Marmalade, glorious marmalade!

Shredded Seville Orange Peel

I am admittedly a bit of a marmalade lover. And while, I love meyer lemons, blood oranges and the like, my one true love is the Seville Orange. I can get well and truly absorbed by the process of making marmalade. It is not something one does quickly. There is a process, a cadence to making a truly wonderful marmalade and I get excited in January as marmalade season approaches. I sharpen my knives, get my cheese cloth ready and sit and wait til I hear from my suppliers that Sevilles have arrived. 

And then me and my team all get into the marmalade rhythm. We embrace the blisters one gets from hand shredding the peel and we bask in the citrus smell coming from the kettles as it takes it's time to simmer down to perfection.

Seville Oranges have ARRIVED. I have seen them on the shelves is stores across the city ranging in price from $2.49/lb to $2.99/lb up from last years price of $1.99/lb. If you want to make lots of marmalade consider asking the produce manager at your local store to bring it in by the case. The lovely produce manager at my local Coppa's is more than happy to do it. Currently a case is $75/box.

Here are some wonderful marmalade recipes (not all made with Seville's in case you don't share my love) to get you started.

Lime Cilantro Marmalade - this recipe was created for an entry into Mad for Marmalade. It ended up winning a 2nd place ribbon. I love this marmalade with fish tacos. It has a nice bright citrus flavour that compliments fish very well. P.S. I am judging the competition this year, so if you come be sure to say hi!

Seville Orange Marmalade - If Christine Ferber is the 'Queen of Jam', then the title of 'Queen of Marmalade' goes to Vivien Lloyd. She is passionate about marmalade and shares my same adoration for the Seville as I do. This is a great recipe which gives you a clear, beautiful marmalade flavour as a result

Blood Orange and Vanilla Marmalade - If you missed it Amy launched a preserving cookbook earlier this year called The Canning Kitchen. It focuses on simple and small batch.

Grapefruit Marmalade with Candied Ginger

A couple of months ago I had a conversation with an old friend of mine about flavour combinations. Flavours that when combined made their taste buds happy; such as coffee and cream, or peanut butter and jam. For weeks my mind kept popping back to this chat and some of the flavours we had brought together in what was a really a rather vibrant discussion.

Over the holidays while I was beginning to think about the upcoming marmalade season, a flavour combination came to mind that just wouldn't go away. Grapefruit and candied ginger. So I decided to kick 2014 off with the adaptation of a marmalade recipe that I love, to see if this combination was as good in reality as it had been in my mind. I am happy to report that it was. The sweetness of the ruby red grapefruit combined with the subtle heat of the candied ginger is really quite lovely.

Thsi recipe takes a little time as I am suggesting you supreme the grapefruit so you exclude the skin and the majority of the pith. This makes for a less bitter marmalade which I think was needed in order to more fully complement the candied ginger.

Grapefruit marmalade with Candied Ginger (adapted from Linda J Amendt Grapefruit Marmalade)

Ingredients

1 cup of grapefruit peel or fine zest
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup strained grapefruit juice
3/4 cup water

1/8 tsp baking soda

2 3/4 cup supremed and finely chopped grapefruit segments

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

5 cups sugar

1/2 cups finely chopped candied ginger (you can go up to 3/4 cup if you want a stronger ginger flavour)

1 - 3oz liquid pectin

Directions

Combine the peel and the water in a small bowl and let soak for 10-15 minutes. Drain and then discard the water.

In a medium sized pan, combine the pre-soaked peel, the grapefruit juice, 3/4 cup water and baking soda. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Reduce to medium low heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Giving an occasional stir to ensure zest is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add in the supremed grapefruit, cover and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Stir in the sugar and candied ginger. Stir constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved and then turn heat up to medium high and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in all 3 oz of liquid pectin and return mixture to a rolling boil (one that can not be stirred down) stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute and then remove the pan from the heat. Skim off any foam.

Allow the marmalade to cool for 5 minutes (stirring occasionally) before ladelling into pre-sterilized jars. Leaving 1/4" headspace. Process for 10 minutes. Yields 6 - 250ml jars.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

I remember the first time I saw Meyer Lemons, I had no idea what they were or how they differed from regular lemons...and then I tried one and now I patiently wait for this time of year when Meyer Lemons begin to appear in stores around Toronto. Their availability here is limited, so I am filled with envy when I hear people in California talking about the abundance of meyer lemons and how they don't know what to do with the meyer lemons that are practically dripping off their trees.

Meyer Lemons are a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin or regular orange. Their flavour is sweeter and less acidic than a regular lemon and they are great for baking. So if you are dying to make some marmalade and like me, you have yet to see Seville oranges in the grocery stores, consider making meyer lemon marmalade. It is great on toast, or even in small pie crusts with a little whipped cream ;)

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Ingredients

25 Meyer Lemons

1 - 1/4 cup zested Meyer lemon peel

2 cups of water

1/2 cup strained Meyer lemon juice

1/8 tsp baking soda

5 cups sugar

1- 3oz package of liquid pectin

1/4 tsp unsalted butter (optional)

Begin by zesting enough lemons so that you have 1 cup of zest and then supreme and then chop the lemon so that you have roughly 2.5 - 3 cups of lemon segments (including the juice from the lemons).

Combine the peel and 1 cup of water and let it soak for 10-15 minutes. Drain the peel and discard the water. You will then combine the peel with the lemon juice, 1 cup of water and the baking soda in a 6 quart pan. Over medium heat, bring the combination to a full boil then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and continue to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the supremed lemons and cover once again and simmer for another 10 minutes.

While the liquid is simmering, place the 5 cups of sugar in an oven proof container at 250F for 10 minutes. Stir the warm sugar and butter into the 6 quart pan and stir until the sugar completely dissolves.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and stirring constantly, bring it to a rolling boil. Stir in the 3 oz of pectin and return the mix to a full rolling boil and let it boil for a full minute. Remove the pan from the stove and ladle off any foam.

Allow the marmalade to cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then ladle into hot jars allowing 1/4" head space. Wipe the rim of the jar with a damp cloth and apply lids. Process 250ml jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool on your counter overnight before moving.