fruit and elderberries, if using, in a saucepan. Strain the tea and pour enough over the fruit to just cover it. Simmer gently until soft and collapsing.
Blend
Allow to cool slightly. Blend most or all of the fruit mixture into a smooth purée. Measure how much purée you have. This recipe assumes roughly 2 cups.
Sweeten
Stir in honey to taste. Remember that once chilled, gummies taste less sweet. Make it slightly sweeter than you think you need.
Note: I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so adjust to your own preference.
Bloom the gelatin
In a separate bowl, sprinkle 3 tablespoons gelatin over ½ cup cool water. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until thick and sponge-like.
Combine
Gently rewarm the fruit purée. Do not boil. Stir in the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved.
Set
Pour into a Pyrex container or silicone moulds. Refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours until firm.
Store
Cut into squares or pop from moulds. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
Notes:
• Ratio guide: For every 1 cup fruit purée, use 1½ tablespoons (15g) gelatin.
• You can mix fruits freely. The flavour will change each time.
• If your fruit is very tart, add a little extra honey.
• Store for up to one week in the fridge
