Citrofiliac
April 4, 2008
)
The Composer called me a citrofiliac! And though he seems to appreciate my cooking, he thinks I should use less citrus. Whatevs, by the time he gets back from his massive stint in the Old Country it’ll be strawberry, soft fruit and rhubarb season. In lieu of citrussy freshness I’ll show him every corner of the berry and the barb.
)
01 - Use up the fruit at the bottom of the fruit bowl. If it’s not pretty enough to eat raw it’s surely perfect for making marmalade. This batch is made from blood oranges and tangerines with their funky stuff cut off.
)
02 - In an enamel pot, add a bunch of sugar, I use raw cane sugar. Fire it up, and then turn the fire down. You want it warm enough to release the juices but not so warm as to carmelise the sugar.
)
03 - Within minutes you’ll get this, a bubbling and aromatic citrus loveliness! Keep the fire low and the lid off. You know how I feel about stirring, don’t do it if you can help it. Marmalade making is more about paying attention to what’s going on with the materials than mindlessly flailing a spoon. Think of this as perma-cooking!
)
04 - Once the marmalade has cooked down a lot (this can take hours, just let it do what it does) turn off the flame and let it cool off. The marmalade is ready when you think the syrup is sufficiently thick. I like it almost candied and think the marmalade is most versatile in this form, as an ingredient in or atop other things.
)
05 - If you want the marmalade to be more ‘jammie’, add more sugar to the volume. You can see that I just want an excuse to eat candied tangerines, stare out the windows and think about l’Hameau. This marmalade goes great on hangop or susme (thick fatty Turkish yoghurt) but can also be used on the bottom of a crumb crust if you’re making a lemon tart. Or if you suffer citrofilial tendencies.
debra at 9:12 | | post to del.icio.us
