Today I have a recipe for you that is both a guilt-free dessert and a basic recipe suitable for many variations: the kanten.

Kanten is a Japanese term used in macrobiotics to identify the jelly obtained with agar agar. Or by extension, a vegan jelly.

This is a recipe of extreme simplicity, of which I present to you today the version obtained with only apple juice and agar agar, a basic recipe for many recipes, usually with added fruit (chopped or blended).

In the past, I have already talked to you about agar agar in this article dedicated to vegan desserts. There I gave you general information and general dosages because it can be used with different dosages to obtain jellies of different consistencies. In fact, this basic recipe that I’m telling you about today was initially used as a test recipe, to learn how to dose the amount of agar agar depending on the recipe to be made, or the type of jelly to be obtained (if more or less firm, if more or less gelatinous).

I confess that I feel sympathy for those who are not familiar with agar agar 😊 at first, I felt completely incapable, so much so that I kept postponing its use indefinitely. Only to then discover that it is enough to try a couple of times to understand that, really, it is much easier to use than it seems. Something that often happens in the kitchen!

So. Being this a basic recipe, I will not go into further explanations, which I will give you from time to time in future recipes (i.e., recipes with agar agar).

For kanten, the variations on the theme are many, from the “smooth” one (like in this recipe) to the one with added fruit, from the blended one transformed into mousse, to… well, there is a whole world to discover, 🤩 so, as they say, stay tuned!

In the meantime, read this simple recipe and you’re already halfway there. 😊

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For now, with agar agar, I have made this Halloween recipe, really well done: 😉👇

Radioactive Jelly, Halloween Idea!!

Difficulty: Very Easy
Cost: Economical
Rest time: 1 Hour
Preparation time: 1 Minute
Portions: 2
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Healthy
Seasonality: All Seasons

Ingredients

1 cup apple juice (or other fruit juice)
1.5 g agar agar (powdered, 1 sachet)

Tools

Saucepan
Fork
Small Bowls
Chopper

Steps

Heat the apple juice in a saucepan.
Pour the powdered agar agar into the juice.
Bring to a boil, stirring continuously with a fork.
When it starts to boil, lower the heat and simmer gently for about 3 minutes.
👉 The boiling time I found in various recipes I consulted is variable; some say 1 minute, others 7 minutes. I followed the instructions on the package of agar agar (in sachets) I bought, which stated 3 minutes.
After the boiling minutes, turn off the heat and let the liquid cool slightly.
👉 To speed up cooling, pour the liquid into small bowls, glasses, or other containers.
Once the liquid is lukewarm, transfer the container(s) to the fridge for at least half an hour, or until it has solidified.
👉 As already specified in this article, I remind you that agar agar acts below 104°F, so the fridge step ensures and accelerates the process.
Look at how beautiful the jelly is! I think it looks lovely. 🙂
Once gelatinized, this jelly is great as a dessert, or it can be sliced or cubed to be used in other recipes.
Or it can be blended.
In this last case, by blending it with a kitchen robot, the consistency of the jelly will become more creamy and can be used for spoon desserts.
👉 One more piece of information that I hope will be useful to you: in the challenging daily task I have of feeding a sick elderly person, I feel compelled to recommend using this blended jelly as a thickener for soups and sweet porridges, or as a mousse for snack time, for the elderly and children (still suitable for everyone).
I owe a large part of the things I learned about kanten and its variations to the book Good and Healthy Desserts by Dealma Franceschetti, ed. Macro. I put the link because it’s a book that really deserves it.
(I had already mentioned it in the recipe for vegan pumpkin cookies, do you remember? 😉).