It's hard to believe it was a year ago that I decided I was going to take on a new venture: canning. I really don't remember what gave me the idea, a craving for some childhood dish, a desire to save money, to preserve family heirloom recipes, or perhaps it was all wrapped up in something bigger.. Maybe this yearning for things ancestral was going hand in hand with another decision my husband and I were making at the time- the decision to start a family?
In any case, it was only a couple months after I recieved a blue-speckled canner from my grandmother that I was given a sonogram proving my healthy pregnancy.
The whole nine months was a blessing. I had an easy first trimester with little morning sickness, an energetic second trimester that I used to prepare for our little one (and stock the pantry with quite a few canned items), and a third trimester in which I was able to continue working right up until the end. I even spent the last night of my pregnancy making this marmalade in honor of the pending arrival of our precious Clementine Jane.
My Darling Clementines are a tiny citrus fruit that shows up in small crates around Christmas time. They are seedless and have a very floral scent, making them a great fruit for marmalade.
6 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings
1 case Darling Clementines
1 cup water
3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 box pectin
Cut clementines in half through the equator, juice. Cut each half in half again and scrape out membranes with a knife, discard. Slice peel very thinly, about 1/16". Bring juice, water and peel to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Add sugar, vanilla and pectin and cook at a high boil until marmalade is set. Let sit for 5 minutes for the peel to distribute evenly, ladle into jars, attach lids and rings and process for 10 minutes.
Sounds yummy! And the baby is beautiful.........thanks.
ReplyDeletewow thanks for a great recipe! I've been looking for a good marmalade for last minute christmas presents all day long. I'm off to buy clementines :) Anna ~ fellow jam enthusiast and mommy~
ReplyDeleteLovely! When you say slice the peels thinly, how many peels do you mean to slice up? All of them?
ReplyDeleteSilly question I know since the very essence of marmalade depends on the peel, but I asked because my ratio seemed off (way more peel than juice). I bit the bullet, picked up a bit of and proceeded to add all peel to the concoction. So we'll see how I did. Smells good so far =)
ReplyDeleteI added about half the peels. You can add more if you want it to be thicker, or less if you want it to be thinner and less bitter. It does seem like a lot when you first add them, but they cook down quite a bit.
ReplyDelete