Something very special happened on our instagram account (@jetchillsystems) last month. We’re always searching for innovative drinks ideas, new trends and the best cocktails in the world. We reblogged a pretty innocuous video from Insider Magazine about Jello Cups (actual edible cocktail cups made from gelatine) and you guys went crazy. We had over 200,000 views in 48 hours!
Now… social media is a pretty good indicator of new trends. If people like something, it’s very easy for them so show that appreciation through a like, comment or tag. Given that you can upload imagery and videos instantly, you have a very quick feedback system of what concepts are going to be a hit.
With this in mind, we thought we ought to show you exactly how this concept is done so you can be the first in your area to create that social media buzz.
Step 1: Preparing Ingredients & Equipment
We’ve put together a little shopping list for you so you can quickly grab all the things you need:
- Kettle or Hob to heat Water
- Measuring Jug
- Pack of Gelatine
- Pack of Commercial Jelly (Flavoured)
- 2 Solo Cups (different sizes)
- Long Metal Straw, Skewer or Bar Spoon
- Edible Glitter (optional)
Step 2: Melting the Gelatine
Commercial dessert jelly isn’t strong enough to support the shape of a cup so the bulk of the cup needs to be made up of gelatine. We recommend leaves of gelatine as they tend to clump less than the powder and don’t therefore create a lumpy texture.
The gelatine leaves need to be soaked in cold water for 5 minutes and then drained of water once they’ve ‘bloomed’. You can then add them to boiling water in the ratio of one sheet to 50–60ml water. Try a few different quantities as the correct amount will vary depending on the gelatine grade and size of sheet in your country. This ratio should let the jelly set nice and hard when cooled.
Step 4: Adding Flavour/Colour
Gelatine by itself isn’t particularly exciting in visual or flavour terms, fortunately we can add some flavoured jelly crystals (and some edible glitter) to add both those elements. We added 25g of jelly with 1g of Gold Glitter to our mix.
Step 5: Preparing the Cups
You’ll need 2 different sizes of cups in order to create the right size mould for your jello cup. We chose a red Solo cup (because it’s heat resistant) and a water cooler cup. You’ll need to suspend the smaller cup in order to create base of jelly for the bottom of your cup. We punched a hole with an ice-pick and used a copper straw threaded through to act as a support. If you don’t have access to a bar’s worth of tools you can always just use a meat skewer.
Step 6: Adding water to inner cup
It’s a good idea to add cool water at this point to the inner cup because this will help the jelly set quicker and also maintain the shape of the inner cup when the gelatine mix is poured in.
Step 7: Adding Jello Mix
Pour the jelly into the outer cup and fill to just below the top of the rim. Unlike ice, jello doesn’t expand when solid so you shouldn’t need to worry about any overflow. It’s also a good idea at this point to add some weights to your skewer to prevent the inner cup from moving about. You also use tape, an elastic band or anything else you can find lying around.
Step 8: Chill
You can chill in both senses because it’ll take around 8 hours for the gelatine to set and form your jello cups. We recommend a fridge around 4*c and try not to disturb the cups while they set — the last thing you want is jelly all over the bottom of your fridge.
Step 9: Enjoy
All you have to do now is break open your cups (carefully crack the plastic to avoid upsetting the mold) and you’re good to go!
We recommend fruity frozen cocktails to go inside your cups but you can serve them with just about anything :D
