THE PRESERVATIONIST

THE PRESERVATIONIST THREE-FRUIT MARMALADE AND HONEYED ORANGES

Gathering to preserve—and share— winter’s citrus bounty

By Jordan Champagne

The cold rains of winter usher in a natural time to slow down and get together with friends and make preserves. The crisp air makes being inside the kitchen over a boiling pot a great pleasure. The conversation intermingles with the steam and fogs up the windows to make our homes the coziest places to be. We join the local food revolution and reduce our carbon footprint. We nourish our friends and our inner desire to work with our hands and create something beautiful. And along with preserves, we create memories and gifts prepared with love.

The whole experience, from obtaining the fruit to making the preserves, encapsulates all we want out of a winter day—and it can really connect us with other people and our food.

It’s the season of citrus, and it’s growing all around us.

You may have a tree in your backyard or perhaps your neighbor does. We can trade with our neighbors, receiving some of their citrus in return for jars of the preserves we make.

We can invite friends over to make some marmalade together (recommended to distribute the slicing). It’s a real joy to work together in the kitchen and share in the results of our work.

And of course, all of our glistening jars of preserves make wonderful handmade presents.

Bring your farmers some of the preserves you made with their produce. The mellow pace of winter gives you a chance to talk to them at the farmers’ market and show your appreciation. Thank them for driving the produce to market so that you could bike there. Thank them for standing out in the rain by buying 10 pounds of their blood oranges and pink grapefruit.

There are so many ideas for citrus aside from marmalade.

You can make a citrus syrup that can be added to sparkling water or cocktails. You can juice the lemons or limes, freeze the juice and make candied citrus peels. A wonderful treat is citrus preserved in honey or Moroccan preserved lemons that are a sort of pickled citrus that can be made with lemons or limes. And of course there is your classic marmalade!

I am happy to share with you two different recipes for preserving citrus—and because at Happy Girl Kitchen Co. we like to empower you to preserve fruits, they’re as simple as they can be.

We always recommend purchasing organic ingredients, but with citrus it’s especially important because you are including the rind in your preserves.

Happy Girl Kitchen Co. • 173 Central Avenue, Pacific Grove 831.373.4475 • www.happygirlkitchen.com

Yields 12 8-ounce jars Marmalade can be intimidating even to the seasoned jam maker. Many complicated recipes take three days and many more hours. In our workshops we go over more complicated techniques, should you desire to take that route.

In this recipe, I offer you a very simple way to make marmalade that tastes fabulous. I have found that eliminating some of the complicated ways of preparing my citrus in no way compromises the quality of the marmalade—and it makes it more likely that you’ll actually tackle this project.

The different flavors and textures that come together in this preserve are fabulous. The tart punch of the lemon and the sweet undertone of the oranges all hold together with the velvety grapefruit peels.

I usually do not add anything else so that I can really enjoy the dance between these citrus fruits, but you could add some rose geranium or star anise for another dimension.

4 pounds grapefruit (ruby red are my favorite) 4 pounds oranges (any variety works) 3 pounds Meyer lemons water to cover (about 25 cups) 20 cups organic granulated sugar

Day 1

Slice all of the grapefruit lengthwise into wedges (about 6-8 wedges depending on the size of the grapefruit). Remove any seeds and reserve. Next, slice the wedges crosswise making nice triangle shapes. Add to pot. Take half of the oranges and lemons and remove the rind and pith from the outside of the fruit, leaving only the flesh intact. Slice in quarters and remove the seeds as you go along. Slice the quarters into small wedges. (I do this to remove half of the rinds from the oranges and lemons because I find if I add them to the recipe, the final marmalade comes out too “rindy.”) Finally, prepare the remaining lemons and oranges as you did the grapefruit above and add to pot. Take all of the seeds and pips and place in a cloth bag tied very well. Add to the pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and leave pot covered overnight or up to 24 hours in a spot that will not be above 80 degrees F. This helps your peels soften nicely.

Day 2

Put five plates in your freezer that you will use later to test your gel set. Begin to heat up your pot again and remove your muslin bag when it is warm to the touch. Squeeze out every last drop of liquid and add the liquid to the pot. This is your extra pectin that will help your marmalade gel beautifully. Bring contents to a boil and add sugar, slowly stirring in the entire time. Continue to boil until your marmalade comes to the desired consistency. This takes about 45 minutes. Test the gel set by placing a small amount on the plate and returning it to the freezer to cool. You should test often so that you get that perfect set, which has a very narrow window for marmalade. It is very easy to overcook so be cautious. When finished, remove from heat and fill jars and hot water bath can for 10 minutes for 8-ounce jars. Yields 12 8-ounce jars I love to teach people how to preserve fruits using honey or alternative sweeteners, but you can only do this when you are not trying to get your preserve to gel firmly.

For this recipe you can use any citrus fruit you would like, including lemons and limes. I have chosen to use Cara Cara navel oranges mixed with blood oranges to give the final product a pink hue.

You can also substitute agave for the honey and experiment with the spices to tailor it to your own desires. Vanilla, fennel, ginger or cardamom would be nice flavor variations.

As you can see, this recipe is very flexible and you can double or halve it easily.

How to use these preserves? In the end you will have whole slices of citrus that are softened and very sweet. You can add them to baked goods such as muffins and scones. You can top off your ice cream or pudding with a slice. They are a wonderful addition to a fruit salad and can stand alone on a piece of toast or crumpet. The syrup that is created is absolutely divine and not a drop should be squandered. I love it for flavoring special drinks or baked goods.

9 cinnamon sticks 1 1/2 tablespoons cloves 8 pounds oranges (thinly sliced and seeds discarded) 9 cups honey (local is best—I prefer a sage or wildflower variety) 1 cup lemon juice 1 cup orange juice

In a non-reactive pot, combine the oranges with water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and boil gently until peel is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add drained oranges to the honey and lemon juice in a non-reactive pot and add spice. Reduce the heat and boil gently until orange slices are well glazed, about 40 minutes.

Prepare the canner and the lids. Using a slotted spoon, pack hot oranges into hot jars, leaving slightly more than 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot syrup into the jar to cover oranges. Wipe rim and put on the lids.

Place the jars in canner and process for 10 minutes.