Kanten contains a sea vegetable called agar agar, which makes liquids set like Jell-O. This works well with any kind of berry, or use a combination of berries if you like. Superheroes can have kanten 3 or 4 times a week, and it will last about 4 days in the fridge.
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
1 Pint fresh or 1 cup frozen and thawed strawberries (or any berry of your choosing)
4 cups apple juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
Pinch of fine sea salt
3 generous tablespoons agar agar
A few drops ginger juice (grate a one-inch piece of ginger and use your fingers to squeeze out the juice)
Instructions
Slice the berries thinly, and arrange them in an 8” x 8” heatproof glass dish or baking dish.
Combine the apple juice and orange juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the salt and the agar agar. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often to make sure the agar agar doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Simmer until all the agar agar has dissolved. (If it doesn’t dissolve completely, it will make little lumps in your kanten.) Stir in the ginger juice and pour over the berries.
Allow the kanten to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate, uncovered, until chilled and set, about 2 hours. The kanten is now ready to serve. You can cover and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Variations
You can make this with any kind of juice you like, including peach, apricot, or pear. A combination I especially like is peach juice with fresh apricots and blueberries. Because apricots are only around 1 month of the year, I try to use them in all sorts of dishes. They are my favorite!
To make a lovely fruit pudding, increase agar agar to 4 tablespoons, let the kanten set completely, and then whiz it all in a blender with 1 tablespoon tahini. Serve in a wine glass!
