The great thing about marmalade is that it doesn’t always have to be made with Seville Oranges!
Those of you who have read my previous posts will be familiar with the January madness of obtaining Marmalade oranges during a very short two week period each year. It is challenging getting them and then dealing with them all very quickly, calculating how many jars of each size are required through the year.
But marmalade does not have to be made with oranges :-) . This morning I’ve made another batch of Pink Grapefruit and Lemon Marmalade. Both Pink Grapefruits and Lemons are, of course, readily available all year round.
If you have never tried grapefruit marmalade you should give it a go. It is sharper than orange marmalade - more grapefruity!
Another is lemon and ginger marmalade, which also can be made throughout the year, but I have noticed it is far less popular. I think ginger gets a bit of a “Marmite” reaction - you either love it or you hate it. All the ginger I use in any of the jams or chutneys I make, I preserve myself. It is a slow process peeling and dicing 5 or 10 kg of ginger at a time. It is then boiled repeatedly in three or four changes of water until it is nice and tender. Finally I make a syrup to boil it in before putting into hot, sterilised jars. It is then stored for some months before I go on to use it in recipes, such as the aforementioned Lemon and Ginger Marmalade or Pear and Ginger Chutney.
Of course, Marmalade is not all I’ve been doing recently. A new and very popular jam is the Strawberry and Apple. It has a firmer set than Strawberry alone, and has a very attractive colour with the small apple chunks showing through. I’ve made just a small batch of Blackcurrant jam so far as I’m having difficulty getting Blackcurrants but hopefully they will be available soon.
Then on a different tangent, is the Sweet and Sour Pickled Cucumber. That is to be found on the menu and instore at The Tayvallich Cafe and General Store. I thoroughly enjoy making that as it is so different to the other preserves. Also I have to confess I personally find it very tasty. I am now a convert to adding pickled cucumber to burgers or salads!
Another new product in the pipeline is to create a lime pickle that is less fiery than the South Indian Lemon and Lime Pickle that I have been making. Just reducing the chilli content, still left it too hot for the palates of some. Next I changed the type of chilli, but that did not give the right flavour. The current version is called Naranga Achaar, which hails from the Kerala region of India. I have a few taste testers out there before I go on to make a full batch. Watch this space lol!
Comments