Monday, December 7, 2009

Clementine Marmalade

Yesterday was all about orange. It started when we took an early spin to the Apple Bin to pick up a squash. I chose this very heavy Marina di Chioggia. It asked me to make it into soup. I obliged. Once home I roasted it, and once it cooled down I began to harvest it's velvety orange flesh---making sure not to lose a bit of it. You have to be careful with bumpy-skinned squash, all the best flavor is in the greenish layer next to the skin. I kid you not. It's where all the nuttiness is. I was eating while working, and so was baby Z in his highchair, mushing that goodness on his tray. I have never loved squash like this. I mean, I was just eating it as I went. That's really nothing I've ever done before. I am a convert. I saved all the seeds with hopes for next year's garden. It yielded so much! I made a huge batch of squash soup with broth, onion, salt and pepper. Instead of using my regular stock, I finally made turkey pho, using this recipe which is ingenious and highly recommended, especially for squash soup. I must have at least four cups left to eat and perchance to freeze.

I wasn't even going to talk about the soup, but what a fine specimen of vegetable. I couldn't let it go unnoticed. However, the real excitement was Clementine Marmalade. It is so beautifully golden orange and deliciously bitter sweet, I will have to make scones very soon so I can eat it. And it is so incredibly festive for this time of year. Did I just say that? That sounded a little contrived, but I really mean it. Seeing boxes of clementines in the store is a marker of the season. Making clementine marmalade wasn't as hard as it seems, it just takes a long time. That's all I have these days, so a bowl of them fell in for the cause. I used a Christine Ferber recipe of the same name.

Basically, you finely slice up the fruit--which I could have done a better job at, to be honest, and better results might have been reached if I knew about chilling the clementines first, which helps firm them up (also works for other things like cookie dough and meats, as you well may know). Sometimes you know about a trick but forget to apply them to the job at hand. You add sugar and lemon juice to the fruit, bring to a boil then remove to a bowl in the fridge overnight. Do it again the next day. On the third day you add apple jelly stock you made (I used a mixture of half crabapple and half earl grey tea jelly), bring to the jelling point and then can. I processed for ten minutes. If anyone wants this recipe, leave me a comment or e-mail me and I will gladly type it up. As it stands, I am in the middle of granola baking and candy making and present wrapping and it's all starting to blur a little. I did follow the recipe for Clementine Marmalade from Christine Ferber's book Mes Confitures, so you can check that out. Anyone clamoring to make this just might have that book already!

Okay, I've got the time so here's the recipe:

1 3/4 pounds or 800 grams of clementines
3 1/4 cups or 700 grams of sugar
Juice of two small lemons (I used two tablespoons of juice)
1 3/4 cup Green Apple Jelly (This is your added pectin. I used a mix of Stayman Winesap Jelly and Earl Grey Tea Jelly, that I made, leftovers in the fridge. If you don't have some jelly lying around, which you just may not, then I'm sure you could buy some...)

Clean your thin-skinned clementines. Chill them for a bit so they get firm. Then cut them into very thin slices. Remove the seeds. Cut the rounds into quarters. Combine the clementines, sugar and lemon juice in a heavy pan. Bring to a simmer. Remove mixture from the pot into a bowl, cover with parchment paper and refrigerate overnight.

On the next day, bring it to a boil again and remove it again, to sit overnight in the fridge.

On the third day, pour mixture in your heavy pot, add the apple jelly and bring to a boil, stirring gently. Skim, continue to cook on high for about 5 or 10 minutes. Check that you have reached the jelling point (220 degrees). Ladle the hot marmalade into hot half-pint jars. Process for ten minutes. Yields four half-pints.

See the note below in the comments section that recommends only letting the mixture sit for one night. I trust this advice. Also, if you are looking for a super easy tangerine marmalade that could easily use clementines instead, see this microwaved tangerine marmalade I made.

22 comments:

  1. Total! I've had this book out from the library for a looong time. Getting one for x-mas!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wish I made as many jams and jellies as you do... that will be my new years resolution : )

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congratulation!! You ARE DOING GREAT!

    Mamou

    ReplyDelete
  4. Georgia - I am looking forward to your resolution!! Looking forward to hearing about what you make. I know it will be great!

    Thanks, Mamou! xoj

    ReplyDelete
  5. I adore clementine marmalade. Yours looks stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Christine! It's my new favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This looks delicious. I posted a version of tangerine marmalade last week--you should be fine with just letting it sit out one night, and there's so much pectin in the peels that it also works with just water.

    I'm having trouble keeping mine for gifts...I just want to eat it all.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for reading and commenting, Doris! And thanks for the tip--good to know, three days was a while. I absolutely saw your post on tangerine marmalade, and have some tangerines waiting for it.

    It's true! I get soo stingy with my clementine marmalade!

    ReplyDelete
  9. The marmalade looks great, I just got a box of clementines, and am eager to make some myself. I hate to say it but squash seeds almost never develop true. What was delicious this year probably won't be next year.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks, Chuck! Good luck--I'm sure it will be delicious. Yeah, I'm being dreamy about the seeds, but I love any kind of squash volunteers, even if I can't eat them!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I found myself with extra clementines, so I decided to try your recipe. It worked beautifully. I had a little trouble finding Green Apple Jelly. Went to three different markets and had to settle for Smucker's Apple. But the results -- luminous and delicious. I added a half-cup of water before the second day simmer, and the recipe yielded five half-pints. Thanks for the post!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Shae - that is so great! Thanks so much for leaving a comment and letting me know that it worked. I was wondering if anyone might try my suggestion, and how that might pan out. Phew! Glad it did. And deliciously, it sounds.

    ReplyDelete
  13. And now that the marmalade has gelled and I've chilled a jar, I've decided it's so good I have to make more! Got to take advantage of citrus season. This even though I have 28 lbs. of Meyer Lemons to deal with, too. Meyer Lemon Marmalade is a little more temperamental but one of my favorite things when it turns out well . . .

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh my, are you the luckiest person ever? Or the craziest? 28 pounds?? Of Meyer lemons?? Do you see how many question marks I'm using??? I am incredibly envious of that. I would gladly take some off your hands, if only I wasn't all the way in cold, lemon-less NY state.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Look, these are the comments where we met each other! Awwww. :-)

    I've been meaning to come back to this post and Kaela's recent experience with this recipe inspired me to do it. I have made this marm about half a dozen times in the past year and I still love it. Like Kaela, I do find that it benefits from the addition of extra water. Also, I wouldn't leave out one of those overnight soaks. I've tried it both ways and found that the three-day process gives those clem rinds a much nicer texture and creates a softer, more balanced flavor overall -- less like chewy, clem candy in a jar! (Not that such a thing is so very bad.)

    I still can't believe these were our first comments ever. So cute. Sorry. I'll stop.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Isn't that sweet? And a long time ago, now!

    You know, I only made this once! I really want to make it again, because I really loved it so. I totally appreciate how you do things over and over. I learn so much from it. I was actually thinking of this last week: why don't you re-do it, and do a post of it on H2H?? Maybe you are already planning it, but I think this recipe could use an update. It's very popular, btw.

    ReplyDelete
  17. OK here is my question... Ok I am not going with clemintines cause what I have is a rapidly shrinking 20 pound box of cara cara oranges... BUT I thought there was a lot of pectin in oranges, and if used some whole cranberries but more focus on the oranges than the cranberrries... do I need the added pectin? not sure i want to sacrifice a pepper jelly to the cause though might be interesting.. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  18. SapperAngel - Ummm. Citrus do have a lot of pectin. You have cara caras, which are a type of navel, so I would follow a recipe for orange marmalade. And I personally wouldn't use pectin, as they are high in it, but it depends on how you want to approach the situation. And, you may have already made it! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I think that once a year, on or near the 9th of February, I will come back here and leave you a note. (I think that comment up there from two years ago is the first I ever left on a blog. There's not even a photo -- just a big "B"!) Thanks for another year of friendship, Jules.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Aww, Shae. This is the best recipe I ever wrote. The photo is gone, though I remember you are in it in front of a barn, with a blue sky behind you, and maybe wearing a hat? Have I made that up? Thanks back, you! We are lucky.

    ReplyDelete
  21. This recipe looks so easy and delicious! I haven't made a good marmalade in a long time. Thank you so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete