An Exciting Discovery to Add to Your Cooking Repertoire!
Have you heard of Ultra Gel™? It’s an instant thickener made from a waxy variety of corn. It disperses easily and provides a sheen, clarity, and smoothness to products in which it’s used. It’s an efficient thickener for soups, sauces, gravies, fresh fruit desserts, baked items, jams and jellies, and diet-specific foods. And it does all this while at the same time turning clear as it thickens.
This amazing product allows homemade favorites to be refrigerated or frozen and reheated by conventional or microwave methods.
It stabilizes low-fat products such as salad dressings, adds body to low sugar foods (such as jams), and allows artificial sweeteners to be used in a wide variety of foods.
Ultra Gel provides moistness and improve mouthfeel to baked goods.
And sauces made with Ultra Gel™ won’t set up or separate like traditional cornstarch-thickened sauces.
If I sound like an info-mercial, it’s because I’m really sold on this product. I’ve been using it for years and really do rely on it because it’s so easy to use. If I make something a little too thick, I just add a little more liquid. If I make something a little too thin, I just add a little more Ultra Gel. And the exciting thing is, the recipe’s flavor isn’t changed one whit (which you can’t say when thickening with flour or cornstarch).
Salad dressings and dips made with fresh ingredients and Ultra Gel® have a rich, creamy consistency without preservatives, artificial ingredients, or other additives. Most commercial salad dressing mixes contain large amounts of monosodium glutamate, which can affect those who are sensitive to it or have high blood pressure.
And Ultra Gel® makes possible these flavorful thick and creamy salad dressings and dips without adding a bunch of calories. When compared to a traditional ranch dressing, up to 1/2 the amount of mayonnaise (at 100 calories per tablespoon) can be replaced with buttermilk (at 100 calories per cup), and then thickened with Ultra Gel™. This is a difference of 755 calories per pint! And it is delicious. Also, the fat content can be reduced even more by using low-fat mayonnaise.
Interested in trying Ultra Gel™? Here’s how it works (conversion-wise):
In conclusion, here’s a recipe for a great strawberry jam that calls for Ultra Gel™. See if Ultra Gel™ isn’t an exciting discovery to add to your cooking repertoire!
4 cups crushed strawberries (2 2/3 pounds)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups sugar
1/2 to 3/4 cups Ultra Gel
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
This amazing product allows homemade favorites to be refrigerated or frozen and reheated by conventional or microwave methods.
It stabilizes low-fat products such as salad dressings, adds body to low sugar foods (such as jams), and allows artificial sweeteners to be used in a wide variety of foods.
Ultra Gel provides moistness and improve mouthfeel to baked goods.
And sauces made with Ultra Gel™ won’t set up or separate like traditional cornstarch-thickened sauces.
If I sound like an info-mercial, it’s because I’m really sold on this product. I’ve been using it for years and really do rely on it because it’s so easy to use. If I make something a little too thick, I just add a little more liquid. If I make something a little too thin, I just add a little more Ultra Gel. And the exciting thing is, the recipe’s flavor isn’t changed one whit (which you can’t say when thickening with flour or cornstarch).
Salad dressings and dips made with fresh ingredients and Ultra Gel® have a rich, creamy consistency without preservatives, artificial ingredients, or other additives. Most commercial salad dressing mixes contain large amounts of monosodium glutamate, which can affect those who are sensitive to it or have high blood pressure.
And Ultra Gel® makes possible these flavorful thick and creamy salad dressings and dips without adding a bunch of calories. When compared to a traditional ranch dressing, up to 1/2 the amount of mayonnaise (at 100 calories per tablespoon) can be replaced with buttermilk (at 100 calories per cup), and then thickened with Ultra Gel™. This is a difference of 755 calories per pint! And it is delicious. Also, the fat content can be reduced even more by using low-fat mayonnaise.
Interested in trying Ultra Gel™? Here’s how it works (conversion-wise):
- Gravy: 2-3 tablespoons Ultra Gel™ per cup of broth
- Dessert Topping: 3 tablespoons Ultra Gel™ per cup of liquid
- Pie Glaze: 4-5 tablespoons Ultra Gel™ per cup of liquid
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch = 1 1/2 tablespoons Ultra Gel™
- 2 tablespoons flour or Tapioca = 1 1/2 tablespoons Ultra Gel™
In conclusion, here’s a recipe for a great strawberry jam that calls for Ultra Gel™. See if Ultra Gel™ isn’t an exciting discovery to add to your cooking repertoire!
Low-Sugar Freezer Jam
Ingredients:
4 cups crushed strawberries (2 2/3 pounds)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups sugar
1/2 to 3/4 cups Ultra Gel
Directions:
1. Crush strawberries.
2. Measure strawberry puree into a bowl.
3. Add lemon juice.
4. Add sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
5. Sprinkle Ultra Gel into fruit puree mixture gradually and stir with a wire whisk until smooth.
6. Allow jam to thicken for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Package into freezer containers and store in the refrigerator or freezer. Makes six cups.
NOTES: Because this is a low-sugar recipe, the jam will not keep in the refrigerator as well as a standard high-sugar jam. Best to store in small containers and use within a couple of weeks. For a deeper, richer color, add 1/4 teaspoon strawberry KoolAid™ to each batch.
2. Measure strawberry puree into a bowl.
3. Add lemon juice.
4. Add sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
5. Sprinkle Ultra Gel into fruit puree mixture gradually and stir with a wire whisk until smooth.
6. Allow jam to thicken for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Package into freezer containers and store in the refrigerator or freezer. Makes six cups.
NOTES: Because this is a low-sugar recipe, the jam will not keep in the refrigerator as well as a standard high-sugar jam. Best to store in small containers and use within a couple of weeks. For a deeper, richer color, add 1/4 teaspoon strawberry KoolAid™ to each batch.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
