A Modern Way to Marmalade

Food in Jars Mastery Challenge: Marmalade

The kitchen turned into a cannery and all the girls helped.
East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

If you’re a citrus lover like I am, you’ll understand the allure of marmalade. Making marmalade is a sensory experience that should not be missed. Your kitchen will smell clean and bright and I swear all that bubbling sugar will chase any winter gloom away. I’m sharpening my preserving skills by embarking on the Food in Jars Mastery Challenge. Each month the group will preserve or pickle using a different skill. I’m looking forward to trying new techniques and broadening my preserving skills. January is marmalade making.

Homemade marmalade is so much better than store bought. Store bought marmalade typically has too much sugar (or corn syrup) and not enough citrus. When you make your own marmalade any type of citrus can be used. For this challenge I wanted to accomplish two things, to use up the citrus I already had purchased and try a modern, faster way to make marmalade.

My previous marmalade adventures required very thinly slicing the rind of the citrus. And, when needed, removing the thick layer of white pith of the citrus. I’ve done this time consuming job on both freshly cut and partially cooked citrus peels. Either way, it’s laborious. Last summer, when making fruit jam I decided to use my food processor to chop up the fruit. First I did strawberries. I adore strawberry jam, but not with big chunks of fruit. Problem solved, with the food processor there is all the strawberry flavor and but no big, soft chunks in my jam. And it makes fast work of all the chopping! Next was late summer plum. I want all the tangy flavor of the plum skins, but without all the big pieces in my jam. The food processor whirled everything and the chopping was done! It was time to try the food processor with marmalade.

Essentials

I made two batches of marmalade. One with Cara Cara Oranges and Meyer Lemons, a second batch with members of the tangerine family, Mandarins and Satsumas. Cara Cara oranges, Mandarins and Satsumas are all seedless and without thick layers of pith, which is also a marmalade time saver. Sharpen your knife before starting any marmalade recipe. Even with the food processor doing all the chopping, the citrus must be cut into chunks, any seeds and the stem area must be removed.

The verdict? My Cara Cara and Meyer Lemon Marmalade is super thick. While waiting for it to turn glossy and clear I cooked it a little too long? Or maybe I should have added water or orange juice to the recipe? The flavor is wonderful though! I made two batches of the Tangerine Marmalade. In the first batch I used all the citrus peels and the marmalade was too bitter. The second batch is perfect, it still has the bitter notes of marmalade but does not overpower the flavor of the tangerines. I have Tangerine Marmalade!!!

Since the citrus peels are finely chopped rather than sliced the classic look of marmalade is lost. The peels do not float, suspended in the marmalade. Rather they are integrated into the entire mixture. My marmalade looks more like citrus jam. Honestly, using the food processor is such a time savor I can’t imagine making marmalade any other way.

	Cara Cara and Meyer Lemon Marmalade
6	Cara Cara oranges
2	Meyer Lemons
4C	sugar

1. If canning the marmalade, prepare the canning pot, jars and lids. This batch of marmalade yielded, 5 half-pint jars.
2. Scrub the oranges and lemons. Trim away the stem end from the oranges. Cut them in quarters. Trim away the stem ends from the lemons. Quarter them and remove all the seeds. Working in batches, process the oranges and lemons in a food processor. Use the pulse function to chop the fruit. Do not over process into a puree. (Any large pieces of citrus will float to the top in the canning pot and can be removed to more finely chop.)
3. Measure the total volume of citrus and any juice. Add the citrus and an equal amount of sugar to a large non-reactive pan. I used 4 cups of citrus and 4 cups of sugar. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. Depending on how thick you like the marmalade it will be ready between 219° and 222°. When the marmalade is ready it will be thick, shiny and glossy. Take care as the marmalade will thicken quickly and can overcook and scorch. Remove the pan from the heat and ladle the hot marmalade into jars. Refrigerate the marmalade or continue canning in a water bath for ten minutes in accordance with the USDA guidelines for canning.

	Tangerine Marmalade
6	whole Mandarins, stem area removed, cut in quarters
6	peeled Mandarins
10	peeled Satsumas
6C	sugar
4T	bottled lemon juice

1. If canning the marmalade, prepare the canning pot, jars and lids. This batch of marmalade yielded, 6 half-pint jars and a small 4oz jar.
2. Remove most of the white, fibrous netting that surrounds the mandarins and Satsumas. Working in batches, process the Mandarins and Satsumas in a food processor. Use the pulse function to chop the fruit. Do not over process into a puree. (Any large pieces of citrus will float to the top in the canning pot and can be removed to more finely chop.)
3. Measure the total volume of citrus and any juice. Add the citrus and an equal amount of sugar to a large non-reactive pan. I used 6 cups of citrus and 6 cups of sugar. Add the bottled lemon juice to the canning pot. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. Depending on how thick you like the marmalade it will be ready between 219° and 222°. When the marmalade is ready it will be thick, shiny and glossy. Take care as the marmalade will thicken quickly and can overcook and scorch. Remove the pan from the heat and ladle the hot marmalade into jars. Refrigerate the marmalade or continue canning in a water bath for ten minutes in accordance with the USDA guidelines for canning.