Blood Orange Marmalade from the Heart

Happy Valentine’s Day!  Today is the day we share gifts from the heart with friends and loved ones around the world.  So my dear friends and visitors, this Blood Orange Marmalade is my gift to you. 

 

I haven’t made marmalade in a while and I just got a new cooktop so I had to test it out. The cooktop works great and so did the marmalade! 

I hope you enjoy it.

 

Blood Orange Marmalade Recipe

Makes: approximately 4 half-pints

From: The Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves by Linda Ziedrich.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 pounds blood oranges
• 7 cups water
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups sugar

 

Directions:

If the oranges are not home-picked or labeled organic, put them in a colander in the sink and pour boiling water over them to remove any wax.  Scrub them well.

 

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest of the oranges in large strips, leaving behind as much of the white pith as possible. I had to scrape off the extra pith with a small utility knife.

 

Slice the strips crosswise into very thin shreds.  Put the shredded zest into a saucepan with 2 1/2 cups of water.

 

Cut the oranges into chunks without removing the pith.  Put the orange chunks into a nonreactive pan with 4 1/2 cups of water.

 

Bring the contents of both pans to a boil.  Ok. This photo isn’t really part of the process, I just had to get a shot of my new cooktop. 

 

Reduce the heat and crush the orange chunks with a potato masher. 

 

Gently boil the contents of both pans, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

 

Drain the liquid from the saucepan of orange zest into the pot of oranges, reserving the zest.  Pour the oranges (and water) into a damp jelly bag set over a bowl or pan.  I used my Chinois lined with cheesecloth.

 

Let the juice drip fro several hours and then measure it. I ran some errands while the juice was dripping into the pan.

 

You should have 2 1/2 to 3 cups of juice. I ended up with 2 3/4 cups of juice.

 

Discard the contents of the jelly bag.

 

Combine the juice in a preserving pan with the zest, the lemon juice, and 1 cup of sugar for each cup of juice. I had 2 3/4 cups of juice so I used 2 3/4 cups of sugar.  Over medium heat, stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves.

 

Raise the heat to medium-high and boil the mixture until it reaches 220 degrees F. on a jelly thermometer or mounds in a chilled dish.

 

I used a thermometer and it worked really well for this recipe.  Sure enough, the marmalade was done when the thermometer reached 220 degrees F.

 

Remove the pan from the heat and let the marmalade cool for 5 minutes.  It will thicken a bit during this time.  Stir the marmalade and then ladle it into half-pint mason jars or 8 oz jelly jars.  Add lids and rings, and process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling- water bath.  Refer to the instructions at the National Center for Home Preservation.

 

I ended up with 2 1/2 jars so I only processed 2 jars and placed the other jar in the refrigerator to enjoy.

 

Happy Canning and Baking!
Cathy

 

Here are some of the references I use in my canning adventures.

• Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
• The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving
• Keeping The Harvest: Discover the Homegrown Goodness of Putting Up Your Own Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs
• National Center for Home Preservation