Strawberry Jujubes

The classic sticky candy called jujubes are engraved in American culture both because they're delicious and also because one too many kids (or adults) have gotten them stuck in their teeth, possibly causing a trip to the dentist. Our easier-to-chew version resembles a gummy somewhat but it still reminds of the little drops that many of us enjoyed at the movie theater. For these strawberry drops, you'll need just four ingredients, three for the candy and sugar to coat the finished product. Great when in need of a sugary treat that's not overwhelmingly so, these naturally-flavored gummies make also pretty gifts. Our gelatin-based candy is made with strawberry puree, but raspberry or blackberry can be used as well. This recipe is prepared and cooks in just 10 minutes, but allowing the candy to set for 12 to 24 hours is recommended, so don't rush the process and plan ahead if you need the jujubes for an event or party.

For the strawberry puree, you simply need to blend fresh strawberries at high-speed, which is also a great way of using strawberries that are healthy enough to eat but perhaps a little soft to enjoy whole. If you have a bounty of summer strawberries, this is a great recipe for putting them to good use. To make the jujubes, you need two and a half cups of strawberry puree, which comes down to blending approximately 40 large strawberries (16 large strawberries will yield a cup of fruit puree). You might need more or less, but that depends on how large the berries are and how much water they contain. A pound of big strawberries contains around 10 to 12 berries or 20 to 25 small ones. Many fruit puree recipes contain sugar, but you don't need to add any here because the recipe for the jujubes accounts for that. Besides the puree, you need unflavored powdered gelatin and not sheets, as the powder dissolves more easily compared to the sheets.

You can choose to pour the mixture into mini gum molds or to make a whole sheet of jujube that you can cut later with wetted tools and shapes. They're both terrific. Once the candies are set, you simply need to roll them in sugar and keep them at room temperature, covered. And of course, eat them by the handful because they're simply delicious.