Tangerine Marmalade
Tangerine (Santara) Marmalade
Ian Hoare
If you want to try a marmalade other than Orange marmalade, try this. Also, instead of using tartaric acid and ordinary sugar, it might be as well to use pectinated sugar.
Ingredients
1 kg. tangerines
1 grapefruit
1 lemon
2 1/2 litres water
2 teaspoon tartaric acid
1 1/2 kg. sugar
1 plate chilling in the fridge/freezer, to test for 'setting point'
Instructions
Peel the tangerines and cut the peel into fine shreds.
Put peel into a pan with 1/5th of the water and simmer for 30 minutes.
Peel the grapefruit and lemon and mince the peel.
Cut up the tangerines, grapefruit and lemon flesh.
Put the flesh, minced peel of grapefruit and lemon, remaining water and tartaric acid into a pan and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. You now have fruit pulp.
Strain the fruit pulp through a jelly bag. You will have to leave the jelly bag hanging for a few hours. You may prefer to strain through a sieve rather than a jelly bag, your marmalade just won't be so crystal clear.
Strain the tangerine peel (from step 2) and add the liquid to the strained fruit juice/pulp. Save the peel aside.
Return the strained juice/pulp to the pan and stir in the sugar over low heat until it has dissolved.
Add the tangerine peel from step 6 and boil quickly to setting point*.
Cool for 5 minutes (this stops the peel from floating to the top), stir well.
To bottle, take jars from oven, drain lids in a colander, shaking to get rid of water. Place lids, inside down, on sheets of paper towel. Fill the jars right near to the brim, and put a lid on as quickly as possible. Tighten well (J-cloths help to hold things without burning your hand) and turn upside down. The reason for this? First of all, to re-sterilise the lid, in case any spores got onto the inside after removing from boiling water and before sealing down. More importantly, to make a really good seal. By turning upside down as soon as the jars are filled, the consequent shaking creates a positive pressure inside the jars, which forces a tiny amount of marmalade into the interstices (cracks) between lid and jar, and making a perfect seal. After five minutes, turn the jars the right way up again. You'll never have a problem with any kind of mould or fermentation. And that's a promise from someone who makes >30 pots each of at least 10 different marmalades and has done so for >12 years. You do not need wax paper discs when you use this method.
Give them a preliminary wipe with a damp cloth, and repeat when cold before labelling and storing.
