“Bertie Bott’s” sweets are a real treasure for all fans of Harry Potter films and books. These legendary beans allow everyone to taste magic and experience the most unexpected combinations. It’s difficult to determine by appearance exactly what flavour any particular sweet has, which creates special interest, and the unpredictability of flavours guarantees incredible emotions and impressions. In this overview, you can learn more about these sweet “beans” that guarantee unforgettable sensations, as well as learn to prepare them at home.
“Bertie Bott’s”: What Are They?
Today, “Bertie Bott’s” sweets are called the perfect Halloween treat. These jelly sweets can be called an exact copy of the sweets mentioned by J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter books. Their main distinction and significant advantage is considered to be the variety of flavours, including the most original and seemingly completely impossible ones. An important “feature” of these sweets is the element of surprise. After all, you never know what’s hidden behind the bright shell until you bite into the sweet.
“Bertie Bott’s” offers both pleasant and not-so-pleasant flavours: for example, earwax flavour, vomit flavour, among which you can also find sausage, cherry, and sweet pie flavours. Thus, these jelly sweets are for real daredevils, but having a step-by-step recipe for preparing “Bertie Bott’s” at hand, you can independently choose what spectrum of flavours will be offered. It’s not necessary to repeat the most disgusting flavours; you can experiment with unusual combinations: for example, pepper-cherry or garlic-peach.
Step-by-Step Recipe for Preparing “Bertie Bott’s”
Required list of ingredients:
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/4 cups fine sugar (1 cup + 1/4 cup)
- 1/4 ounce powdered gelatine (alternatively, use 2 high-strength gelatine sheets)
- various food colourings and flavour additives of choice
- cooking oil spray
- a little icing sugar + water for preparing simple glaze mixture for sticking
To prepare the legendary sweets, you’ll need to prepare special moulds (for forming sweets of uniform sizes), a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, a thermometer, a certain number of bowls (the number of bowls depends on the number of seasonings/flavours), and spoons.
To avoid missing important moments during preparation, it’s recommended to follow the indicated steps/stages:
- If using sheet gelatine, it needs to be pre-soaked in cold water.
- Pour water into the heavy-bottomed saucepan, add sugar, place on heat, and gently stir until the sugar completely dissolves. Using a damp pastry brush, brush away all sugar crystals from the saucepan walls.
- When the sugar has completely dissolved, add gelatine powder or sheet gelatine to the saucepan (sheets should be removed from cold water and well squeezed).
- The sugar syrup needs to be brought to a boil, controlling the temperature with a thermometer – the mixture should heat to 110°C (230°F), to the state of a soft and elastic ball. Bringing the mixture to the right consistency takes about 20 minutes – it should swell and settle slightly. The boiling syrup should always remain under control: don’t leave the stove!
- While the sugar syrup is boiling, you need to grease the moulds for future sweets. You can use cooking oil spray for this.
- The next stage requires outside help, as everything needs to be done as quickly as possible before the syrup sets. When the sugar syrup reaches the required temperature, it needs to be distributed/poured into bowls according to the future number of flavours. After this, you can add flavourings. While distributing the sugar syrup, the saucepan should constantly be returned to the stove so it stays warm as long as possible, and the syrup doesn’t set prematurely.
- The syrup together with colourings and flavourings in the bowls needs to be thoroughly and quickly mixed to achieve uniform consistency.
- Carefully distribute the ready mixture into the moulds, leaving them overnight.
The sweets set quite quickly and become hard. After this, they can be removed from the moulds and the halves can be stuck together using simple glaze.
That’s it – “Bertie Bott’s” sweets are ready for consumption. Enjoy experimenting with flavours!