GT Food & Travel

Tag: jam

Orange Marmalade
From lemon curd tart to orange marmalade, I love cooking with citrus fruit. The sharp and bitter flavor combined with the sweetness of sugar is unique. Although I like my marmalade straight up, you can customize it to suit your taste – infuse it with ginger, vanilla or cloves, use thickly sliced orange peel, add more or less sugar…the jam is completely in your hands.

Here’s my simple recipe.

Ingredients
- 3 pounds oranges
- 2 lemons
- 4 cups sugar
Wash the oranges and lemons thoroughly. Let dry. With a paring knife, remove the orange and lemon zest only leaving the pith behind. Slice the zest thinly and set aside. Cut off the white pith from each orange and lemon. Place the fruit, zest and enough water to cover the mixture in a large heavy pot. Bring to a boil.

Stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for approximately 2 hours. Turn the heat up to medium, boil gently, stirring often for another 30 minutes. Skim off any foam on the top. If you want to be sure it’s ready, place a small amount in a bowl and refrigerate it until it’s cool. If it’s firm it’s done. If it’s runny continue cooking it and if it’s too hard add more water.

Pour the marmalade into clean, hot jars, seal with lids and store for up to a year.
April 11, 2014
Quince Jam
When I was growing up, there wasn’t a jar of Smucker’s to be found in my parents’ house. Lucky for me, my grandmother and mom made Concord grape jelly every year. I never gave much thought to this yearly ritual. I watched and learned. It was part of life. When I moved to Italy, I graduated from making grape jelly to fig, strawberry, plum and gorgeous quince jam. Ripe quince are fragrant and have a golden-yellow skin. They are used mostly for cooking given their hard and somewhat bitter flesh. They contain a high amount of pectin which makes them ideal for jams and jellies alike.

The below recipe makes about 3 cups of jam. Add a vanilla pod, cinnamon or ginger while cooking for a different flavor. Enjoy with toast, cheese or by the spoonful.

Ingredients
- 4 pounds ripe quinces, quartered, cored, and sliced
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
- Fresh lemon juice
Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil. Add quince and lemon juice to the saucepan, stirring often. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until fruit is soft, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.

When fruit is soft and transparent, bring the mixture to a boil stirring constantly for about 20 minutes uncovered until the mixture thickens.

Pour mixture into jars. Close jars and chill overnight.
January 17, 2014

Tag: jam

Orange Marmalade

Quince Jam