Yummy Gulaman

My favorite desserts made by my mother are refrigerator cake, chocolate leche flan (custard) and gulaman. I could not find Mama's recipe book. These were recipes written on the white spaces on a manual of some kitchen appliance. I remember the ingredients she used but I cannot recall the proportions. Ma's gulaman required egg yolks and we do not throw the egg whites because we use that to create the chocolate leche flan. Thanks to the internet, I can always try similar recipes. I found a very easy gulaman recipe that does not require eggs. It's so simple and quick. I must give credit to this blog for the recipe. Thanks, Toni!

Gulaman or agar is made out seaweeds. These are usually sold in dried bars. This is also used as culture medium for laboratory work. The bars are dissolved in water and left for several minutes to set into a jelly. Powdered gelatin may probably be substituted for this recipe but I do not know the proportions.

Ingredients:
1 bar gulaman
2 1/2 cups water
1 can condensed milk (301 ml)

Procedure:
Tear gulaman into strips. Soak it in water. Boil gulaman-water mixture until gulaman is dissolved. Remove from heat. Prepare bowl with condensed milk. Pour gulaman over condensed milk. Mix well. Strain mixture over the mold. Chill for several hours before releasing it from the mold.

Folks at home loved this. It has the right sweetness. This was a winner for us. Everybody loved it. I am a purist. I love this in its simplest form but I got a request from my aunt to mix it with fruit cocktail. I had a different experience with that. The fruits tend to float in the mixture that when it was released from the mold, all the fruits are in the bottom. I researched on the internet. The trick was to incorporate the fruits when the gulaman is half set so that it will be able to hold the fruits.

Mango Pudding

I got this mango pudding recipe from a friend a few months back but I never had the time to try it out. I had a day off from work last Thursday so I had the opportunity to try the recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water plus 1 + 3/4 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin (2 envelopes)
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 mangoes
1 cup half-and-half
Fruit for garnishes, such as kiwi, grapes, or tangerine segments

Procedure:
Put the 1/2 cup water in a large bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it stand for 5 minutes, or until softened.

Add the boiling water, and stir to dissolve the gelatin; then immediately stir in the sugar. Set aside.
Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh off the pits. Reserve half of one mango for garnish, and cut the remaining ma go into chunks, and then process it in a food processor to make a smooth puree. You should have about 2 cups pureed mango.

Stir the puree into the gelatin mixture, and then stir in the half-and-half. Divide the mixture among 8 individual bowls and refrigerate it for 3 hours, or until set. Top the pudding with sliced mango or other fruit. Serve with evaporated milk or half-and-half.



There were three things that I ignored- the part where I have to pour the mixture into eight ramekins, the part where I have to wait until the mixture is set and the garnish. I placed the mixture into an 8"x12" rectangular dish instead of the ramekins. After 3 hours, the mixture was still in liquid form. I was expecting it to harden like gelatin. So, instead of waiting for it to harden, I placed the dish in the freezer. The following day, we have mango sorbet! It was still yummy! I omitted the garnish because I have no more fresh mangoes.