Cookbook Review...The Ultra Gel Answer Book



If you want to use Ultra Gel or Clearjel, you don’t have many options for instructions.  That's why Myrna bought The Ultra Gel Answer Book,  written by two women who have degrees in the area of Home Economics with an emphasis on food science and nutrition.  They have both taught food-related classes for church and civic groups as well as Community Education programs in Utah.
The book covers using Ultra Gel for salad dressings and fruit salads and dips, sauces and gravies, main dishes, desserts, in whipped creams, jams, jellies and preserves, and home canned specialties.  
They also cover using ultra gel in baking, not just pie fillings, but in cakes and cookies, and breads.  Think about adding pudding mix to cake mixes and you get the idea of how Ultra Gel helps make breads, cakes and cookies have an even texture and moist crumb with less fat.  Yeast breads raise faster and brown better with a softer texture.
They show how to use Ultra Gel in gravies and soups and main dishes.  The chapter on main dishes interested me as they show how to make a lot of recipes into freezer meals that can be frozen in individual dinners or as the whole recipe to make your own microwaveable freezer meals.  Ultra Gel or similar products are what commercial manufacturers use in many products because it can be frozen and reheated without the sauce getting watery.
The last chapter covers home-canned specialties; and when using Ultra Gel, you can usually freeze the product instead of canning it if you don’t have a canner.  They don’t just give recipes for pie filling, but canned stew and braised beef, as well as salsa and barbeque sauce.
Getting started with Ultra Gel isn’t too hard because the package gives directions and recipes for a few products, but this book will expand your repertoire. 
I’ve found these recipes also work with Clearjel, but as it doesn’t blend in as easily, you do have to take that into consideration when making the recipe.

8 comments:

  1. I don't think I've ever seen Ultra Gel in my stores.

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    1. It's hard to find...we buy it at a Amish/Mennonite store. It's online too.
      Myrna uses is because it is gluten-free and she can sub it for flour in gravy, etc. as she has celiac disease that requires a gluten-free diet. I like it because it blends in to hot liquid!

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    2. I also like it because of blending into hot liquids. Much easier than messing with a slurry to make gravy and it doesn't break in a cream sauce.

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  2. We going to Amish next week, and I'm going to look for this. I think I have seen it in the bulk store. I didn't know it could be used for breads and such. Thank you very much for the tip.

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  3. This is very interesting! I don't believe I've even heard of Ultragel. Did you order the cookbook?

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  4. Thank you, Myrna. I checked Ebay, but hadn't thought to look on Amazon.

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  5. I've used Ultra Gel for several years, mostly recipes from my Amish cookbooks, but didn't know about the answer book until I read your post. I checked around on line and found the best offer on the Cornaby website. The book plus 16oz of gel for 16.95 + shipping. It was less than the book alone most places. Thank you for the post on the book, and I really enjoy your blog! Marsha

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