Blood Orange Marmalade
Posted by Jayne in Canning, Jams and Chutneys on February 15, 2013
Blood oranges are quite spectacular, sometimes the orange has a blush of red on the skin hinting at the colour of the fruit inside. Other times the blood orange looks just like a regular orange and that will be the one that is crimson inside. It seems no two blood oranges are the same! The picture above is of my bag of blood oranges, all beautifully different! They have a wonderful flavour that is both sweet and tart, this makes them wonderful in marmalade. I’ve made more marmalade than ever this year, although I must say I think my citrus fest is about over!
I made this blood orange marmalade last year and loved it. I always start with a small batch which in this case was a mistake as I enjoyed it so much. I would have made more but the blood orange season had sadly ended. This is quite a sweet marmalade, which I really like. Marmalade made with blood oranges has a reputation for being difficult to set, when I made it last year I hadn’t heard that and made it without thinking, it turned out well although it was a much chunkier marmalade than I usually make and the peel turned out with an almost candied effect, not unpleasant but maybe not to everyone’s taste.
This year I used the new method I discovered when making my bergamot marmalade by cutting the fruit in half, boiling it then chopping and boiling with sugar I did however take more care with the peel and tried to chop the pulp really well to get a clearer marmalade. I used slightly less sugar than the weight of my boiled fruit as I felt blood oranges are so sweet already. I think next time I will try with even less sugar, of course if using less sugar when preserving this makes the end result less shelf stable and is probably not suitable for canning. I also tied up the pips and pith from the lemon I juiced into a piece of muslin and added it during the final stage to add some pectin and aid setting. This is a great tip I thought I would give a try after seeing it on the wonderful Food in Jars blog, in this great post offering marmalade tips Marissa said she sometimes adds lemon seeds to lower pectin citrus like blood oranges to help setting.
Blood Orange Marmalade (makes about 2 and a half jars)
Ingredients
- 5 blood oranges
- juice of 1 lemon reserve pips and pith (tie these into a small piece of muslin)
- approximately 600 grams granulated sugar, (the weight will vary according to the amount of pulp your oranges produce)
- 150 mls of the water your oranges were boiled in.
Instructions
- Cut each orange in half and place in a large pan. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours, keep checking and add more water if necessary to avoid boiling dry.
- Remove the oranges from the water and when cool enough to handle remove all the pips. Reserve 150 mls of the boiling liquid for later.
- Chop the softened peel to the thickness you prefer. Put all of the peel, juice and fruit into a measuring jug. For each 1 pint of fruit you have measure 1 pound of sugar. I had 600 grams of fruit pulp and used 550 grams of sugar, just a little less as the oranges are sweet.
- Put the sugar into an oven tray and warm in the oven for 10 minutes at 170 C, 325 F, gas 3. (You can add your clean jars to the oven at the same time to sterilise.)
- Tip the fruit, warmed sugar and 100 ml/ 3 oz reserved boiling liquid into your jam pan, add the muslin tied bundle of lemon pips and pith, stir well and bring to a rolling boil for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes test for setting. See here for setting tips if unsure. My marmalade took about 20 minutes to set.
- If set pour the marmalade into your prepared sterilised jars and seal.
- I processed my jars in a water bath for 10 minutes.
Meyer Lemon Curd
Posted by Jayne in Food gifts, Jams and Chutneys on February 1, 2013
Yes my title reads Meyer lemon! I have lamented for years that we can’t get Meyer lemons here in the UK. Id heard so much about Meyer lemons and constantly read about them on twitter and through others blogs. One of my good blog friends Liz the Chef is the Meyer lemon Queen! She even has her own Meyer lemon tree in her garden, alas she is all the way over in California so I lived vicariously through Liz’ and many others recipes using these elusive lemons.
Well last weekend thanks to the wonderful thing that is twitter a conversation about fruit led to my discovering that Tesco are now selling Meyer lemons! I was so excited, could it be true and if it was would the branch of Tesco near me have them? Such was my excitement my husband drove me to the store see if I could get my hands on some. The citrus section so strangely busy and it seemed ages before I was able to look properly but there they were, Meyer lemons flown here from California! Truly you have never seen anyone swoop on a pack of lemons so fast or get so excited about a lemon! In an age where the trend is turning towards eating more locally grown food sometimes it is still truly amazing that we are able to try so many different things from around the world so please forgive the air miles my Meyer lemons used!
Once I had my lovely lemons I had to decide what to make with them! There are so many things one can do with a Meyer lemon! I decided on lemon curd first as I wanted the lemons to be the star of the recipe so I could fully appreciate their flavour.
This recipe uses 3 lemons and makes just one jar of lemon curd, So the verdict of my first Meyer lemon curd? It is very fruity and sweeter than curd made with regular lemons, its delicious! Made on a sunny day following a bitterly cold couple of weeks the taste of this lovely curd made from lemons ripened in the California sunshine sang Spring to me.
Meyer Lemon Curd (adapted from this recipe by Rachel Allen)
- Zest and juice from 3 Meyer Lemons
- 75 grams ( 3 oz) butter
- 100 grams (3.5 oz) caster sugar (I used unrefined sugar)
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- Put the lemon zest,juice, butter and sugar into a saucepan, heat gently until the butter has melted.
- Whisk together the eggs and egg yolk.
- Pour the egg mix into the lemon and butter, whisking quickly. Keep whisking until the mixture has thickened, this took 3 minutes for me. Keep the heat low or the eggs will scramble. No matter how careful you are in my experience little flecks of cooked egg white will still appear which is why I follow with the next step.
- Remove from the heat and push through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon into a bowl to remove any cooked egg.
- Pour into a sterilised jar.
- Once cool keep in the fridge.
Simple White Bread
Posted by Jayne in #TwelveLoaves, Baking on January 28, 2013
The #TwelveLoaves theme for January is all about a clean slate and keeping things simple. The perfect theme for January. I’ve tried a couple of loaves for this months challenge and had a little trouble, the trouble was I was trying different whole grain flours. I think I was trying too hard, often something I suffer from! So out of the blue I bought some white bread flour, much to my husbands disappointment our house went wholemeal years ago!
I had much better success with this loaf! For the first time I made a soft, fluffy loaf of bread! It’s a perfectly simple loaf, and very well-behaved, rising as it should do even on a cold day. I often have raising issues when making bread, my house never seems to be warm enough. Needless to say my husband loved this simple white loaf, thus confirming his opinion that there is no bread better than white! I will be trying this recipe with wholemeal flour though, I’m determined to find a good loaf made with a whole grain flour!
Simple White Bread (inspired by Gennaro Contaldo’s recipe for basic bread dough in his book Passione)
- 500 grams strong white flour
- 1 tsp quick/easy bake yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 300 mls water
- A little corn meal for spreading on the baking tray
- Put the flour, yeast and salt into a large bowl. Mix until it all comes together to form a dough the knead for about minutes. I use my stand mixer for this job.
- After the five minutes knead, form the dough into a ball put back into the large bowl and cover with cling film. Leave somewhere warm to rise for 1 hour.
- When its risen to double its original size knock the air out of the dough, form into the desired shape, (I just made a flattish ball) and place onto baking sheet that’s been lightly sprinkled with cornmeal.
- Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for a further hour.
- Bake on the bottom shelf of an oven preheated to 240 C, 475 F, Gas 9 for 25- 30 minutes. Its ready when you tap the bottom of the loaf and it sounds hollow.
- Cool on a baking rack.
To see what others have baked in the monthly #Twelveloaves challenge see Lora’s blog Cake Duchess
Watercress soup
Posted by Jayne in Main Meal, Soup, Vegetables, Vegetarian on January 25, 2013
I’m dragging myself kicking and screaming onto the healthy train this new year! I’m finding it hard to get out of bad habits left over from the holiday season, possibly the very cold weather we have had recently is making it harder. However I’m trying to get back into healthier habits. One thing we will be having for dinner this week is watercress soup. I first tried this soup in France, in a supermarket of all places! We were given a sample while shopping, if I had made that soup for my husband he wouldn’t have even tried it but in a French supermarket it was somehow appealing to him and not only did he try but he liked it! Always delighted to find a healthier meal for that my husband will have too, I recreated it when we got back. It’s very simple and quick to make. Watercress is high in antioxidants and it’s also a good source of vitamins A and C, helping to boost the immune system which is good for this time of the year. It’s also very low in calories which is always good news.
This is a very mild tasting soup, the watercress adds some peppery tones but it is overall a simple clean tasting soup, I will be having it accompanied with a salad but some crusty bread would be fabulous served with this soup. Be careful not to blend for too long or the potatoes go gloopy.
Watercress Soup
- 400 grams potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
- 1 large onion, chopped
- A splash of olive oil
- 250 mls vegetable stock (homemade if you have it otherwise try to find a stock that is lower sodium and doesn’t contain msg)
- 2 x 75 gram bags of watercress
- Add the olive oil to a large saucepan, when heated add the onions and potatoes. Stir to coat in the oil then turn the heat down, cover and leave to sweat for about 5 minutes, this will soften the onion and potato without browning.
- Add the stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, the potatoes should be almost ready.
- Add all the watercress, leave it resting on top and put the lid back on so the watercress can steam. Cook for 5 minutes, check to see that the potatoes are soft and the watercress wilted.
- Blend to your preferred smoothness. My husband likes no lumps at all so I use a blender but a more chunky finish with a stick blender is also nice.
- Serve immediately. This soup freezes well.
Whole Orange Cake
As I’m writing this it is -1 c and snowing, I also have a day off! Faced with a snowy day off thoughts naturally turned to cake! Id been planning to make marmalade today as Id found some lovely big Seville oranges but although the inspiration for today’s cake, they will have to wait for another day.
This simple orange cake uses a whole orange, olive oil and a little less sugar, its easy to make and bakes fast. I enjoyed a slice with coffee while watching our lovely snowy day but it would be equally good with some cream for a simple dessert. Using the whole orange gives a strong orange flavour with a hint of bitterness from the peel every now and then, but the cake is sweet enough so it really is only a hint.
Whole Orange Cake
- 1 orange
- 100 ml olive oil
- 130 grams caster sugar (I use unrefined)
- 2 eggs
- 140 grams plain flour
- 70 grams ground almonds
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Cover an orange with water in a pan and bring to the boil, simmer for 30 minutes. When cool enough to handle slice open and remove all pips. Puree in a food processor.
- Preheat oven to 175 C, 350 F, Gas 4 and grease and line an 8 inch cake tin.
- Add the olive oil and sugar to the orange puree, blend well.
- Add the eggs, one at a time mixing between each addition.
- Add all of the dry ingredients and gently mix until just incorporated.
- Pour into cake tin and bake for 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into The cake comes out dry.
- Cool for 30 minutes in the tin then turn out onto a cooling rack.
Bergamot Orange Marmalade
Posted by Jayne in Food gifts, Jams and Chutneys on January 11, 2013
Id never tried bergamot oranges before, to be honest I hadn’t ever seen them for sale. I do enjoy a new discovery, so when I saw them I had to get some! Its marmalade time so that was what my bergamot oranges were destined for. Once Id tasted one, however, it was apparent that was all I could use them for! They look pretty unremarkable, like unripe oranges, although any similarity to oranges ends there, I was taken aback at how bitter they are! I can be found nibbling at the lemon in my drink but the bitterness of bergamots was something else! They have a just shy of harsh floral smell, apparently bergamots are what gives Earl Grey tea its distinctive aroma.
Coincidentally the day I bought my oranges someone tweeted this video about making marmalade by Jane Hassell-McCosh, the founder of the Worlds Original Marmalade awards. (Don’t you just love twitter!) It’s a lovely video, shot in Jane’s kitchen where she talks you through making marmalade in a way that I hadn’t tried before. I have never found a recipe for marmalade that I’ve stuck with. Unlike making jam, marmalade requires a bit more preparation, some recipes have you starting 2-3 days before! Well that doesn’t suit my impatient nature! Jane’s method was quicker and avoided using muslin to tie up pips and pith. Her easy guidance persuaded me to try making marmalade her way.
In the video Jane uses a mix of oranges, lemons and grapefruit. She has an easy method of measuring the cooked fruit to sugar at a rate of 1 pint of fruit to 1 lb of sugar. This suited me as I was making a very small batch. Making marmalade this way was really easy and very successful! It set really easily, always a worry when making marmalade! That sour, bitter flavour accompanied by the heavy floral fragrance made me worry what the marmalade would taste like so at the last moment I threw a regular orange in with it! I also added some extra sugar. I was glad I added that orange in with my bergamots, it added a familiar taste to an otherwise very different tasting marmalade. When trying this marmalade the first taste is just like marmalade made with Seville oranges then you bite into a piece of bergamot peel and you get a flowery, almost soapy hit (but not in a horrible way!) my description may sound unfavourable but that is not the case, the combination of sweet, sour, and floral all work well together to make a very different marmalade. I really like it and wish Id been brave enough to make a larger batch. I got a jar and a half with my small batch, this recipe could easily be doubled.
I am linking this up with the One Ingredient challenge held by Laura at How to cook Good food and Nazima at Franglaise Kitchen as the theme for this month is Oranges.
Bergamot Orange Marmalade (adapted from Jane’s marmalade recipe)
- 2 bergamot oranges
- 1 medium-sized orange
- Approx 1/2 lb 225 grams granulated cane sugar (I used unrefined sugar) plus another 2 oz/50 grams sugar
The sugar needed may vary according to how much fruit pulp you measure.
- Cut each orange in half and place in a large pan. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours, keep checking and add more water if necessary to avoid boiling dry.
- Remove the oranges from the water and when cool enough to handle remove all the pips. Reserve 100 mls/3 oz of the boiling liquid for later.
- Chop the softened peel to the thickness you prefer, as the peel is so strongly flavoured I would recommend thin cut. Put all of the peel, juice and fruit into a measuring jug. For each 1 pint of fruit you have measure out the same amount of sugar. So for each 1 pint of fruit you need 1 lb of sugar. The 3 oranges in my recipe gave me 1/2 pint of fruit so I needed 1/2 lb of sugar
- Put the sugar into an oven tray and warm in the oven for 10 minutes at 170 c, 325 f. gas 3. (You can add your clean jars to the oven at the same time to sterilise.)
- Tip the fruit, warmed sugar and 100 ml/ 3 oz reserved boiling liquid into your jam pan, stir well and bring to a rolling boil for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes test for setting. See here for setting tips if unsure. My marmalade was ready at this stage.
- If set pour the marmalade into your prepared sterilised jars and seal.
As I messed with the sugar ratio and the recipe resulted in such a small amount I do not recommend this for canning.
Happy New Year!
Posted by Jayne in Uncategorized on December 31, 2012
I had plans to write one of those looking back over the year posts… well apart from the picture of the lovely lavender field from my holiday in France this year that idea didn’t make it beyond my thoughts! Would anyone really be interested anyway? Although I actually do enjoy reading posts from people looking back over their year.
So it’s a simple post from me to end the year. It has been a great year for my blog this year, thank you to everyone who has visited. (It is still a surprise that anyone does!) My blog birthday passed by this month, I had plans to post something for that but that was another post idea that didn’t see the light of day! Id like to say a big thank you to those who have taken the time to leave comments! Those comments really do make my day.
I leave a wish for everyone who passes by here a very healthy, prosperous, Happy New Year. Jayne x
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