Christmas Citrus Marmalade Food

CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Cut the citrus: Using a sharp knife, slice off the top and bottom of the citrus so it sits sturdily on the cutting board. Slice off the peel and white pith in sections, starting at the top and following the curve of the fruit. (You should have a pile of peels and a few naked fruit.)
• Thinly slice the peels (with the pith) no thinner than 1/8 inch and no thicker than 1/4 inch, place them in a large bowl and set aside.
• Halve the fruit and remove any visible seeds. Thinly slice about 1/4-inch thick (white membrane and all), removing any seeds you might have missed. Add the fruit to the peels, and cover with 3 to 5 cups of water, taking note of how much water you used. Let this sit for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (This will help extract the pectin slowly as well as soften the peels.)
• Make the marmalade: Place a small plate in the refrigerator to chill. (You'll use this later.)
• Place the peels, fruit and water in a large pot. Add enough water to bring the total to 6 cups and bring to a strong simmer over medium-high heat.
• Cook the citrus until the peels have begun to soften and turn translucent, and the liquid has reduced by about three-fourths, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Add sugar and any add-ins and continue to cook, stirring occasionally at first, then more frequently as the marmalade cooks and the juices thicken. Continue until most of the liquid has evaporated and the peels are totally softened and almost completely translucent, another 40 to 50 minutes.
• As the marmalade cooks, the liquid reduces, the sugars thicken and the natural pectins activate. You'll notice the liquid go from a rapid, rolling boil with smaller bubbles to a slow, thick, tarlike boil with larger bubbles: This is the stage at which it's most important to stir constantly along the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching and sticking. (Sugar is heavier than water and will concentrate at the bottom of the pot, making the fruit more likely to burn.) It's also the stage at which splattering may occur, so take care in stirring.
• When the marmalade reaches this point, add lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring constantly until the jam has returned to its previously thickened state, about another 5 minutes. At this stage, the mixture should look thick and viscous with bits of the peel floating around. The peels will never break into the liquid as with a jam: This is O.K.
• To test the jam's thickness, spoon a bit onto the chilled plate, return it to the refrigerator and chill for 2 minutes. Drag your finger through it: It should hold its shape on either side without appearing watery or runny. If it's not there yet, cook it for a few more minutes.
• Remove from heat and discard the vanilla bean, if used. Divide among jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top, and seal immediately. Can the marmalade (our How to Make Jam guide has detailed instruction), or store in the refrigerator.

TRADITIONAL CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Wash mason jars and screw lids in soapy water and rinse soap off well under running hot water. Place clean jars on a baking sheet and place in oven preheated to 200 degrees. Set screw bands aside. Next, boil a kettle of water and pour into a clean glass bowl. Carefully submerge the sealing discs in the bowl of hot water. Set aside.
• Wash the fruit very well and dry with paper towels. Using a very sharp knife, cut each piece of fruit in half lengthwise. Next, very thinly slice across each piece of fruit. Once sliced, cut each slice into roughly one-inch pieces.
• Place all fruit into a large sauce pan or pot. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover continue to gently boil for 45 minutes.
• Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil. Continue to boil uncovered over medium heat for one hour - stirring frequently.
• In the meantime, fill your water bath canner to the halfway mark with water and add the jar rack. Bring to a full boil.
• Ladle the marmalade into prepared mason jars using a funnel to prevent the sauce from touching the rim of the jars.
• Use the non-metallic bubble remover to remove any air bubbles.
• Wipe down the rim of each jar with a damp paper towel to ensure no sauce has come in contact with the rim.
• Carefully remove the sealing discs from the hot water with a magnetic lid lifter. Position the sealing disc directly onto the lid of the jars. Do not touch the underside of the lid.
• Screw on the screw bands until firm - do not apply pressure! Just use your fingertips to tighten the screw bands.
• Using the jar lifter, place the jars into the water bath canner with the boiling water. Do not place the lid on the canner.
• Boil for 20 minutes. Carefully remove each jar from the canner using the jar lifter. Try not to tilt the jars. Place jars onto a wire cooling rack that has been covered with a clean kitchen towel.
• Leave the jars to cool for a minimum of 12 hours. Once cooled, wipe the jars of any residue that might have been transferred to the outside of the jar during the boiling process. Label the jars and store in a dark, cool cabinet for up to one year.

MICROWAVE CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Finely grate peel of one orange and one lime.
• Set aside.
• Peel all fruit.
• Place pulp in a food processor and coarsely puree.
• Place puree in a 12-cup microwave-safe bowl; stir in peel and sugar.
• Microwave, uncovered, on High for 8-10 minutes , until mixture comes to a full roiling boil and boils for 1 minute.
• Stir well once during cooking.
• Let cool slightly.
• Pour into sterilized jars; cover and refrigerate.
• Keeps well for at least two weeks.

MIXED CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the lemons, grapefruit, oranges and water. Cover and refrigerate overnight., Transfer to a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until fruit is tender. Stir in sugar. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 45-55 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently., Remove from the heat; skim off foam. Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 5 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

THREE-CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Put a small plate into the freezer for testing the jam later. Scrub and dry the citrus. With a vegetable peeler, strip the zest (the outermost layer of the rind) from 1 orange, 2 blood oranges, and 2 Meyer lemons. Slice the strips into thin matchsticks about 1/16th inch in width. Add the strips to a small pot and cover with cold water. Over high heat, bring the pot to a boil and boil for 30 seconds. Drain the strips, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
• Cut both ends of each fruit. Using the side of your knife, remove the white pith and peel of each fruit. Discard the peels. Cut the fruit into quarters, removing any seeds or hard, pithy centers. Chop each fruit into roughly 1-to-2-inch pieces, saving all of the juice that drips onto the cutting board.
• Measure the fruit and any remaining juice (you should have about 6 cups.) Transfer to a medium heavy-bottomed pot. Add 6 cups water to the pot with the fruit and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
• When the mixture comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium. Cook fruit syrup, uncovered, for 1 hour, or until it has reduced by half. Periodically skim off white foam that accumulates at the top, and stir occasionally.
• Add the blanched zest and the sugar to the pot. Stir to combine, increase the heat to high, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook, about 10 minutes. The mixture should be at a bubbling simmer. After 10 minutes begin to stir the marmalade constantly. Cook for about 20 minutes more.
• The marmalade is ready when it is thick enough that a spoon leaves a trail at the bottom of the pan.
• Remove the plate from the freezer. Test the marmalade by placing a spoonful of it on the plate. It should thicken promptly. Prepare an ice water bath.
• Carefully pour marmalade into a medium bowl, scraping any bits with a spatula. Set the bowl into an ice water bath. Let cool slightly, stirring, about 5 minutes. Cover surface with plastic wrap and let cool completely. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

CHRISTMAS-SPICED MARMALADE

Steps:

• Peel the zest off the fruit with a vegetable peeler, leaving as much of the white pith as you can.
• Pile up the strips of zest and snip them into tiny matchsticks with a scissors and set them aside.
• Juice all the dezested fruit, setting the juice aside.
• Roughly cut the dezested, juiced fruit pieces and add them to a large pot along with the pulp and seeds from the juicer. Add the whole spices and the water. Bring the pot to the boil, clamp the lid on, turn the heat down to medium low and allow to simmer for 2 hours.
• Take 3 small plates and put them in the freezer.
• After 2 hours of simmering, pass the water through a fine mesh sieve, making sure you squeeze all the water from the pith. Discard and collected pith, pulp and spices.
• In a very large pot, add the water from the pith, the fruit juice and the snipped up zest. Stir and bring to the boil.
• Add the sugar. Stir it to help the sugar dissolve and bring to a rolling boil.
• If you have a candy thermometer, you will need to let this reach 105 degrees celsius so it will set. If you do not have a candy thermometer, then just let it boil for about 40 minutes.
• To test if it is done, take a not cold plate from the freezer and pour about a tablespoon of marmalade onto it and leave it for 5 minutes. Then slowly drag your finger across it. If the surface of the marmalade forms a crinkly surface and your finger leaves the plate clean behind it then it is done and will set. If that doesn't happen, let it boil for another 10 minutes and check again with the second plate from the freezer.
• Allow the marmalade to cool a bit before pouring it into sterilised jars. To sterilise jars, you can boil them in water or run them through the hottest cycle of the dishwasher, just don't touch the inside of the jars once sterilised. I sterilise the lids by boiling them in a small pot of water.
• Once the jars are filled, put on the lids not so tightly and submerge all the jars in a very large pot of water or a number of smaller pots and bring to the boil. Allow to boil for half an hour before you remove them from the water and tighten the lids.

CITRUS TOMATO MARMALADE

Steps:

• Cut tomatoes into small pieces, drain.
• Slice oranges and lemons very thin; quarter the slices.
• Tie cinnamon sticks and cloves in cheesecloth bag.
• Place tomatoes in large kettle, add sugar and salt and stir until dissolved.
• Add oranges, lemons and spice bag.
• Boil mixture rapidly, stirring constantly until thick (about 50 minutes).
• Remove from heat; skim foam.
• Pour into 1/2 pint jars and seal.
• Process 5 minutes in boiling water bath.
• Recipe can be halved.

MIXED CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Carefully remove rind from fruit using a vegetable peeler, discard white pith. Cut rind from 1 orange, 1 grapefruit and lemon into 1 1/4 inch strips. Section fruit, cut into 1 inch pieces. Discard seeds, reserve juice.
• Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until thick, stirring occasionally. Cool. Pour into airtight containers. NOTE: Store marmalade in the refrigerator up to three weeks.

HOW TO MAKE MARMALADE

Steps:

• Place a small plate or glass dish in the freezer. You will use this later to test the viscosity of the marmalade. Thoroughly wash the oranges and lemon. Thinly slice oranges and lemon, removing seeds as you go. Stack the slices and quarter them. In a large non-reactive pot, combine citrus slices and water. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and let simmer an additional 15 minutes or until citrus is very soft, stirring occasionally.Raise heat and mixture to a boil. Add sugar to citrus mixture and mix until well combined. Let boil until mixture reaches 223ºF on a candy thermometer, about 30 minutes. Keep a close eye on the marmalade. The mixture should darken in color. Test the doneness of the marmalade by placing a small amount of the marmalade on the chilled plate and letting it sit for 30 second. The mixture should turn into a soft gel and move slightly. If it is runny and thin, let it continue to boil until it reaches desired consistency. The marmalade is now ready for canning.

CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Wash fruit well to remove any wax that might be on it.
• Cut the orange, separating the pulp from the peel. Remove and save any seeds.
• Slice the peel into very thin pieces.
• Cut the grapefruit, separating the pulp from the peel. Remove and save any seeds.
• Slice the peel into very thin pieces.
• Place grapefruit peel and orange peel pieces in a medium sauce pot.
• Add 1 ½ quarts water to the sauce pot.
• Boil the mixture for 5 minutes on a low boil, stirring often.
• Drain the water from the peels. Discard water.
• Chop the grapefruit pulp. Chop the orange pulp.
• Slice the lemon into very thin slices. Remove and save any seeds.
• Wrap all seeds, pulp and pith scraps in cheesecloth. Tie to form a packet.
• Add grapefruit pulp, orange pulp, lemon slices and cheesecloth packet to the saucepot with the peels.
• Add the other 1 ½ quarts of water.
• Bring back to a low boil. Let boil 5 minutes.
• Cover the pot. Let stand for 12 to 18 hours in a cool place. Do not refrigerate.
• Cook mixture rapidly until peel is tender.
• Remove the cheesecloth packet from the pot. Discard.
• Measure the fruit and liquid.
• Add 1 cup sugar for each cup fruit mixture, stirring until sugar dissolves.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.
• Cook rapidly almost to the gelling point, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
• Remove from heat. Skim foam if needed.
• Ladle hot marmalade into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace.
• Wipe top of jar with a damp cloth to remove any food particles.
• Adjust two-piece caps.
• Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

STRAWBERRY-CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Cut unpeeled oranges and lemons into eight wedges; remove and discard seeds. Transfer oranges and lemons to a food processor; add 1 cup sugar. Pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a large glass bowl; refrigerate, covered, overnight., Stir water into fruit mixture; transfer to a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in strawberries and remaining sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Continue to boil 10-12 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly., Remove from heat; skim off foam if necessary. Ladle hot mixture into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight., Place jars into canner, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

CRANBERRY CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Remove peel from grapefruit and orange. Scrape away white membrane from peel. Cut peel into thin strips.
• In large kettle, combine peel and water. Cover kettle and cook over low heat until peel is tender; about 20 minutes.
• Section fruit and chop. Add to kettle along with cranberries; simmer 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Stir in pectin. Bring to a boil; stir in sugar. Bring to full rolling boil and boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat and skim foam. Let stand 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Ladle into hot sterilized pint jars. Seal with lids and rings and process in water bath 10 minutes. Remove from water and cool on wire rack. Lids should "ping" as they cool.

CHRISTMAS CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Remove peel from white part of lemons and orange in long strips with sharp paring knife, making sure there is no white on the peel. Stack strips; cut into thin slivers. Combine lemon and orange peels, water and baking soda in 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, peel grapefruit. Remove white pith from grapefruit, lemons and orange; discard peel and pith. Separate fruit into sections. With fingers, remove pulp from membrane of each section over large saucepan to save juice. Dice fruit sections into same saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Measure 5 cups fruit mixture into 6-quart saucepan or Dutch oven.
• Wash jars, lids and bands. Leave jars in hot water. Place lids and bands in large pan of water. Mix pectin into fruit mixture. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Immediately stir in sugar. Bring to a rolling boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim off foam with metal spoon.
• Bring water with lids and bands to a boil. Ladle hot mixture into hot jars leaving 1/2-inch space at top. Run metal spatula around inside of jar to remove air bubbles. Wipe tops and sides of jar rims clean. Place hot lids and bands on jar. Screw bands tightly, but do not force. To process, place jars in boiling water; boil 10 minutes. Remove jars with tongs; cool on wire racks. (Check seals by pressing on lid with fingertip; lid should remain concave.) Label and date jars.* Store unopened jars in a cool, dry place up to 12 months. Refrigerate after opening up to 6 months.
• *Marmalade sets slowly. Store in a cool, dry place 2 weeks before serving.