Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Put the measured fresh juice and filtered water in a medium stainless-steel saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the cool liquid. Leave for about five minutes so the grains swell and soften.
- Set the pan over medium-low heat and stir until the gelatin grains have dissolved and the liquid starts to steam. Remove from the heat without letting it boil. Fresh juice can stay naturally cloudy; look for undissolved grains rather than expecting crystal-clear liquid.
- Let the base cool to room temperature while it is still liquid and pourable. Stir in the measured raw honey until it is evenly mixed. Taste and add a little more honey if you want a sweeter batch. Keep the honey off the burner.
- Pour into an 8-by-8-inch heat-safe dish. Refrigerate for about five hours, until the center is firm with no loose liquid beneath the surface. Wait for that firm gel before starting the mixer.
- Spoon the firm gelatin into a stand-mixer bowl. Fit the whisk attachment and whip for the full twenty minutes, until the gel becomes paler, light and fluffy. Follow the mixer's operating and capacity instructions for the long whipping stage.
- Spread the whipped mixture evenly in an 11-by-7-inch freezer-safe dish. Cover and freeze for about three hours, until it is firm enough to cut into cubes with clean edges.
- Cut the frozen mixture into cubes. Serve plain or add optional fresh berries and mint that you already tolerate. Keep the remaining cubes covered in the freezer.
Notes
Choose one juice: Lemon is the default. Use the listed juice amount from one freshly squeezed or pressed fruit: lemon, apple, orange or cranberry. Keep the water, honey and gelatin amounts unchanged. Do not combine flavors or use a sweetened juice drink. Optional berries and mint are only serving garnishes.
Honey: Bloom and dissolve the gelatin with juice and water first. Take the pan off the heat and cool the still-liquid base before stirring in the measured raw honey. Add a little more to taste before the first refrigerator set only if desired. Keep honey off the burner.
Timing: The base plan is eight hours and thirty-five minutes: twenty-five minutes preparation and whipping, ten minutes for the warming stage, five hours in the refrigerator and three hours freezing. Allow extra time for fresh juicing, cooling before honey and any longer setting time. The warming allowance is not ten minutes on the burner: stop once the grains dissolve and the liquid starts steaming.
Texture: Start the mixer only when the first gel is firm in the center, with no loose liquid beneath it. Use the stand-mixer whisk for the full twenty minutes, following the appliance's operating and capacity instructions, until paler and fluffy. A blender or food processor is not this method. The final freezer set makes cubes with clean cut edges. Juice color affects the finished color.
Yield and scaling: One batch fills one 11-by-7-inch pan; cube count depends on how you cut it. At 2×, divide each doubled ingredient evenly between two batches before starting and follow the method for each. Use two of each listed dish and allow the full twenty-minute whip for each batch within mixer capacity. The base schedule is for one batch; two can take longer.
Full GAPS: Use after the included fruit and sweet foods are introduced and tolerated, not during Intro. Fruit and sweet treats are snacks between meals and do not replace the main foods of the diet. At a direct Full GAPS start, keep fruit and desserts out for the first few weeks; when digestive symptoms are gone or reduced substantially, introduce small amounts gradually and watch for returning symptoms. Honey is limited in the initial stages. The plain recipe has no dairy, eggs or nuts added; optional garnishes need their own introduction. If diarrhea or abdominal pain is present, avoid fruit initially. Introduce cooked fruit gradually as diarrhea settles, then raw fruit after stools are consistently normal. For berries, wait until diarrhea has cleared completely and abdominal pain is absent, introduce cooked berries first, then raw only when cooked berries are tolerated. Apply this to cranberry juice and the optional fresh berry garnish. Choose ripe fruit.
Storage: Refrigerate the cooled mixture promptly at 40°F (4°C) or below. Keep perishable food out for no more than two hours, or one hour above 90°F (32°C). Keep finished cubes tightly covered in the freezer at 0°F (-18°C) or below and use within about three days. Serve cold and leave unserved cubes frozen.