With bitter oranges out of season, and my marmalade reserves almost gone, I thought I’d try my hand at a new type of breakfasty goodness. The fact that grapefruit were on offer at the supermarket for a mere 20p each was nothing to do with it. Honest (almost).
I’ve never made a jelly marmalade before, so learning new skills and all that. Also, isn’t ‘jelly’ just a marvellous word?
So I present Experiment 6: Grapefruit Jelly
Recipe: The Complete Farmhouse Kitchen Cookbook
2 white Grapefruit (white was on offer, but I think any colour would do just fine)
3 Lemons
4.5 pts water (2.6L for you metric types)
3lbs sugar (1.3kg)
I like recipes with less ingredients than I have fingers. Although this one is a bit more in depth than ones I have attempted before.
Theory:
Make cuts in the skin of the fruit so it’s though the skin, but not the flesh of the fruit. You want to make it into quarters. Put into a dish and cover with boiling water for 5 mins. (I was having lunch so 5 mins became 20, but I don’t think any harm was done.)
Pull the peel off, and using a sharp knife, cut as much of the white pith off as you can. Put the pith and the flesh to one side and slice the peel finely (or not, depends how you like your marmalade really)
Roughly chop the pith and flesh, pop in a pan with 2.5pts of water, and simmer with a lid for 2 hours.
Put the sliced peel in another pan with 1pt of water, and simmer with a lid for 1.5 hours or until the peel is soft.
When the peel is done, drain the liquid from it into the first pan. Keep the peel to one side, we don’t need it for a bit yet.
Strain the fleshy pulp though a jelly bag, no squeezing! Leave it for 10-15mins to drip though, then return to its pan with the last pint of water. Simmer again for 20mins. Don’t forget the lid.
Put it though the jelly bag for the last time – this time leave for 2 hours(!). No squeezing if you want nice clear jelly.
Put the sugar in a warm oven (110 Celsius). Also pop your nice clean jars into the oven to sterilise. Also stick a saucer or two in the freezer for testing for set later.
When your 2 hours are up, heat the strained liquid in a nice big pan, until it comes to the boil. Add your sugar and stir until it dissolves completely. All the sugar must have dissolved before you allow the mixture to come to the boil again. If not, I’m assured all kinds of terrible things will happen. Or it won’t set, which would be pretty bad as this recipe has taken all afternoon so far.
Once dissolved, the race is on! Fast boil your marmalade for at least 15mins before testing for a set. A spoonful on your chilled plate, and into the fridge to get it cold. Push with your finger and if it wrinkles, it’ll set. Mine took 20mins before I detected a little wrinkle on my test puddle.
Skim off any frothy scum with a metal spoon, then leave for another 20 mins to cool, so that the peel will be evenly distributed, rather than all hanging out together at the top. I potted 5 jars before I noticed it wasn’t playing nicely, so had to stop and wait a bit longer.
Give it a stir, then pour into warmed pots. Seal immediately, and label when cool. I had another new toy which helped a lot with potting, a lovely silicon jam funnel. It’s red and collapsible. And very helpful.
Results: 10 and a bit jars of beautifully clear Grapefruit Marmalade. Success!
The recipe was a bit more hassle and took much longer than bitter orange marmalade. But the results look really good, and I’ll pass it to my test subjects family members over the next couple days. 🙂
