A Taste Of Grace. Meyer Lemon Panna Cotta

God’s grace changes everything.

When I was initially putting my first feast together, I was praying and asking God to show me a unique way to communicate His grace through a dessert. I went to the library and stumbled upon a book called 1001 Foods To Eat Before You Die. Each page highlighted one unique ingredient. As I flipped through the book I was surprised to discover a page about Miracle Berries. Miracle Berries are a natural berry from West Africa, that contains a unique ingredient that food scientists have called Miraculin.

Miraculin temporarily covers the sour receptors on the tongue, so that foods that are traditionally sour become sweet as candy. I immediately thought of God’s grace, as when I encountered God's grace in my life, I was profoundly changed from the inside out. Creating a dish with flavors that would literally transform from sour to sweet on your tongue is a wonderful edible metaphor for the very real transformational experience of encountering God's grace. It was the perfect dessert to end my first feast. Now I close every feast with a variation of a Taste of Grace using the Miracle Berry.

The transformation from sour to sweet is a powerful edible illustration of how Jesus covers the sourness of our sin, allowing us to have a relationship with God, making all things new. The Miracle Berry covers our sour receptors on our tongue similar to how Jesus covers our sin. When we encounter God’s grace we can experience God for who He really is, just as we can taste the lemon for what it really is.

Photo: We brought in some fresh picked Miracle Berries from Miracle Fruit Farm in Florida during a Taste of Theo's Feast in Orlando on February 12, 2022.

Recipe: A Taste of Grace Panna Cotta

This recipe makes 8 - 4 ounce Panna Cottas. 25 minutes to prep. 3 hours to set.

The two key ingredients to this dish are the Miracle Berry and naturally sour ingredients such as a fresh lemon. Fresh Miracle Berries are available to purchase online, however, they are expensive and very perishable as they lose their culinary appeal within a few hours of harvesting. There are many freeze-dried options available and after trying many varieties and brands, I recommend the MBerry brand tablets.

I purchase my MBerry tablets on Amazon. You can also get them from MBerry.us

Make the Panna Cotta a few hours ahead of your jelly so it has time to set.

Panna Cotta Ingredients.

1 1/2 cups of milk.

2 cups plain Greek yogurt. I recommend the Oikos brand, 2% MF.

1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste, or 4 teaspoons vanilla extract if you are only using the extract

1 teaspoon of liquid honey

4 teaspoons of unflavoured gelatine

1/2 cup water for hydrating the gelatine

2 tablespoons of fresh-squeezed Meyer lemon juice.

Panna Cotta Directions:

1. Hydrate the gelatine in 1/2 cup of water.

2. Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds. Add the bean pod and seeds to the cream. Or use the vanilla paste or extract.

3. Bring the cream and vanilla, to a low simmer in a pot on medium-low heat. Stir in the hydrated gelatine and honey. Remove from the heat, transfer from the hot pot to a bowl and let cool for 15 min. Remove the vanilla bean.

Whisk yogurt into the cooled cream mixture. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice. (add the lemon juice last after the mixture has cooled as you don’t want it to curdle) Pour into glasses or dessert dishes. Let set in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

After the Panna Cotta has set, top it with a thin layer of the Meyer Lemon Jelly and garnish it with a fresh raspberry, a sprig of mint, and some lemon zest. (recipe below).

Meyer Lemon Jelly

Ingredients:

5 Meyer Lemons. 1/3 cup fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice (3 Lemons). Plus two lemons cut into quarters. Meyer lemons are a gourmet lemon that is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. If you can't find Meyer lemons you can simulate their unique flavor by adding 3 Tablespoons of Passion fruit juice or fresh squeezed mandarin orange juice to your regular lemon juice. Regular fresh squeezed Lemon juice will also work, but Meyer lemons are highly recommended.

4 teaspoons of unflavoured gelatine

1/4 cup water

1 drop of yellow food coloring (optional)

1 lemon wedge per person, seeds removed.

1 Miracle Berry per person.

Zest of 2 lemons for garnish

1 fresh raspberry per person

Fresh mint

Instructions:

<