I love the "Colors of the the Rainbow Contest!"

My entry this year: Sweet fruit marbles!

That's right! Sweet fruit marbles! These are really easy to make and all you need is fruit, water, sugar and agar.

What's agar? It's a gelatinous substance that is extracted from seaweed and processed into flakes, powders and sheets...if it sounds gross, don't worry. It is tasteless and odorless.

It's better than gelatin too because, it's more transparent, has a better texture and it doesn't need to be chilled in the fridge to form. Really, even if it's hot, agar won't melt. It's also vegetarian friendly.

Make these!

These are delicious, but be carful! These are a choking hazard for young kids.

Supplies

Tools

-Ice cube tray

-Mixing bowl

-Whisk

-Measuring cup

-Saucepan

-Stovetop

IngredientsFOR 20 BALLS

-Fresh fruit

-400ml of water

-Agar 15g

-40g of granulated sugar

Step 1: Ice Cube Trays

To make "balls," you'll need this type of 2 piece tray. It's rigid plastic and you'll add the fruit followed by the agar liquid and then the top piece of the tray. Pushing the two pieces together will force excess liquid out of the hole on top making perfect balls.

You can also use silicone trays or really any form.

Step 2: Fresh Fruit!

Any fruit will work! You can use fresh, canned or frozen.

We used fresh:

-grapes

-honeydew melon

-watermelon

-blueberries

-kiwi

-pineapple

-grapefruit

-cherries

-ornages

Step 3: Cut Up the Fruit!

Cut the fruit into pieces smaller than the ball. You want the agar to fully encase the fruit without sticking out.

The hole side of the ice tray is the top piece!

Step 4: The Agar

The recipe is:

-400ml of water

-Agar 15g

-40g of granulated sugar

First: whisk the agar and sugar well so it's not lumpy.

Second: put the water in the pot and add the agar and sugar little by little mixing it well so that it doesn't become lumpy.

Third: heat it up while mixing and boil (about 90 degrees Celsius) for one minute and then turn off the heat,

**The agar will harden as soon as the heat is turned off.

Fourth: gently pour it over the fruit in the ice tray.

Fifth: cover with the ice tray lid. (excess will come out of the top)

Final: put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

**Agar hardens in any temperature, but the fridge hurries up the process**

Step 5: Pouring the Agar (steps 4 & 5)

The trays should look like this after pouring the agar and then closing the ice tray.

Step 6: Removing the Sweet Fruit Marbles!

Take a toothpick and draw and line around the outside edge of the marbles without stabbing them

The round "marbles" were easy to remove and we only needed to use fingers. I found that the normal square type ice trays and silicone trays needed a toothpick.