Gin And Lime Marmalade Food

ABSOLUTELY FAIL-PROOF EASY MARMALADE

Steps:

• Take the 6 citrus fruits and wash well, removing any blemishes.
• Cut into quarters, and place in a food processor.
• Chop until finely ground, skin and all.
• For an optional extra add some crystallized ginger.
• Boil with the 1 kilo of sugar, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 20 minutes.
• It splatters, so be careful.
• This quantity fills about 5 x 340 gram jars.
• Do not double the ingredients, rather make two batches.
• It never goes dark and lasts for up to 6 months in the refrigerator without the need to sterilize the bottles.

LIME MARMALADE

Steps:

• Wash limes thoroughly, dry; using sharp knife, slice as finely as possible; retain any juice from limes; remove seeds (if there are any, as you slice).
• Place sliced limes, any reserved juice and water in china, glass or plastic basin, cover, stand overnight.
• Next day, pour lime mixture into large boiler, bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer covered for 30-45 mins or until rind is tender. It is important to cook fruit gently at this stage.
• Remove lime mixture from heat; using measuring jug, measure mixture into large basin, return lime mixture to large boiler. Allow 1 cup sugar for each 1 cup of measured lime mixture.
• Place sugar in large baking dish, place in slow oven for 10 minutes, stir several times. (Heated sugar will dissolve in the jam more quickly, resulting in clearer jam). Bring lime mixture to boil, add sugar all at once, (its better to add the sugar off the heat).
• Stir until sugar is dissolved completely - do not allow to boil again until this happens; do not stir after marmalade boils. (It is important, once sugar is added that there is not too much mixture in the boiler; it should not be more than 5cm (2in) deep; this will allow maximum evaporation of liquid, resulting in a marmalade which will jell as quickly as possible.).
• Bring marmalade to the boil, boil rapidly, uncovered. Place a saucer in the freezer for 10 minutes, before testing marmalade. After marmalade has been boiling rapidly for 12 minutes, remove from heat; allow bubbles to subside, drop a teaspoonful of marmalade on to a cold saucer, return to freezer for a few minutes to cool. If marmalade is not jelled enough, return to heat, cook further 3 minutes, test again in the same way. Marmalade should be jelled within 20 minutes; stand 5 minutes to allow fruit to settle. Pour into hot sterilized jars, Store in cool dark place.
• Makes about 2 litres (8 cups).

GIN AND LIME MARMALADE

Steps:

• 1.Cut the limes in half and juice them all. Pour the juice along with the water into a large stainless steel plan. Scrape the membrane and pips out of the remaining lime halves and save it in a bowl.
• 2.Chop the membranes up either by hand or in a small food processor, then sit on top of a square of muslin and then gather up the edges and tie securely with string and pop it into the pan, tying it to the handle so it doesn't bob about too much.
• 3.Next finely slice the lime halves into the thinnest strips you can manage and pop them into the pan to soak overnight - they're pretty tough so it's worth doing this to make your marmalade softer to eat
• 4.The next day bring the pan to the boil with the lid on, then turn the hob down to the lowest setting and allow to simmer for two hours. Your kitchen will smell of zesty citrus.
• 5.Meanwhile, pop your sugar into an ovenproof bowl and war
• 6.Remove the muslin wrapped lime innards from the pan, squeezing gently to remove any excess juice. Add the warmed sugar and dissolve over a low heat, then turn the heat up until the liquid churns up into a rolling boil. Take your jars out of the oven and place onto a wooden board. Pour approx one teaspoon of gin into the bottom of each jar.
• 7.Keep the rolling boil up until you reach setting point. This can take 5 minutes, but always seems to take me more like 20 mins. Keep checking by plunging a wooden spoon into the marmalade, lifting out and twisting until the liquid runs off. If you're left with a droplet that hangs stubbornly from the spoon like a flake without dripping, then you've reached setting point. Don't fret, just keep boiling until it happens. Turn the heat off and push any scum that's formed on the surface to the side with a metal spoon and then lift out and into a dish. (I like to spread this on toast later)
• 8.Ladle the marmalade into a jug and pour into the jars and fill to just under the brim and then seal with lids. Allow to cool completely before labelling.
• t's much easier to process the limes if they're room temperature. If they're straight out of the fridge they'll be tougher and won't yield as much juice. You can pop them in a bowl of warm water to soften them if you're in a hurry.