When jellies go bad

A pressed glass jelly mould - how excited was I? I've been waiting to get my hands on one of these for a little while, for many reasons. Not least, the capacity of my offspring to consume jelly and a slight obsession with the feats of Bompass and Parr.

Hubby made the first one - it was not a success. It tasted fine, but refused to unmould. I doubted his reading of the packet and thought he had put too much water in the mix. So I did one. I even consulted the google oracle for advice on freeing my creation (which ranged from greasing the mould lightly, to wetting it before pouring the jelly in and dunking in hot water baths). I should have heard alarm bells ringing when I read the fateful words 'glass moulds can be a little tricky'.

Slice of jellied slug, anyone?

"...If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same..."

No wonder glass jelly moulds are not that uncommon - nobody actually wants them, because they are such a swine to use. But they are pretty. So it can stay.

Unlike other items, which will be tucked away for the next car boot sale - thanks so much for your advice, by the way. It was a surprisingly fun morning, in spite of the early start. Even after sharing my profits with the offspring (who provided the majority of my inventory in outgrown toys, clothes and equipment) I have a nice pile of spending money. Easy to see how going along becomes addictive - I'm mentally pricing all the under-used items in the house! Maybe next year.

Comments

[painted fish studio]

the mould is so, so pretty, though! well, and so is the jelly despite its shape.

(i keep reading about these great car boot sales... we don't have them here and i really feel like i'm missing out!)

[Alice C]

What about that spray from Lakeland that is called something like "Instant release from cake tins even the sort of cake tins that have got tricky bits". Would that work?

[Gina]

The jelly mould does look rather beautiful and there's nothing wrong with spooning it out!

[Scented Sweetpeas]

I think it looks like a perfect slug :-)

[Jane]

We had a glass jelly mould shped like a rabbit when we were small - I can still remember my mother's cries of anquish as it's ears parted company with it's body. Worked better with blancmange and milk jelly, but those are totally exstinct food-stuffs now I think.
Terrific colour, isn't it?

[Lisa]

Glad all went well at the boot sale.
Somethings just need to look pretty and not be used!
Lisa x

[PinkCat]

Such a gorgeous mould. I thinkt hat some things are just meant to be admired and not put to use.

I think I'm going to head out to M&S and look for some jelly this lunchtime! x

[Amanda]

We had a stack of plastic jelly moulds that ended up as sandpit toys because of the shapeless jelly mess they produced - so it isn't just glass! And yours does look very pretty.

[dottycookie]

My mum used to have a tin rabbit mould and I had visions of a pink strawberry bunny on a bed of chopped green jelly to represent grass. I could never understand why she wasn't always making us shaped jellies insted of the set-in-a-bowl type. Now it all becomes painfully clear.

[Monica]

ah use it as a 'pretty thing' instead.

(slug jelly... made me laugh...)

[Amaranthine]

I love the title of this post. I was imagining wild jellies, armed with sharp knives and mystery powers, running amok through the house a terrorising the incumbents. I had me chuckling for ages. Better luck with the mould next time.

[harmonyandrosie]

Sorry to sound like a know-it-all but you do need to put water into the mould first and then tip it out. Once you've inverted your set jelly onto the plate, shake it gently from side to side (not up and down) to release the vacuum - that should do it.

Love your mould, it'd be a shame not to be able to use it.

Kate

[kristina]

The mold beautiful and will look lovely on display even if it isn't ideal for actual jelly-making!

I've never used a glass one before. I wonder what Bompass and Parr recommend?

K x

[Julie]

I love glass jelly moulds and have a few that I inherited from my Gran but like you I've found that they aren't happy at giving up their jellified contents and so mine just get used as bowls. It's a shame though isn't it as they look so promising with their curvy indentations. Glad the boot sale went well - it's always satisfying turning up with a load of un-wanted stuff and coming away with cash - have fun choosing what to spend it on!

[Sharon James]

I've found that I've had reasonable results from wetting the mould first,easing back the set edges with my fingers before dipping the mould in warm water, inverting onto to plate and then gently shaking. It helps if the jelly is really firm and not too wobbly.

[Sarah]

My mum and I have always used this particular mould and it always worked beautifully. Sometimes a quick dip in some water to release it was needed.

However, it never works now. If you do manage to get it out without melting it, it does not stand proud and flops.

My mum and I both agree that they have changed the recipe and we now use one and a half packets to the pint.

[domestikate]

Uh-oh! I'm sure your boys don't mind, at least. And it's so pretty I think you should just use it as a jelly serving bowl!

[Debbie]

Hi I use the old metal ones amd they come out well. However I also use vegetarian jelly maybe that might make a difference.

[suzie sews at Dotty Red]

Mmmmm I have collected a few of these. Erm good to know I am not the only one with jelly failure...

[Tania]

It'd make a beautiful lamp shade - all glittery and jelly mould like. I admit I'm trying to think laterally here - to help it stay. Can't tell you how relieved I am. I was so sure you were going to tell me it broke into a kazillion pieces...