Dragon Ball Senzu Bean Gummies

I’m a big believer in doing whatever it is you say you’re going to do. Some time ago I promised you Senzu Beans from the Dragon Ball series, but ultimately failed to deliver due to multiple repeated kitchen fiascoes. It’s been bothering me for a while that I failed you guys, actually. So, here’s a retake on the Senzu Beans in a sweet, gummy candy form. They’re fairly easy to make – your biggest challenge will be not eating them all in one sitting.

For those who don’t know, Senzu Beans are a sort of mystical bean with powerful rejuvenating properties. A single bean can fill you up for days, give you energy, and heal you of the most severe physical injuries. It is said to taste like fish and has a texture similar to a cross between a celery stalk and an uncooked bean. I briefly considered making mine like vitamin gummies using fish oil and vitamin B… but presently I’m more interested in making foods that taste as good as they look. Sorry! Maybe another time. They are made with Mountain Dew, so the energy boosting properties are there.

If you want to read more about Senzu Beans, click here: http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Senzu_Bean

Ready? Let’s go.

• 3/4 cup water
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 oz. unflavored gelatin (3 packages)
• 1/2 cup flavoring – this can be juice (no pulp), soda, anything like that. I used Mountain Dew and a tsp. of Limoncello to brighten the flavor – lemon juice would also have the same effect if you prefer not to use alcohol.
• 1/4 tsp. salt   Note: Removed due to sodium content in Mountain Dew. If using flavoring other than Mountain Dew, ammend this to 1/8 tsp. salt
• food coloring – green, about 20 drops

Finally, the jelly bean mold is getting used for its intended purposes.

Combine your water, sugar, and gelatin in a pot and stir thoroughly. In this case, use a relatively large pot to prevent the liquid from boiling over.

See? Biggish.

Mixing the gelatin and sugar in, a little goopy.

Clip a candy thermometer on the side of the pot. You will be heating this mixture on medium heat to 255 degrees F. This will probably take 30-40 minutes. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon. This is going to froth up a lot and look similar to a boiling marshmallow. For the love of Insert-Deity-Of-Choice-Here, do not let this boil over. It’s terrible to have to clean this up. Always err on the side of a larger pot to prevent spillover.

This is another one of those, “Fire bad, tree pretty” things. Do not touch the boiling sugar-gelatin syrup.

When the mixture is just starting to heat up on the stove top, get your flavoring ready. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt to half a cup of Mountain Dew – for a brighter flavor, add 1 teaspoon of Limoncello or lemon juice. You could even tweak this to 1/4 cup Mountain Dew and 1/4 cup of lemon juice for a more tart flavor, if that’s your preference.

Wow. What a terrible picture. ._.

Add about  20 drops of green food coloring to your flavoring. Stir well.

Drip dribbly drip drop.

Your resulting liquid should be a couple shades darker than you want your beans. I know it’s scary – don’t worry.

The finished flavoring.

Back to the sugar-gelatin syrup. Once mixture hits 255 degrees, take it off the burner and plunge the pot into a bowl of ice to keep the temperature from rising. Admittedly, this time I might have forgotten to make ice and had to use a pan of cold water and the beans didn’t seem to suffer for it. Add in the flavoring, salt, and food coloring and stir. Pour mixture into lightly greased jelly bean molds. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours or until set.

Actual yield: 84 beans, plus two small fancy cups. Had I used both molds it would have been more like 100 beans.

Unmold your beans. This is easier than it might look; just gently press a clean fingertip into one side of the mold and the bean will slide right out.

See? They’re not so dark after all.

This last bit is optional but strongly recommended. You may have noticed that your beans are a bit slippery and have a tendency to kind of stick together. To minimize sticking and enjoy your individual beans, grind a handful of sugar to fine powder in a blender:

Yes, I actually use my blender – it’s not on the island entirely for laughs.

Pour your gummy beans into a large bowl, add the ground sugar, stick a lid on it, and shake vigorously for 5 minutes or until well coated.

Much dark. Such quality. Very poor. Wow!

Transfer beans to a strainer to shake off any excess sugar, then serve. These should be stored in the refrigerator if willpower was exercised and beans are not eaten in one sitting.

There were three casualties: two to the mouth, one to the floor. Much better than previous versions which shall not be named.

These turned out surprisingly pretty displayed on a bamboo sushi rolling mat.

Right, then. At this point a special announcement of sorts is in order: All gelatin containing recipes are to be suspended until further notice. Why? At times, it feels a bit like a cop out. It also seems that there are a high ratio of gelatin recipes to all other recipes. Time for better variety, I think. Let me know what you think. If ever you have suggestions for something I should make or have any other feedback please let me know. I love hearing from all of you!

Coming up next: Donkey Kong and Mario unite for DK Banana Bread and Lemony Mario Super Star Iced Cookies!

Partially because Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars is set to release on March 5th, but mostly because I can.

Cheers,

Leisel

P.S.- Stay tuned for photos from Majora’s Mask midnight launch!