British Strawberry Jelly (Jello)

Written by
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
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Elaine Lemm
Updated 07/19/19
small bowl of strawberry jelly
john shepherd/Getty Images
  • Total: 45 mins
  • Prep: 45 mins
  • Cook: 0 mins
  • Yield: 6 servings
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
157 Calories
0g Fat
39g Carbs
2g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 servings
Amount per serving
Calories 157
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 5mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 39g 14%
Dietary Fiber 2g 5%
Protein 2g
Calcium 22mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This recipe for British strawberry jelly is not for a jam or fruit spread as the term "jelly" is known in the States. This is for a fruit-flavored gelatin (Jello) dessert.  

Strawberry jelly is the stuff of childhood dreams. Sunday afternoon tea is never right without one, and as the base of a trifle, it is a classic.

In the U.K., jelly is often made using a shop-bought jelly block which is a concentrated, flavored gelatin block that requires only boiling water to make it.

Then there is authentic jelly, made with fruit, sugar, and gelatin as in this authentic recipe. 

Jelly can be served simply on its own as it is so tasty, but jelly is fabulous with some whipped cream or ice cream and even custard, which together is a classic of the tea-time table. 

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Place the sugar and 2 cups/600 ml water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil vigorously for 5 minutes and then remove the pan from the heat and let cool.

  2. Meanwhile, take 4 or 5 of the fresh strawberries, leave them whole, and set to one side.

  3. Purée the remaining strawberries with an immersion blender or in a conventional blender or food processor.

  4. Transfer the purée to a large bowl and pour over the cooled sugar-water syrup. Cover with a clean cloth and let infuse for a minimum of 30 minutes or, if you have the time, up to 2 hours. 

  5. Once infused, pass the strawberry mixture through a fine sieve to remove any of the strawberry pulp and seeds. Set aside.

  6. Place 1/4 cup/75 ml cold water into a small dish and sprinkle the powdered gelatin into the water and leave untouched for 5 minutes.

  7. Heat 1 cup of the strained strawberry-sugar syrup mixture in a small saucepan. Stir in the gelatin-water mixture and simmer very gently (do not allow to boil) until the gelatin has completely dissolved. Stir this into the remaining strawberry-sugar syrup.

  8. Transfer to a 3-cup/900-ml gelatin mold and place into the refrigerator and let set. This will take a couple of hours but it is best to leave it overnight. The jelly is ready when it wobbles just slightly. You don't want it to be too hard because the fun of the jelly is in the wobble. 

  9. To serve, decorate the jelly with the remaining whole strawberries and serve with fresh cream, ice cream, or custard. You also garnish with other seasonal fruits—raspberries make a great partner to this strawberry jelly.