Juicy Edible Gelatin Dots
1-3 hours
Ages 8+
What Will You Learn?
Modernist cooks sometimes call these little beads of gelatin “caviar” because they look like clumps of fish eggs, but you can make them any flavor you like. Fruit juice, herbal tea, almond milk, root beer — try different liquids and think up ways to use them in gel dot form.
Preparation
Step 1
For best results, be sure to chill a jar of oil before you start. Fill a tall wide-mouth jar or drinking glass with oil, leaving some space at the top. Cover the jar and chill the oil in the refrigerator overnight or in the freezer for an hour.
Mix the Gelatin
Step 2
In a medium bowl, stir the gelatin into the cold water until it is smooth. Let the mixture stand and solidify.
Step 3
Meanwhile, in a small microwave safe container, heat the juice on high for 25 seconds until it is hot but not boiling. Heat again for 5-10 seconds if necessary.
Step 4
Carefully pour the hot juice over the set gelatin mixture.
Step 5
Break up the gel with the spoon and stir until the gelatin is completely melted. Let it cool for several minutes until it is warm but not scalding hot.
Step 6
While you’re waiting, prepare a bowl of ice water to keep the jar of oil cold when you take it out of the refrigerator.
Step 7
You can also practice using the squeeze bottle with a little water so that only a drop or two comes out at a time.
Make the Dots
Step 8
Pour the warm gelatin into the squeeze bottle.
Step 9
Put the jar of chilled oil in the bowl of ice water and remove the lid.
Step 10
Slowly let three or four drops of gelatin flow out of the bottle into the oil, one of top of the other. The drops should stick together to form a ball and begin to sink to the bottom of the oil. Don’t make the dots too big, or they will flatten when they hit the bottom of the bottle. It may take you a few tries to get them just right.
Step 11
Continue making little gel spheres until you run out of the gelatin mixture. Do them all at once, because after a while the gel will start to harden in the bottle. If that happens, rinse out the bottle using hot water, mix up another batch of gelatin, and start again. Make sure there is no gelatin stuck in the nozzle.
Serve/Store the Dots
Step 12
As the oil jar fills up, use a spoon to scoop out the dots. Transfer them to a strainer to drain.
Step 13
To serve the dots right away, rinse off the last bit of oil with cold water.
Step 14
To store the dots for later, place them in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Cover them with a little more oil if needed to keep them fresh, and rinse them right before using.
Step 15
Serve the dots as a salad garnish or an ice cream topping, or plop them into a glass of soda and watch them bob up and down with the bubbles.
What's Next?
Variation: Amaze your friends with a little science trick! Make some grape juice dots and put half of them into a glass of water mixed with a teaspoon of baking soda. Slip the other half into some lemonade or lemon-lime soda. After a little while the baking soda dots will turn deep blue, and the lemony dots will become reddish. That’s because of a chemical reaction between a substance found in grapes that changes color when it comes into contact with acid (from lemon juice) or bases (like baking soda). Try switching some of the dots to the opposite glass to see how long it takes for them to reverse colors. Science!
[Warning] Chemical Enemies
Although you can experiment with any kind of flavoring or ingredient in modern cuisine, avoid using pineapple and gelatin together. The pineapple has certain chemical enzymes that will break down the molecular bonds holding the gelatin together and turn it into runny goop. If you’re curious, try it yourself: take a bowl of gelatin, add some pineapple, and watch it dissolve. Chemistry in action!
About the Book
With Edible Inventions by Kathy Ceceri, learn to make (and hack!) all of the delicious foods you already love to eat while discovering new methods for cooking them. Explore chemical cuisine, recipe hacks, growing your own food, cooking off the grid, and working with — and building — your own crazy gadgets.
Learn the history of breakfast cereal and then make your own. You can even bottle your own ketchup, made just the way you like it. Of course, you can also concoct your own applesauce, French fries, cakes, pickles, yogurt, and hummus!
But before you cook, learn how to grow your own ingredients — in winter or summer. You’ll even discover how to coax zombie plants back to life (and then eat them)!
Materials:
- 2-3 cups vegetable oil
- 4 teaspoons (20ml) powdered unflavored gelatin (or two 1/4 oz. packages)
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) cold water
- 3 fluid ounces (ml) juice or other liquid
Tools:
- Food-grade squeeze bottle
- Strainer
- Tall wide-mouth jar or drinking glass
- Microwave safe container
- Bowl of Ice
Maker Camp Project Standards
Based on NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.Structure and Properties of Matter
- Grades K-2
- 2-PS1-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
- 2-PS1-2. Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.
- 2-PS1-3. Make observations to construct an evidence-based account of how an object made of a small set of pieces can be disassembled and made into a new object.
- 2-PS1-4. Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.
- Grades 3-5
- 5-PS1-1. Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
- 5-PS1-2. Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved.
- 5-PS1-3. Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
- 5-PS1-4. Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.
- Middle School
- MS-PS1-1. Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
- MS-PS1-3. Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
- MS-PS1-4. Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
- High School
- HS-PS1-1. Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.
- HS-PS1-3. Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between particles.
- HS-PS1-8. Develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.
- HS-PS2-6. Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials.
Chemical Reactions
- Middle School
- MS-PS1-2. Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
- MS-PS1-5. Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.
- MS-PS1-6. Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.
- High School
- HS-PS1-2. Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.
- HS-PS1-4. Develop a model to illustrate that the release or absorption of energy from a chemical reaction system depends upon the changes in total bond energy.
- HS-PS1-5. Apply scientific principles and evidence to provide an explanation about the effects of changing the temperature or concentration of the reacting particles on the rate at which a reaction occurs.
- HS-PS1-6. Refine the design of a chemical system by specifying a change in conditions that would produce increased amounts of products at equilibrium.
- HS-PS1-7. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction.
NGSS MS.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
- MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- MS-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
- MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
NGSS HS.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- HS-ETS1-1. Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
- HS-ETS1-2. Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
- HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
- HS-ETS1-4. Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.
NGSS 3-5.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- 3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
- 3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- 3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
