CITRUS CRANBERRY MARMALADE

I wanted to make a festive and different marmalade during the Holiday season.  My family loves my husband's home made cranberry relish at Thanksgiving, and since we consumed an entire bag of cranberries during that time, I bought another bag of cranberries just in case.  My husband usually makes cranberry relish with some citrus rind.  When making my annual citrus marmalade, I decided to add fresh cranberries.  I was pleasantly surprised with this preserve.  The marmalade was sweet with tart bits from the cranberries.  It looked nice and tasted deliciously different!  Not only did it taste wonderful, but cranberries are healthy.  It's a superfood that provides both anti-oxidents and medicinal benefits.  

This citrus cranberry marmade is made in a similar manner to the citrus clove marmalade.  It is made with the entire fruit and ten percent of fresh cranberries.

Tips.

This recipe is so simple.  The fruit to sugar ratio is 1:1.  Some people, like me make several jars of preserves due to the amount of fruit available, but making your own marmalade can be made in small quantities.  You can calculate the number of jars needed based on approximately 640 g of marmalade for each pint jar. (Half of the weight is the fruit, approximately 320 g, and half of the weight is the sugar.) Since I use the entire fruit, instead of using water, just weigh the whole citrus fruit.  However, the weight of the fruit is measured after boiling the peels in its juice which will be less than the weight when you started due to evaporation.

Weighing the fruit.

Weigh and record the weight of the heavy bottomed saucepan that you'll be using to boil your marmalade.  You'll be using a little bit of math to calculate the net weight of your fruit after boiling the peels in its juices!

Citrus fruit.

If you don't grow your own citrus fruit, some purveyors wax the fruit to achieve a longer shelf life.  Make sure you wash and thoroughly scrub your fruit before making the marmalade.  

Fresh cranberries.

Fresh cranberries add wonderful surprise tart morsels when cooked at the right time.  If you cook it too early, you lose the integrity of the cranberies.  Only add the cranberries when the temperature reaches 210 degrees fahrenheit (98 degrees celcius) to allow the cranberries to cook and pop, but not disintegrate entirely.

Citrus seeds.

The seeds and pith of the fruit contains a lot of pectin that is needed to gel the marmalade.  I usually juice the fruit to separate the pits from the juice and boil the pits in a bag with the peels to extract the pectin.

Equipment.

Digital scale.

A digital scale will be necessary to weight the fruit and sugar.  I recommend this scale.

Thick bottom saucepan.

A thick bottom saucepan is important when simmering the marmalade as it allows the sugar to cook without burning the bottom.

Candy thermometer or Instant read thermometer.

Using a thermometer takes the guesswork out of making marmalade.  If you have the right proportions of sugar and fruit and boil the sugar to a certain temperature, your marmalade will set.  You don't have to drizzle the hot marmalade down cold plates to see if it sets!

You can either use a candy thermometer or an instant read thermometer.  If you don't own a thermometer,  I would suggest purchasing an instant read thermometer like the one below as it is more versatile and you can use it for BBQ, roasts and even baked goods!

Canning Jars.

Before making your marmalade, sterilize your jars and lids by boiling them in a pot of water for at least 10 minutes and removing them with some tongs to dry.

Canning Funnel.

Although not a must-have, it does make canning easier.  I used to just carefully ladle out the marmalade into the jar.  I bought a canning funnel because it only cost a dollar and it has been a real time saver.  No more dealing with sticky jars!

Tea filter bags, tea infuser or cheesecloth.

Put all your citrus pits and pulp from juicing in a tea filter bag, tea infuser or cheesecloth when softening the rinds.  Boiling the pits and pulp during this time extracts the pectin.

Uses.

I have given marmalade as gifts to friends and families.  They have been used as breakfast preserves on toast, accompaniments for charcuterie boards, made as a tea as well as an accompaniment for Canard a l'orange.  (Roast Duck with orange glaze.)

Have fun making your citrus marmalade and let me know if you come up with any different variations in the comment section.