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Posts Tagged ‘marmalade’

  1. Marmalade

    March 15, 2015 by sarah

    The start of Spring means marmalade making time. The required bitter-sweet Seville oranges are only in the shops for a short time around about now so I always buy a bag when I see them before they disappear again. They bring bitter-sweet thoughts of places that are currently sunnier and warmer than this grey cold British start to Spring. But the sparkling bright orange jelly and tangy orange peel warm any breakfast.

     

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    It is a pain hand cutting the peel but there is no way round that; using a food processor just leaves mush, even a mandolin failed. The acid in the oranges also makes the skin of your hands go all pruney! But there is no way round it, so stick on some music and get down to work. Orange or other citrus marmalade seems to be a uniquely British product. I do not recall seeing it in any of the countries I’ve been to around the world. But a certain bear from deepest darkest Peru was rather fond of the stuff!

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    Marmalade

    Recipe from ‘The National Trust Good Old-Fashioned Jams, Preserves and Chutneys’ by Sara Paston-Williams

    Makes approximately 6 jars.

    1kg Seville oranges
    1 lemon
    2.4 litres of water
    2kg granulated sugar

    Wash the oranges well as the rough skins are prone to be dirty. Cut them in half (plus the lemon) and juice them, reserving the pips. Scrape out the pith (white bits and membranes inside the oranges) and also reserve with the pips. Then shred all the rind fairly finely.

    Place the shredded rind, juice and water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for about 2 hours until the rind is very soft and disintegrates when squeezed.

    Heat the sugar in the oven and when the rind is soft enough, add to the pan. Then use the oven to sterilise half a dozen jam jars and lids.

    Tie up the pips and pith into a muslin bag and add to the pan. Gradually stir to dissolve the added sugar. Once the sugar has been added, increase the temperature and bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Boil briskly, stirring frequently so it doesn’t catch on the bottom, for about 20 minutes before starting to test for the set. Once setting point is reached, take the pan off the heat, remove the muslin bag (squeeze well to get the goodness out), skim off any froth and allow the pan to sit for a good 15 minutes. Stir well before potting and stir while potting to evenly distribute the peel.

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  2. Marmalade Loaf Cake and Crystallised Flowers

    April 6, 2014 by sarah

    OK folks, a brief posting for a cake I made last weekend as I am totally pooped! I would of thought I would have more energy now Spring has finally arrived, but as usual there is too much to do and too little time! I made some marmalade last Saturday so to make space for the fresh stuff, I went through the cupboards to find any of last years marmalade. There was only one jar left so a third went into this cake. I just need to find a recipe for the rest – any suggestions?

    This cake is lovely and zing and oh so spring like, especially with the crystallised flowers (ahh, pretty). I saw a recipe in a magazine using them recently and jotted it down as something to do. I was thinking of how to decorate this cake and these flowers were surprisingly easy. Take one egg white and add a dash of cold water and whisk to break up the white. Use a small clean paint brush to brush the egg white all over the flowers and then hold over a second bowl and sprinkle over caster sugar. Leave on a baking rack to dry for 24 hours. Make sure you use edible flowers (see this website for a good list of flowers). I used primroses, daisies and violets. I then used the left over egg and sugar in the recipe so nothing was wasted. I am happy when nothing is wasted!

    marmalade cake (1 of 3)

    Marmalade Loaf Cake

     

    • 225g self-raising flour
    • 1 pinch salt
    • 115g margarine
    • 85g caster sugar
    • 1 teaspoon orange rind, finely grated
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    • 2 eggs, beaten
    • 2 good tablespoons thick cut orange marmalade
    • 2 tablespoons milk

     

    1. Preheat the oven to 170 C / fan 150 C. Grease a 1lb loaf tin (or a 6 inch/15cm round cake tin).
    2. Cream the margarine and sugar in a large bowl.
    3. Add all the other ingredients and use hand mixer to mix well but don’t over do it; it should look like thick batter.
    4. Don’t worry about the occasional wee lump, remember there’s orange rind in the mix! Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
    5. Bake in the center of the preheated oven until golden brown, about 1 hour. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then tip out onto a wire rack.
    6. While the cake is still warm, spread a thin layer of warmed marmalade over the top. Allow to cool, then slice and enjoy.
    7. Alternatively, when cool ice with glace icing and decorate with crystallised spring flowers.

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