A glossy, fruity drink-cum-dessert of berries thickened with starch to a flowing, jelly-soft consistency. Poured thin it is sipped from a glass; made thick it is spooned like pudding, a comforting fixture of Russian tables and cafeterias.
An ancient Slavic dish whose name comes from a word meaning sour; fruit kissel thickened with potato starch became widespread in the late 19th century once cheap starch was available.
It is bright and fruity, sweet with a clean berry tartness, sliding over the tongue with a soft, just-set slipperiness. Sipped warm it soothes like a fruit tea; eaten cold and thick it is like a barely-firm jelly. Either way it tastes of summer fruit captured in a glass.
Potato starch granules swell and burst when heated in liquid, trapping water and turning the juice into a clear, glossy gel without clouding it. Adding the starch as a cold slurry and not overcooking prevents lumps and stops the gel from thinning back out.
Variations
Thick spoonable berry kissel, thin drinkable kissel, milk kissel, oat kissel (the ancient grain version), apple or rhubarb kissel
On the Palate
Where Kissel sits in the Russian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 10 min
- 13 min
Rinse mixed berries such as cranberry, cherry, or red currant.
- 212 min
Simmer the berries with water and sugar until they soften and release their color.
- 35 min
Press the fruit through a sieve and return the bright juice to the pot.
- 42 min
Stir potato starch into a little cold water until completely smooth.
Watch outStir the starch into cold water until dead smooth — any dry lump goes in as a gluey clot you can't stir out later.
- 53 min
Bring the juice back to a gentle simmer and taste for sweetness.
- 62 min
Pour in the starch slurry in a thin stream while stirring constantly.
Watch outTrickle the slurry into simmering juice while stirring nonstop — dump it in and it clumps on contact.
- 72 min
Cook just until it thickens and turns glossy, then remove from the heat at once.
Watch outKill the heat the instant it turns clear and glossy — keep boiling and the gel breaks and thins back to juice.
- 820 min
Cool slightly, dust the surface with sugar to prevent a skin, and serve warm or chilled.
