Materials Girl

All work and no play makes Material’s Girl a grumpy unpleasant person. So today I bring you, Jello Shots. Mmmm. How am I justifying this as a blog post? Alright, its tenuous but there’s a recipe included so quit yo’ complainin’. (That’s right, I made those beauties you see at the top.) 

Gelatin is a form of animal protein (a long chain macro molecule) and a … polymer. Ha! It has a molecular weight of ~ 9.65 X 10^4 and a Glass Transition Temp of ~ 368. Science: done. Party: on.

Adapted from the fine people at Jelly Shot Test Kitchen I bring you:

Arnold Palmer Jello Shots

Ingredients:

1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed and strained)

2/3  cup water

2 ½  envelopes knox gelatin

3/4  cup sweet tea flavored vodka (I like Firefly brand)

8 – 10 lemons depending on size

Prep the lemons by cutting each in half lengthwise. Use a knife to score the flesh around the inner edge of the rind, and then use a spoon to scoop out the center of the lemon (can be reserved to make killer fresh lemonade.) You should now have little half lemon bowls.

Position the lemon bowls into a fridge ready vessel, I suggest using tin foil to help stabilize the round bottoms.

Pour lemonade concentrate and water into a small saucepan. Sprinkle with gelatin and allow to soak for a minute or two. Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is fully dissolved (approximately 5 minutes). Stir in the vodka (work quickly and keep heat low to prevent the liquor from cooking off.)

Pour the mixture into the lemon bowl halves. Put them into the fridge, due to the individual small size of the shots they should become solid after only a few hours (~4) but can be chilled overnight.

Once the gelatin is fully solidified, turn the lemon halves face down on a cutting board and slice lengthwise again, resulting in wedges. Cut as close to serving time as possible.

Yield: around 32 - 40 shots (you’ll get 4 wedges per lemon)

Always practice science/drinking safely, and legally. Have fun!