Clementine & Vanilla Marmalade

Dear foodies,

Next stop on our series of jams and preserves enroute to making home-made gifts is a vibrant Clementine marmalade. Marmalade is the general term given to (citrus) fruit preserves made by cooking citrus fruit, peels included, in a sugar syrup. The acidic & tart citrus fruit alongside sugar is a tantalizing treat. I very recently became a fan of orange marmalade because the sweetness of the jam is perfectly offset by the tart fruit and its a refreshing bite with bread or just by the spoonful :)

Those who've watched TV over the last few weeks here could not have missed the Cuties' ad for california clementines doing the rounds. California is blessed with the perfect weather of citrus fruit almost all year round. Clementines are currently in season and you better not miss out on the chance to get a boxful of them home. I don't know about kids loving their cuties but I surely do. I don't like the white pith that wraps around the fruit and have to go through the long-winding process of segmenting oranges or painfully peeling out the stubborn pith in order to get to the juicy goodness. I know the pith is good for us, but well, that's my bit of weird. And so clementines are ideal for me. They are a variety of mandarin orange and are easy to peel and almost always seedless. the pith is tender and not as fibrous and I eat them like candy each time I enter the kitchen. Its easy to eat 3-4 of them without giving it much of a thought.

This marmalade is very easy to put together and probably takes just 2 hrs with very little hands-on time. You dunk whole clementines in water and boil them until softened. When cool to handle you coarsely chop them up, return to the saucepan and cook down with sugar and vanilla. Let it cook for 30more mins and its done. Boiling the clementines to soften them also leeches out some of the bitterness in the skin leaving you with a milder fruit for the marmalade.

Clementine & Vanilla Marmalade

Yield - 2 Cups

Cooking Time - 2hr

Ingredients:

• 15 - Clementines, whole
• 2 - Lemons, juiced and zest of one
• 2 cups - Sugar
• 1 tsp - Vanilla Extract or seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean (optional)

Method:

1. Wash the clementines and add them to a non-reactive saucepan with water just enough to immerse them. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 mins until the clementines are soft.
2. Drain water and allow fruit to cool. When able to handle, chop them whole as coarse/fine as you desire, discarding any seeds in the process. Return to the pan along with zest of a lemon and juice of 2, vanilla bean seeds or extract and sugar.
3. Simmer on low heat for about 30mins until the fruit mixture comes together as a jam.  I was going to use this in a recipe for fruit cake and so let the mixture cook for 40-45mins to a point where the fruit is essentially candied and not jam like. Check on it, more towards to end, to ensure that the sugar does not burn. 
4. When you are happy with the consistency, remove from heat and cool completely before transferring to a clean, air-tight jar.

Notes: You can also flavor your marmalade with whole spices like cloves, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, ginger or even chillies. Drop them in along with sugar and make sure you fish them out once the marmalade is done.

A pretty bottle filled with this jam and a hand-written tag would make a beautiful gift. With clementines in season its also a good thing to make and keep on hand. If you plan to make a larger batch or store it long term do follow proper canning procedures. The marmalade could be used to flavor cake/cupcake frosting's specially a cream cheese based one. It would be great stirred into a chocolate cake batter since chocolate and orange go really well together. I used about half the yield in my fruitcake this year for a perfectly intense citrus flavor. I reserved half for a batch of linzer cookies too, but that is if it lasts long enough. This is what my breakfast looked like....

Nutella & Clementine Marmalade on whole wheat toast

Homemade Raspberry Jam

Dear foodies,

Please don't be surprised seeing a jam recipe here right after my post claiming that baking season was upon us. This is all part of the plan :) Britannia had these little sandwich cookies with a dollop of jam in the center that I loved. The crumbly cookie with a chewy, gooey jam center was a special treat that I looked forward too. From the time that I spotted the recipe for Linzer cookies I've been meaning to make them. This past weekend,  with a 50% off store coupon for Micheal's I finally bought myself a linzer cookie cutter set. I searched online for recipes that did not use eggs and had all other ingredients on hand. The one thing missing was the center jewel - raspberry jam which makes the quintessential linzer cookie. To break up the red I already had my peach jam on hand and also made a batch of clementine marmalade to top the cookies(recipe coming up). I decided to try my hand at making a batch of raspberry jam at home after a quick search for recipes.

When ripe, raspberries strike a perfect balance between tart and sweet. They are rich in antioxidants and vitamins making them a delightful addition to any snack/meal. I was lucky to find fresh berries that tasted really good at the store here but frozen would also work perfectly for this recipe. Raspberries have a moderate amount of naturally occurring pectin in them. With a bit of sugar and some citrus juice they can be turned into a beautiful jam without needing any additional pectin. One less ingredient to shop for...

Homemade Raspberry Jam

Yield -  1 cup

Cooking time - 30-40mins

Ingredients:

• 12 oz - Raspberries (2 little boxes, or use frozen)
• 1/2 cup - Sugar ( I used sugar in the raw, adjust final amount to taste)
• 2 Tbsp - Lemon juice (~ 1/2 lemon)
• pinch of salt

Method:

1. Wash the berries and drain off any water. Place 2-3 stainless steel spoons in the freezer for testing doneness of jam in the end.
2. In a non-reactive saucepan combine berries, sugar, lemon juice, salt and place on medium heat. Using the back of a ladle mash the berries along the sides of the pan. 
3. Turn up the heat to medium-high and bring the fruit mixture to a rolling boil. Carefully skim any foam that appears on the surface. I try to push all the foam to one end and that makes skimming easier. Cook for 10-15mins while stirring frequently. 
4. When the jam starts to thicken and acquires a gel like consistency, remove from heat and check for doneness. Take a spoon out of the freezer and transfer a half teaspoon of jam. Return it to the freezer and check on it after 2-3 mins. When tilted vertically if the jam stays put then its done, if not move the jam mixture back to the stove top and cook for a few more minutes. Test again until you get the desired consistency right.
5. I chose to keep the seeds but if you want a smooth jam them immediately transfer to a thin sieve and push through as much of the jam as possible with the help of a spoon into a glass jar. (Or start off by first blending the berries in a blender to crush the seeds in Step1)
6. Once cooled cover with a lid to make an airtight seal and store in the fridge for up to a 2-3 weeks.

Note: Frozen berries can be easily swapped for the fresh berries here. Adjust the quantity for sugar to your taste, since its not made for long term storage the sugar here does not act as a preservative.
I made a small batch and so did not bother with canning techniques. But to ensure that the glass jar is completely dry & sterilized I nuke it in the microwave for 30secs and cool it before filling it up with jam. Even when stored in the fridge check on it after the first week to make sure that its still good for use each time you take it out.

For a recipe this simple the result is fantastic. Its amazing how quickly you can make small batches of jam right at home with so few ingredients. No chemicals or unpronounceable ingredients here. The jam was tart and sweet and the hint of salt balances out everything for me. They jam has deep jewel color studded with seeds all over. I enjoy the crunch of the seeds in this jam and it also makes for a gorgeous presentation. Use it simply on piece of plain bread for breakfast or make linzer cookies with it, either way you'll love it. Best of all it could easily make a pretty gift for someone you love or would like to thank this season. It does not take much effort but will surely make the person receiving it feel special.

Which home-made gifts do you like the best ?

Peach Jam spiced with Crystallized Ginger

Dear Foodies,

When I entered the neighborhood Whole Foods a few weeks back after a long break from the store, the first sight that welcomed me was a huge mound of peaches from a local farm. I picked up a couple of pounds of the golden fruit even before realized it. I do that with almost any fruit in season, but in reality I am not a fruit eater. But pretty fruit are hard to pass up so I buy them in the hopes that they will continue to tempt me when I take them home. I've tried hard and failed to set a routine of having fruit at least once a day. For a few weeks, I made smoothies for breakfast every day & it worked like a charm. A handful of oats nuked for 30secs whizzed up with an assortment of fruits and a sumptuous breakfast is ready to be devoured. But the attraction eventually waned out and I had to find another way to use up the gorgeous fruits that fill the summer months.

Jams are a great way of preserving ripe fruits and extending their shelf life. Even better when you can make it at home tweaking it to your liking. Making small batches at a time takes the worry out of the whole canning process too. So I decided to turn the bounty of peaches into jam. The idea of toast and jam for breakfast though isn't very appealing to me, too sweet. In search of spice I also bought a jar of jalapeno jam once and it was surprisingly good! So when I made jam at home it was obvious that I would find ways to spice things up a bit.

I've been making small batches of strawberry jam over the last two years and it has been absolutely rewarding to make jam at home. Strawberries must be one of the easiest to turn into jam and I've successfully paired them with tart rhubarb, spicy black peppercorns and ripe mangoes. Now it was surely the turn of the peaches to get into a canning jar. When selecting peaches, or any fruit for that matter for a jam, don't worry about appearances, a few bruised fruit will taste just as fine or even better. If you can score a bargain on the ugly fruit, then perfect. The most important thing is to make sure they are ripe, smell fragrant and are seasonal fruit.

With strawberry jam I tried red pepper flakes and crushed black pepper in separate batches and the black pepper won hands down. The occasional bite of pepper in the ham makes it really delicious and brings out the flavor of the fruit too. The same idea did not sound good with peaches so while perusing through the vast number of odds and ends in my pantry my eyes fell upon a jar of crystallized ginger. I love to chew on these sugary bits of ginger when my taste buds need to come alive after a bad cold or heavy meal. I knew I had found the perfect spice agent to pair up with the juicy peaches on hand.

I used pectin for the first batch of strawberry jam but realized that I could easily skip that step for them. A little citrus juice, sugar and a little time on the stove will turn them into a nice thick jam. With peaches I wanted to retain the freshness and delicate flavor in the fruit and did not want to cook them longer than needed to soften them. Adding pectin immediately cuts down the cooking time giving you a jam that has a pure concentrated flavor of the fresh fruit. The amount of pectin you need depends on the brand/type of pectin available. So carefully read through the instructions and use the amount needed accordingly.

Peach Jam with Crystallized Ginger 

Serving: 2 pints
Prep time: 30mins
Cooking time: 30mins

Ingredients:

• 5 - Peaches, washed (~ 2 cups)
• 1.5 cups - Sugar (depends on the fruit)
• 1.5 Tbsp -Crystallized ginger, finely diced
• 1 cup - Mango chunks (optional)
• 1 tsp - Orange zest
• 1/4 cup - Orange juice
• Pectin - as per packet instructions
• pinch of salt

Method:

1. Bring water to a boil and blanch the peaches for about 30-40secs to loosen the peel and immediately drop them into ice water. You don't want to cook them at this stage. When cool to handle, peel off the skins, they should easily pull away from the fruit. Discard the pit and give the pulp a rough chop. 
2. In a non-reactive pot, add all your ingredients except the pectin and bring the mixture to a boil. Taste test and add more sugar/ginger to your liking. 
3. Follow the instructions for the pectin based on the brand. I tend to use about 3/4 the quantity suggested because I don't like the jam to have a thick jelly like consistency.
4. Once the fruit mixture returns to a boil turn off the heat. Skim any foam that appears on the surface to get a clear jam. 
5. Allow the jam to cool completely, transfer to dry, airtight containers and store in the refrigerator. If making a larger batch, be sure to sterilize your jars appropriately for canning. I usually make smaller batches and run mason jars through a dish washing cycle with heat before I use them. 

Note: This recipe makes a mildly sweet jam. The peaches were exceptionally sweet and the mango added to the sweetness. Make sure to taste the fruit before you add any sugar, if the fruit is sweet enough you can reduce the amount of additional sugar needed.
- I used Pomona's Universal Pectin, it comes in powder form along with calcium powder that is used to activate the pectin.
- flavoring ideas- cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, apricot chunks...

Peaches work wonderfully in this preparation, the jam has a stronger peach flavor that the fruit themselves. Since you end up concentrating the flavor of the fruit you are left with the very best that the fruit has to offer. The orange zest brightens the flavor of the entire jam and brings out the flavor in the fruit. The tiny bits of ginger that hit you add another dimension and break the sweetness in the jam. On a slice of freshly baked bread this jam is a joy to eat. I'm considering making jam cookies and tarts to show off this jam, but since I've made this whenever I crave something sweet after a meal I find myself reaching out for a spoonful of peach jam. Do try it out and let me know if you have a favorite jar recipe or combination.

I realized that this is a perfect entry to the Veggie/Fruit a month event created by Priya and hosted by Susan this month to showcase lovely Peaches. Looking forward to the numerous recipe ideas that will be coming our way in the round-up! Need to stock up on peaches again.