NEW RSS feed! | Sat 02.28.09 |
Grapefruit and Thyme Marmalade |
I certainly hope you've been eating your citrus this winter. There is, perhaps, this notion that winter is only about hearty soups and root vegetables and such, only about heavy, stick-to-your-ribs sorts of meals. Such thinking can lead to a winter food-malaise that results in buying off-season tomatoes. Please. If bright and "summery" is what you want, rejoice: Citrus is at its best now in the dead of winter.
Case in point: the awesomeness that is the grapefruit, white, pink, or ruby red. The addition of some grapefruit segments and juice to raw, grated carrots, parsnips or beets will really brighten the winter root vegetables, yielding an unseasonally sweet and refreshing salad.
But even then I've been perhaps inundated with more citrus than I know what to do with. It's so good and abundant now that I keep picking up more at the store, to the disbelief of my roommates, who I'm sure are puzzled why anyone would need oranges of the blood, navel, and valencia varieties, especially when the cupboards already have 3 varieties of grapefruits and 2 of lemons. And kumquats. And clementines.
So for the last week or so I've been on a marmalade-making binge, trying to preserve some of this fruit for later, less citrus-y months. This latest batch was made with white and ruby grapefruits (hence the gnarly colors of the 'mixed' jar). It seems that marmalade is rather out of fashion today, no? I think I heard some chefs on the Food Network proudly admitting they didn't care for the stuff, which, frankly, I think is weird. Imagine how preposterous the analogous remark would be if referring to jam. Plenty preposterous.
Well whether or not I have the endorsement of Mr. Flay here, I think this grapefruit marmalade is really good. It pretty much follows the same procedure as jam, with the exception that the sliced citrus needs to soak overnight before cooking (I don't know exactly why). For a few jars, I added some sprigs of thyme which give a pleasantly grassy, herbal note.
Grapefruit and Thyme Marmalade
grapefruits
water
sugar
thyme
salt
Each medium-sized grapefruit will yield about 1 pint of marmalade. To begin, cut the grapefruits in half along the stem axis, then slice each half into semi-circles as thinly as possible. Put the fruit in a non-reactive container and cover with water. Let the fruit soak overnight in the refrigerator.
The next day, put a small saucer in the freezer. Pour the fruit and water into a large stockpot, and add one cup of sugar for each cup of the fruit/water mixture. Add a pinch of salt. Bring this to a rolling boil and let it cook for 45-50 minutes, until small drops of marmalade set to the desired consistency when dropped onto the chilled saucer. Add in a few sprigs of thyme, and let this boil for 2 minutes.
From there, pour the mixture into sterilized jars and keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. Or, process the jars in a canner and keep in a cool, dark pantry for up to a couple of years.
grapefruits
water
sugar
thyme
salt
Each medium-sized grapefruit will yield about 1 pint of marmalade. To begin, cut the grapefruits in half along the stem axis, then slice each half into semi-circles as thinly as possible. Put the fruit in a non-reactive container and cover with water. Let the fruit soak overnight in the refrigerator.
The next day, put a small saucer in the freezer. Pour the fruit and water into a large stockpot, and add one cup of sugar for each cup of the fruit/water mixture. Add a pinch of salt. Bring this to a rolling boil and let it cook for 45-50 minutes, until small drops of marmalade set to the desired consistency when dropped onto the chilled saucer. Add in a few sprigs of thyme, and let this boil for 2 minutes.
From there, pour the mixture into sterilized jars and keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. Or, process the jars in a canner and keep in a cool, dark pantry for up to a couple of years.
