Jelly Art Workshop

I have always been curious about how 3-dimensional images were made inside edible jellies (I initially thought they somehow put real flowers in jellies, or sculpted flowers out of jelly or some other edible medium first and then inserted them into clear jelly), and so on 13 November, I attended a jelly art workshop conducted by my friend Hui Leng to learn how to make these plant-based jellies.

 

Proof that I made these jellies myself, haha! (Photo credits: Hui Leng.)

 

The young assistant next to me is Jen, who helped to stir the mixtures to stop the jelly from setting too soon and helped us change our cups of hot water to keep everything clean and fresh and liquid. Thanks for your help, Jen!

 

(P/S: I am wearing my hat indoors not because I am a dork but because I was having a bit of a cold and the air-conditioning was getting to me.)

 

 

Work in progress. Basically, the jellies are made using the infusion and injection method, using coloured jelly mixes, syringes and special tools.

 

 

Jen, a friend of my daughter who had attended the previous workshop and returned as a workshop assistant, stirring the jelly mixtures to stop them from solidifying too soon.

 

 

Our very patient and capable instructor, Hui Leng. Can you believe that she has only been making these jellies for 5 months?

 

My first two attempts!

 

 

Everyone's mini jellies turned out really well.

 

 

I made a spring wreath for my parents' 44th wedding anniversary!

 

 

My masterpieces!

 

 

There were 4 students in this workshop and we each made 2 small jellies and one large one. This was a lot of fun! It wasn't difficult at all, and just required patience and a steady hand.

 

 

The 4 students and our instructor. We were definitely very pleased with the results!

 

 

My review of the workshop:

 

The 3D Jelly workshop fees cost me RM350.

 

It may sound expensive but when you realise that the tools are expensive (RM80 and above) and the instructor also supplies the materials, the space and over 6 hours of her time, it is actually quite reasonable.

 

Also, one only needs to learn this once, compared to language or music lessons where you have to return for many lessons. Once you learn the basic techniques, you will realise it is very easy for you to come up with lots of ideas and keep improving your designs! One round jelly 'cake' costs around RM100 - RM120 when you order it from the dessert shops, so when you have the tools and skills as well as the 3 jelly cakes you get to bring home from the workshop, the workshop fees are really value-for-money in my opinion.

The difference between having a proper instructor and learning to do it yourself by watching YouTube videos and buying the tools from the baking shop is that when you have a good instructor, she will teach you how to avoid common mistakes and how to fix small mistakes.

Also, someone needs to keep stirring and adding water to the boiling jelly mixtures so that they don't harden, so when you do it in a workshop setting, there will be an assistant to help you in the learning process by taking care of the boiling water to make things easier for you so you can concentrate on learning.

I would say for RM350 I am really satisfied with the tools, materials, results and the skills I learned. I would definitely keep paying to attend workshops to develop skills I am curious about and interested in, and I plan to make these jellies again when time permits.