I have never made marmalade and so I decided it was time to make it, especially since there are so many lovely citrus fruits on sale at the store these days.
Attempt number 1!
After Christmas there were so many lovely tangerines lying around the house that I decided to start with Tangerine marmalade and I decided to use the recipe from 'Blue Ribbon Preserves' by Linda Amendt. Fun book but unfortunately my marmalade never set. This recipe took a long time to make and I was feeling defeated because it took me all day to make a marmalade that never set.
Attempt number 2!
In February I got the guts to try again. Some lovely Ruby Red grapefruits were on sale so I decided to make grapefruit marmalade. Here is where I went wrong. There were also key limes on sale for a dollar a bag. I thought wouldn't it be lovely to have green key lime rinds against the bright pink marmalade! So I spent forever cutting the peels off of the key limes (a very tedious job) and used the grapefruit citrus marmalade recipe from the same book as above. Well this time after spending all day to make it, it turned out really solid and disgusting looking and tasting. The key lime did not complement the grapefruit.
Final attempt!
I was fed up with marmalade by this point. But after taking a month off I was ready to try again. I was reading Eugenia Bone's blog "Well-Preserved" and she had a great article on making Tangelo Marmalade and when I found them on sale I was ready to try again. I followed Eugenia's recipe and I must say that this time I had success!
This recipe was much easier and faster then the other recipes I had tried and it turned out not only delicious, but beautiful! One thing I was initially scared about with this recipe was that it didn't call for having pectin added. With this recipe I had to check for the gelling point which can be a little daunting. I have only made one other thing (Elderberry Jam) that called for checking the gell point. But this marmalade turned out the best!
Some pointers I learned along the way:
1)Adding pectin can be overated, don't be afraid to try recipes that call for using the natural pectin from the fruit.
2)I love
Pampered Chef serrated vegetable peelers! I choose to take the white pith off of the peels and so only used the rind. It is prettier in the finished product (I think!) and I perfer the taste. But this makes it a longer process when cutting off the peel, but the serrated vegetable peeler I used made it really simple, I just peeled the rind off.
3)I really like Tangelos, and they were extremely easy to peel.
3)Jam is much easier to make!
Here is Eugenia's recipe and link to her blog.
Honeybell Tangelo Marmalade by Eugenia Bone5 to 6 Honeybell tangelos (for 3 cups Honeybell pulp)
1 scant cup Honeybell rind, cut into matchsticks
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
Remove the peel. With a sharp paring knife, remove the white pith from the inside of the peel. It’s okay if you don’t get it all. Cut the peel into thin matchsticks. Place in a small pot with the water and boil gently over a medium low heat until the peel is tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside. Do not drain.
Cut any white pith off the orange. Cut the Honeybells in half and remove the seeds. Place the Honeybells in a food processor and pulse to grind. Pour the pulp into a bowl, add the peel and water and refrigerate for a few hours. Up to over night is fine.
Pour the pulp, peel and water into a deep, wide heavy bottomed pot. Add the sugar and bring to a boil over a medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Watch to be sure the marmalade doesn’t foam up (you can add about a teaspoon of butter if it does, which will help settle down the foam). Boil at a moderately high boil for twenty minutes. The marmalade will look runny. It’s okay. Do a gel test: place a small amount of marmalade in a spoon in the refrigerator fro about 5 minutes. If it stiffens up the marmalade is ready.
Prepare the jars: sterilize 3 half-pint jars and bands (to sterilize boil the jars and bands for 10 minutes at sea level; add 1 minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level). Simmer new lids in hot water for a few minutes to soften the rubberized flange. (I just drop the lids into the hot sterilization water after I’ve taken it off the heat.)
Spoon the marmalade into the jars leaving ½ inch headroom. You can use quarter pint jars, as I have in the picture, but if you use pint jars you have to increase the processing time by five minutes plus altitude adjustments). Wipe the rims, place on the lids and screw on the bands fingertip tight.
Place in a pot with a rack and cover with two to three inches of water. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes at sea level (add 1 minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level). Remove the jars and place on a rack or cloth towel and allow to cool. Check the seal and store in a cool dark place for up to a year. Refrigerate after opening.
Third times the charm, I have marmalade success!
