Warm, cozy blanket-comfort food to me is toasted bread with a smear of butter melted down into the nooks and crannies with a spoonful of homemade marmalade.
A large bowl of citrus, Blood Oranges, Tangelos and Red Grapefruit, about to go south quickly, was sitting on my kitchen counter this past week. Most was left over from my last photo shoot which now seems ages ago. During “normal life” I cannot bear wasting food, so the peeling and slicing began. I find the making of marmalade as comforting as the eating of it.
Beautiful day, warm and breezy, windows open….Tulip and Honeysuckle blooms catching the breeze by the kitchen door. A good day for marmalade.
After rescuing all the good rind and flesh from each orange and grapefruit, I squeezed all of the leftover pieces for the juice adding it to the bowl.
I learned a few years ago that it is not necessary to be a totally crazy person when peeling the rind from the citrus to make sure none of the pith is left. My marmalade is still very tasty and not bitter with a little pith still attached. The slow simmer in the sugar-liquid mixture takes care of it.
Hot, thick, wonderful marmalade ready to be jarred and eaten.
What are you making to comfort yourself while being sequestered at home? I bet something cozy and delicious. Dishes that make you feel wrapped in a soft blanket? I hope so. Stay home, stay safe. This too will pass.
Comforting and Easy Three-Citrus Kitchen Marmalade
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 to 3 lbs of citrus rind thinly sliced, and flesh, seeded (Grapefruit, Blood Oranges, Tangelos are what I had on hand, but any combination works)
- any leftover juice from citrus
- 2.5 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup St. Germain Liqueur
- 1 1/2 cups natural apple juice
Directions:
- Add all of the ingredients to a non-reactive cooking pan…stainless steel or enamel works great. Stir ingredients well to blend.
- Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring often, and cook for 10 minutes. Turn heat to low and simmer for an hour, stirring every now and then.
- The citrus rind should begin to look transparent after 45 minutes. Mixture will thicken as it cooks so keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t scorch or burn. You can add a splash more juice or water if need be.
- Wash 4 small half-pint canning jars and rims in hot soapy water and rinse well. Drain dry on a clean dish towel. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- Fill clean, dry jars with hot marmalade mixture leaving 1/2 inch unfilled at the top of each. Wipe drips from jar edges. Add rims, and screw lids on firmly, but not too tight yet.
- Place filled jars on a baking tray and put in the pre-heated oven for 25 minutes. Remove jars and let cool on a wire rack. Lids will “pop or ping” to seal as they cool down. Lids should be “concave”. When jars are totally cool, tighten screw lids. If any jars fail to seal, then store in the refrigerator.
teresablackburnfoodstyling.com
I like a marmalades that use all the fruit, less the seeds…a chunkier, less sweet marmalade that has some body & character that store-bought versions just don’t have. It was fortuitous that I happened to have my own lemons, but use whatever citrus you like. My friend Candace Floyd makes a fabulous marmalade using Cara-Cara Oranges. I made 
