Friday, March 9, 2012

Strawberry and Blood Orange Marmalade

Question: What do you do when your neighbors and friends bring bag after bag of fresh picked blood oranges to your doorstep?!?

Answer: Eat a LOT of them, juice a bunch of them, and get creative to find ways to use the rest of them!

Today we had a lovely time hosting friends and learning how to make homemade marmalade. I dare say, it is a labor of love, but it's worth the effort for a spoonful of this sweet and tangy spread on your next piece of toast!

Step 1: Score the orange peel into quarters and remove the peel. Boil the peels in a large pot of water and reserve cooking liquid. Remove peels from the water, slice thinly and set aside to add in with the fruit when you begin to cook.
Step 2: Once your oranges are peeled, you "supreme" the oranges. ("supreme" is a fancy word that means to separate the pulp of the fruit from the membrane)
Step 3: Dice strawberries and add them in with the supremed oranges and thinly sliced orange rind.
Step 4: Add sliced fruit and four cups of reserved cooking water in a large pot. Bring to a boil.
Step 5: Boil and boil and boil. Add 7 cups of sugar and continue to boil until the liquid reaches about 225 degrees.
Step 6: Remove marmalade from heat and ladle into prepared canning jars. Get ready to enjoy a delightfully tasty experience!

I couldn't help but think of my dear Banny as I sat down afterwards with a hot cup of coffee and a warm slice of marmalade toast - such sweet memories.

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