Has anyone ever made marmalade with limes and oranges (sweet)?
I have over 2 kg of fruit I need to use up. All the fruit is unwaxed and organic. Hubby will keep on bringing home fruit unexpectedly when he sees it on offer. Most of the time it is really welcome but have been laid up with serious back problems for last 6 weeks and unable to stand for long periods so now the fruit urgently needs using up.
I have no idea if this combination will work and making marmalade is such a lot of work I really don't want to risk it being awful as I need to think of my back as well.
Sorry to keep asking but I can only find recipes for either lemon & lime marmalade or grapefruit, lemon & oranges
Any thoughts ?
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
Thanks Martin - that has helped a lot. I wasn't sure if it was a combination that would work.
I have 8 oranges and 8 limes but after reading this recipe have decided to only use 4 of the limes and will try and freeze the remainder (i read somewhere they are easy to freeze).
A bonus for me is discovering that my vegetable julienne tool makes wonderful thin strips of orange peel for the shreds. Hubby prefers chunky marmalade but I like thin shreds so it's my turn today. Can do another batch when he i around to cut up all that peel!!
I have decided to boil/simmer the fruit halves in the water once the peel has been removed and they have been squeezed and then I will strain that later and let it cool till tomorrow (can't stand for too long at the moment). Then tomorrow I will add the orange juice back into the strained water with the lovely thin shreds and do the 2nd simmer/boil and then add the sugar and hopefully get a nice set.
I'll let you know how it turns out.....fingers all crossed eh?
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
Maura , you could use the limes to make a mojito and/or a caipiroska and enjoy the fact that you are forced to rest.
Caipiroska Take 50 mls of Vodka, a half a lime, two teaspoons of sugarand some ice cubes
Put sugar and lime (cut in to two wedges) in to a glass (whisky like tumbler)
squash the limes with the sugar (use a spoon or a muddler) until there is a little syrup in the glass,
pour on the vodka and add ice.
Stir for a minute or so until the sugar is dissolved and enjoy
For the Mojito, use a tall glass.
Follow same procedure for lime and sugar muddling, add a few sprigs of mint at thois point also, add white rum instead of vodka, top up with soda water and add ice, give a quick stir and enjoy.
Are we having fun yet? I am!
Ha ha - that sounds lovely - just wish I could, but gave up the booze about 4 years ago when I got really bad palpitations/rapid heart beat one evening. Only culprit at the time was either red wine or caffeine so gave up both. I am pretty sure the caffeine was to blame but been too afraid to risk alcohol since as I ended up in A & E and a night being hooked up to an ECG. I keep getting intollerances and allergic reactions but no one seems to know why - it's really annoying as your diet becomes more and more restricted.
Anyway - the fruit is bubbling away and smells wonderful....
Have a look at this website I have just found , some great ideas.
http://www.downsizer.net/Articles/Cooking,_preserv.....us_Fruits/
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
Well I'm at stage 2 today and to my amazement I have almost 5 pints of liquid sitting in preserving pan.
I have never made jam or marmalade before with this amount of liquid and I am wondering if I might have trouble getting a set if I try to do it all in one go. What do you think.....should I halve the amount and do it in 2 goes or does marmalade set ok in large quantities?
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
Ive got in to the habit now of halving the mix whenever I do the river cottage marmalade recipes as they usually generate nearly 3 litres of liquid, it's just easier, I split half into a separate pan and put on a gentle simmer while I boil the other, then as soon as 1st bottled I pour the rest in to the preserving pan, without washing out or anything and bring to a boil, 2nd batch is usally pretty quick if you've kept it warm.
Thanks again Janet - took your advice and added whisky to 2nd batch. Ended up with 11 jars in total (6 large & 5 small).
Now I've been looking at several marmalade recipes just for a bit of extra info whilst doing this and I could be wrong but I'm fairly certain that Delia's Chunky Seville orange marmalade does NOT boil the mixture - it just simmers away for hours.
The reason I mention this is because my first batch thickened up within 3 mins of boiling so I tested it on saucer as normal and it was fine.
Second batch had been simmering gently whilst 1st batch was in progress and I got a set on it without boiling but after I added the whisky it was a bit loose so I brought it up to a moderate boil and it was fine. Much darker than 1st batch - both very nice in their own way. I would say using sweet oranges, limes and some lemons is a nice alternative to the strong bitter Seville Orange marmalade......but oh boy is my back aching
So my next question is this.........do you always boil your marmalade in the same way as you boil jams and if it isn't boiled will it keep just as well as if you had boiled it
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
Maura,
I suspect that simmering for hours does the same job as boiling fast- it reduces the water content by evaporation and concentrates the sugar and pectin until a setting mixture is obtained. I have never personally simmered for a long time, but don't make jams very often now (OH does all that, so I don't interfere - Much)
We have an old copy of Mary Norwak's "Jams, Preserves and Jellies" published in 1973 which has proved very reliable- Mary died about two years ago at the age of 81 and wrote many books on cooking and preserving.
Are we having fun yet? I am!
Thanks Martin
I am always amazed at how many different aspects there are of jam/jelly/marmalade/chutney making. I probably read too much and then get confused by the various methods and opinions and start to doubt myself, when really you can work things out for yourself most of the time.
However - I do like to have a recipe to start with and see how that works out before I get adventurous.
I have been considering the Oded Schwartz preserving book but again there seem to be 2 or 3 versions of it so now I don't know which one to go for
If you could browse it in a book shop it would be so easy to decide but online you are stumped. Amazon do have one which you can look at online but not the older versions. Not heard of Mary Norwak but will keep my eye open for her book.
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
Hi, Maura,
Hope the back is on the mend.. I have recently bought the Oded Schwartz Preserving Through The Year, and am sooooo pleased with it- he just has a slightly different slant on preserving, which I love. The recipe for grape and pecan jam ( well, I substituted plums and walnuts, added a bit of cinnamon, too), is amazing! I got my book from Amazon, it is one of those ring-binder jobs, quite ungainly- but lovely inside!
qid=1353831730&sr=8-1
Most Users Ever Online: 767
Currently Online:
32 Guest(s)
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Top Posters:
brightspark: 10535
danast: 10232
Aly: 9516
Sooliz: 8084
Hattie: 6920
Ambersparkle: 6699
JoannaS: 4800
Terrier: 4518
eileen54: 4424
Hannah: 4231
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 11
Members: 16222
Moderators: 3
Admins: 1
Forum Stats:
Groups: 6
Forums: 25
Topics: 2273
Posts: 123063
Newest Members:
maximllPl, RobertasseK, EdwardDum, Suzanneclics, Brianalile, JamesSlopsModerators: Toffeeapple: 16337, AdminTA: 10, Fiona Nevile: 0
Administrators: Danny: 5517
Copyright © 2006-2023 Cottage Smallholder Our Privacy Policy Advertise on Cottage Smallholder