Marmalade

I love marmalade, it can't be just any marmalade though it has to have finer bits of peel and a real acidic flavor. I don't admire the jarringly sweet heavily laden peel versions and this is a great one. I have always relied on my step mom Mary to donate her citrus marmalade to my cause and I have never made the jump to making it on my own but this time I did and it turned out really good.

I used a recipe off of the pectin box but changed it to using 3 oranges, 2 grapefruits and 2 lemons and I made up the measurements they call for with those instead. I also chopped the peal in my food processor so it is nice and fine and when I peeled it off I used my peeler so it made thin translucent strips of peel. Not only a aromatic exercise of pretty as well. It is great warm and glazed on white meats but yummy on toast in the morning with coffee!

Dried Pears

Dried Pears

We had some extra pears on our tree this year and I decided to dry them. Jake and I both like dried fruit and I have made them before and we liked them.

First I peeled and cut the pears in 1/8ths. Then I soaked them in acidulated water so they don't get brown. Place them on the racks of a food dryer or on racks in a low oven. I set my dryer at 145 degrees but I have done it in the oven on the lowest setting and it works well. You just do it for less time. They take about 12 hours to dry completely so they are chewy and not too moist.

Store in a air tight container for several weeks.

Lemon Cordial

I make some kind of cordial each year and I have been wanting to make lemon for a while now and I tried it last year and it didn't turn out. This year I tweaked it a little and it worked perfectly and I am very excited! In the past I have made cherry, blackberry, loganberry, you name it but never have ventured out of that kind of category of fruits. They are fun in general to make and don't take a lot of work. You have to put it together and then 6 weeks later you have the finished product. I have heard some fun things with making spice flavored liqueurs and I may do that next. They don't steep near as long due to the strength of the spices so it will be more instant gratification but I thought I would post this to show.

They say you should use wax free lemons if you can. It doesn't meld correctly I guess if they are waxed. I was fortunate to get some lemons from a relative who has a tree for this batch. Thank you Valerie!

Lemon Cordial

You can use this formula for any fruit really the safer ones to try are a little sturdier like berries and cherries etc. Once you have it made it is great in Lemonade, on the rocks, in trifles, over ice cream the list goes on and on.

You need a clean lidded jar, it can be quart jars or larger. I find that it works faster and easier if you use large mouth quart jars.

In the bottom of your clean quart jar pour 1 c white sugar in the bottom.

Fill the jar the rest of the way with the fruit of your choice and leave a 1 inch head space.

Top with Vodka just until all of the fruit is submerged. You don't have to use a really expensive vodka, it will be flavored quite strongly with the fruit but I use a middle of the road brand.

Place the lid on tightly and put it somewhere to steep. I put it in my pantry. Turn the jar back and forth once a week until the sugar is completely dissolved. Normally takes 6-8 weeks. Don't shake the jar vigorously as you will combine too much sugar to the alcohol at once.

Once the sugar is dissolved strain out the fruit in a sieve and put it in clean jars or bottles. You can store it at room temp or in the fridge or freezer. It makes great Christmas gifts!

Raspberry Jelly

There are beautiful raspberries in season and I recently bought a crate of them and made jelly. They were beautiful huge berries and made some really tasty jam. This isn't really a recipe but more of a little tutorial because the process was kind of fun to document. I used Ball fruit pectin and used their directions for the jelly.




Here are shots of the equipment out and ready. It is kind of interesting to see how red the juice is when you are just starting and how dark it gets once the sugar gets dissolved into it. I skimmed the foam off to make the jelly extra clear and nice in the jar. I saved it though and ate it on a PB&J and it was delicious.






Jelly really is easy to make, you just have to make sure that you keep everything really clean and wipe the jars really well so your lids seal well. Below you see some of the finished product. I normally make several types of jelly and jam in the season and I love it every time. Hope you try making some. There is just something so nice about grabbing a jar of nice jam you made yourself in the middle of the winter!