floating almond

There’s no shortage of fruity desserts in Hawai’i. Most are made with tropical varieties the islands are known for: coconuts, mango, guava, pineapple — the list goes on. Just like these fruits, the dessert that has been on my mind lately is not native to the islands. It’s a dish most locals think about when they open the pantry at Grandma’s house and see a can of Del Monte Fruit Cocktail. Almond Float.

Almond Float is essentially a milk-based jello (I like to call it “tofu” — it mimics the texture of silken tofu) flavored with almond extract and suspended in cold fruit cocktail or lychees with its syrup. Chinese immigrants brought the idea of almond tofu to Hawai'i in the mid-1800s. As it evolved under Western influence and the multiple immigrant cultures beginning to call the islands home, it became an easier recipe to execute in the home kitchen, using canned fruit and powdered gelatin.

My grandmother (Gammy) had a collection of cookbooks dating back to the 60’s and 70’s that include variations on the recipe. She grew up during WW2, while Hawai’i was still a territory of the US and not yet a state. As a teenager working her way to pay for college and nursing school, she did shifts at the Dole Cannery on O’ahu. I like to think that this time didn’t ruin her thoughts on canned fruit, because she clearly still had an abundance of different cans in the pantry after all those years. When the craving hit, she would throw a can of fruit cocktail in the fridge so it was chilled to perfection once the almond jello set. I would see the worn, plastic spiral-bound cookbook make an appearance in the kitchen with its recipes printed on multi-color construction paper. This particular book is Favorite Island Cookery Book II from the Honpa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple printed in 1975. The temple published six cookbooks over three decades. I think of them as the ultimate local-style Hawaiian cookbook collection, and there are a few others that give them a run for their money. Almond Float is just one of almost thirty recipes that are molded gelatin- or agar-based desserts from just that book alone.

In Hawai’i, it seemed as though those desserts never fell out of fashion. Our neighbor would bring over her famous avocado jello made with the ripest, most flavorful avocados from her yard. Solid blocks of kanten, flavored with guava or sometimes cinnamon and red bean, sat on the Christmas dessert table. No potluck was complete without the rainbow three layered jello or strawberry cream squares.

Fast forward to me sitting in the middle of Gammy’s living room this January, going through her cookbooks and collection of index card recipes. This was my time to sit with the feelings and reality of her death. I felt so incredibly grateful that life gave me the opportunity to see her multiple times the year before and have a leisurely experience with family for her memorial. I read, I laughed, I cried, and I relived some of the dishes that were written in her extremely beautiful handwriting with a “pretty good” comment on the top right corner or a sticker that said “favorite recipe”. I’ll highlight some of those dishes soon. It was a healing process for sure. What really got me were the cans of fruit cocktail still in her pantry and the recipe that just so happened to be in her copy of Favorite Island Cookery, sitting on the kitchen counter.

Lately I've been making a variation of this dish for most of our pop-up events. It's slightly different — I substitute agar for gelatin and almond milk for whole milk. The goal was to make it one of those "catch-all" desserts: it can satisfy vegan or dairy-free guests, and for anyone allergic to nuts, we can swap in coconut and really lean into the haupia-meets-almond float vibe. The part I love most is the syrup that macerates the fruit, giving it that fruit-cocktail treatment. Traditional Chinese almond tofu is sometimes served with osmanthus syrup. I had a chance to work with Reem Assil for our collaboration dinner back in May. I told her I wanted to use this opportunity to test the dish idea for future events, and for my next project with Blake (Frede). We talked about honoring the syrup's origin with a flavor profile driven by flowers, and ended up using her syrup flavored with rose and orange blossom water. One taste and my mind was blown — this is where the beauty of food, cultures, and locale intersect. Since then, I've kept it simple, letting orange blossom be the star, with maybe another floral or fruity element making a guest appearance depending on where I'm cooking. At FarmBar in Tulsa, OK, we made the tofu with milk from wild Oklahoma pecans and steeped fig leaves from their fig farmer into the syrup. That was a very special version to see come to life.

It’s not news that nothing makes me happier than serving dishes that remind me of my loved ones. That sentiment has really shaped my cooking and thoughts on food. I am continuing the memories through story telling and sharing recipes — a way to honor my past while still leaving a little wiggle room to be playful.

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An Updated Recipe a la Frede

Almond Float: 5 servings (4 guests and 1 for good luck)

Almond Tofu - 30 pieces (see recipe)

Orange Blossom Syrup - 1.5 cup (see recipe)

Nectarines - 1 each, sliced ⅛”

Pluots - 1 each, sliced ⅛”

Melon - 1 cup, cut into small obliques

Strawberries - ½ cup, halved or cut into small obliques

Passionfruit - 1/4 cup (1 piece of fruit)

Toasted Almonds, chopped - ½ cup

Mint - 6-8 leaves

1. Toss sliced/cut fruits (except passionfruit) in Orange Blossom Syrup and let sit for at least 20-30 minutes. You can either mix them separately to keep the colors from melding or toss together if that doesn’t bother you.

2. Gently place 6 pieces of the almond tofu in each small shallow dessert bowl.

3. Place fruit evenly amongst the bowls and gently stir to have an even suspension of tofu and chilled fruit. Add more syrup if desired.

4. Garnish with passionfruit, toasted almonds and mint.

Almond Tofu: yields 35 (1”x 1”) squares

Almond Milk - 454 g (1 pint)

Sugar - 50 g (¼ cup)

Salt - pinch

Agar Agar - 1 g (½ tsp)

Almond Extract - 5 g (1 tsp)

1. In a small sauce pot, combine all ingredients.

2. Place the pot on medium high heat and whisk while the mixture comes to a boil. Adding the agar early and whisking as it heats up prevents clumps from forming.

3. Once the mixture comes to a boil, turn down the heat slightly and continue whisk at a constant boil for at least a minute.

4. Strain into the desired vessel to set the tofu in. (See Note)

Notes:

• For this recipe, I used a Muji SS Pan in these dimensions. Approx. W8.3 x D6.7 x H1.2” (W21 x D17 x H3 cm), it yielded me about 35 pieces of cut tofu (1”x 1”).

• You can definitely set the tofu in individual bowls as well for a beautiful presentation (set panna cotta style).

Orange Blossom Syrup: yields 1.5 cups

Water - 240 g (1 cup)

Sugar - 240 g (1.2 cup)

Orange Blossom Water - 16 g (1 Tbsp)

Lemon Juice - 8 g (1.5 tsp)

1. In a small sauce pot, combine water and sugar.

2. Place the pot on medium high heat and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally.

3. Once the syrup comes to a boil, turn the heat down and let reduce for a couple of minutes.

4. Turn off the heat and whisk in orange blossom water.

5. Set the syrup aside to cool completely (room temperature) and add lemon juice.

6. Store in an airtight container. Refrigerate and it can last up to a week.