The oranges for this marmalade came from a local fruit stand and were 6 for $1.00.  When squeezed there was about 5 cups of really sweet juice.  Maybe more like 6 cups since I had to taste it and then make a screwdriver before dinner with some and saved some for breakfast.  At any rate I set aside enough for a small batch of marmalade…this recipe yields 12 oz.

The seeds and membranes of oranges and lemons contain enough pectin to gel your marmalade and extracting the pectin is the one step in preparing the oranges that you cannot skip. You want to prepare the oranges the night before or even up to two days before cooking the marmalade.

Because we’re dealing with a small batch, the cooking time is just 15 minutes start to finish so you can control the quality and gelling easier than if it were a large batch.  This means your jam will be clear and bright orange with threads of orange zest suspended in it rather than dark rust colored and opaque.

Use a sauce pan with a heavy bottom and big enough to accommodate a full-roiling boil (that’s a boil you cannot stir down) and deep enough so that the bubbles can rise half-way up the sides of the pan and not over the top.  Long handled wooden spoons are the best for jam making since boiling juice and sugar is very hot and hot syrup burns are extremely painful.  Always apply ice directly to any kitchen burn.  You’ll also need to place a saucer and spoon in the freezer which will be used to test for the gel stage.

This same method can be used to make a classic lime marmalade or lemon marmalade with fresh ginger.

Homemade marmalade is always a welcomed addition to gift baskets so make several batches and pass around the love. Do try this recipe with a fresh loaf of bread, rolls, biscuits or scones.

Ingredients for 12 oz. jar:

• 2 large navel oranges, juiced (reserve peels, pulp and seeds separately)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced (reserve peels, pulp and seeds separately)
• 1 cup fine granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup water plus tiny pinch of baking soda to soften zest
• 1 tsp whiskey per jar

Method:

1. Add orange and lemon juices and measure.  You should have 1-1/2 cups of juice.  Use filtered water to make up any shortfall of juice.
2. Either zest or finely julienne the peel of half an orange (just the orange part).  Place in a small saucepan with 1/3 cup filtered water and a tiny pinch of baking soda.  Simmer over medium low until zest softens, about 6-8 minutes. Drain, cool and add to juices.
3. To extract pectin for gelling:  Chop all the remaining orange and lemon peels in a food processor or grinder.  Place chopped peels along with the reserved pulp and seeds into a cheesecloth or muslin bag.  If using cheesecloth, several layers are needed and kitchen twine.  Gather the corner pieces of cheesecloth with the pulp in the middle and secure with string.  Add the prepared bag to the juices and zest.  Cover and let set overnight.   The next day, squeeze the pulp bag over the juice until no more liquid comes from the bag.   This is the pectin and should feel silky.  Discard the bag when finished.
4. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, bring the juice and zest to a boil over high heat.   Slowly stir in the sugar and bring to a roiling boil. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pot from heat.  Check for gel stage with an ice-cold teaspoon dipped into boiling jam and returned to the freezer for 1 minute.  If the jam on the spoon wrinkles when pushed with your finger gel stage has been reached.  If not, return pot to heat and boil an additional 5 minutes and repeat the gel test.
5. Drain warm jar(s) and fill with marmalade.  Float the whiskey over the top of the marmalade then seal the jar.  Cool jar on a towel and let set 24 hours before refrigerating.  For longer storage, sealed jars may be boiled in water 1-2 inches over the top of the jars for 10 minutes.  Check that the lids have sealed and store in a cool, dry, dark pantry for up to one year.

Personally, sugar in pickles is not my thing unless its supposed to be sweet like bread ‘n’ butter pickles or cornichons but in this recipe I’ve added a little sugar to cut the abrasive vinegar and the taste is still decidedly savory more than sweet so I’m a happy camper.

These pickles are so easy to make and any pepper will work.  Bell peppers, aje dulce chilies, banana peppers and Anaheim peppers went into this batch shown in the photo.  Cherry peppers and green poblano chilies are fab pickled like this too.

Vinegar Peppers as a gift will make any gourmand happy.  If you love pickles you’ll love these.

Ingredients for 1 quart or 2 pints:

• 1/2 medium sized onion sliced thin
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 to 2 sprigs fresh oregano
• pinch of red pepper flakes (or hot fresh chile to taste)
• 2 green Bell peppers, cut into  1/2-inch strips
• 1 red Bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 2 yellow banana peppers, cut into 1/2-inch strips,
• 2 red Anaheim chilies, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 6 to 8 aje dulce chilies, whole and punctured once with a knife or skewer
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1-1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water (non-chlorinated water)
• 1/4 cup sea salt or canning salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Method:

1. Wash jars and lids in hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly.  Keep jars warm in hot water, a low oven or dishwasher.
2. Wash veggies and cut into strips.  If using cherry peppers or aje dulce chilies puncture each one with a knife or skewer so the pickle brine will reach inside the pepper.
3. Place garlic, onion, oregano and chile flakes into the jar and pack the pepper strips tightly and vertically into the jar.  This will keep the peppers from floating to the top and out of the brine.
4. Pour olive oil over peppers.
5. In a small sauce pan, bring to a boil the vinegar, water, salt and sugar.  Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.  Pour directly over the peppers packed in the jars making sure the brine covers the peppers completely. Use a butter knife or chop stick to release air bubbles and seal with clean lids.
6. Leave at room temperature for 24 hours.  Check lids for a proper seal.  Refrigerate if not sealed.  Always refrigerate after opening.

Winter in the Caribbean is lush with limes, bitter oranges, mandarins, carambola (star fruit) and a host of other organic fruit and vegetables.  This recipe turns those bitter oranges into a condiment fit for avocado dishes, a compound butter for chicken and fish, salad dressings, fragrant rice dishes and more.  When the price for citrus in local markets soars, these pickled citrus are just the ticket and so easy to make with sea salt, garlic, chili, and assorted spices.  Pureed or smashed into a paste, these pickled citrus are very much like yuzu kosho (Japanese condiment made with orange citrus shaped like a hand) at pennies of the cost.

Every island in the Caribbean has bitter orange trees thanks to the Spanish conquistadors.  Unable to grow Seville oranges in the Caribbees, Curaçao in particular, the Spanish conquistadors ended up with these very bitter little oranges which are the basis of Curaçao liqueur also known as Triple-Sec.  They’re a good substitute for lemons and limes in a pinch but much better as a fermented pickle or made into liqueur.

This recipe process works well with limes, lemons or small tangerines.  If you have a lime or lemon tree in your backyard, try this pickle.  Select ripe fruit without blemishes. You’ll need 3 limes per half-pint jar plus 1 lime per jar for juice.   Scrub the skins clean and rinse well.  Dry them in the sun or with a clean dry kitchen cloth.  It is important to keep water out of this fermentation process.  To get the most juice out of your limes, pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds and roll them on your cutting board until they feel a bit softer.  Slice them on a plate to catch all the juice.

If you live in a country where winters are dark and gloomy, leave your jars on top of a refrigerator or hot water heater.  If you have lots of sunny days set the jars in a window that gets several hours of direct sun each day.   Don’t be alarmed if the lid bulges during the fermentation process.  The amount of salt and acid creates some gas but no harmful bacteria.

Salt Cure Ingredients for 4 Half-Pints of Limes:

• 16 limes
• 1 cup course sea salt or kosher salt (Morton canning salt will also work)
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
• 2 tsp Madras Curry Powder (optional)

Method:

1. Wash 4  half-pint jars in warm sudsy water and sterilize in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and dry in the sun or set them on a towel in a baking pan and place in a warm oven on the lowest temperature until dry.
2. Slice off the blossom and stem end of each lime and slice each lime from top to bottom into quarters, then each quarter into 2 or three pieces.
3. Layer lime pieces into jars sprinkling salt cure liberally over each layer.  Add juice of one lime (plus collected juice from slicing) to each jar.
4. Cover jars with double thickness of plastic wrap and screw on lids finger tight so jars do not leak when shaken.
5. Shake jars to distribute salt cure and juice.  Set in direct sunlight for 3 weeks and shake jars each day.
6. Check periodically for texture and taste.  They should be soft, fragrant and pleasantly salty with lime flavor predominately.
7. Remove plastic wrap, wipe rims of jars and replace lids.  Store in refrigerator up to a year.

Variations:

1. Salt Pickled tangerines with star anise. Wonderful in mango chutney, red pepper chutney, add to aioli for yam fries, or coconut lamb curry.
2. Salt Pickled tangerine with fennel makes a delicious compound butter for beef.
3. To make a sweet pickled lemon add equal parts of sugar and salt with bay leaves and peppercorns. Delicious in quinoa.

]]> http://thisdamecooks.com/2011/12/pickled-limes/feed/ 0 http://thisdamecooks.com/2011/09/jammin-with-local-fresh-produce-in-rincon-puerto-rico/ http://thisdamecooks.com/2011/09/jammin-with-local-fresh-produce-in-rincon-puerto-rico/#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:13:13 +0000 admin http://thisdamecooks.com/?p=1705 Just look at this beautiful fruit from Rincon, Puerto Rico.  The mango in the background weighs more than a pound and the avocados to the right of the mango weigh about 8 or 9 oz. The lemons and limes give you some idea of how big that mango and avocado are.  The mango isn’t quite ripe for jam or smoothies but its green enough for 6 jars of chutney.  The avocados are buttery soft, not too far from the taste of a Haas avocado, and definitely worth every bite full.  They are perfect for eating fresh in a salad or with lime right out of the shell right now but since I have so many more avocados these are going into the freezer doused with lime juice.  They will make creamy guacamole, dips and sandwich spreads for Christmas parties.   More mangoes are coming for the jam pot and freezer.  Gonna love making island mango smoothies, crumbles and cobblers this winter.

Guavas have just come into season and their bitter sweet skins will go into the jam pot along with some ripe mango. Guava skins are 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick and tasty when stewed in a light syrup.  Guava puree and strawberries with a kiss of rosemary is my next jam creation.  More about guava in a coming up post.

Be sure to drop by again for more recipes with fresh local produce from Rincon, Puerto Rico. 

One of the advantages to this recipe is its replenishable without having to add more chilies or start from scratch again…at least a couple times…all that is needed to fill up the bottle again is more brine and time.

Any size glass bottle or jar will work depending upon how many chilies you have.  If a gallon jar is used, strain the sauce through a fine-mesh and fill smaller bottles for table use.  If you can’t find fresh pequin chilies in local markets, there are dried pequin chilies available in most Latin markets or check out chilepequin.com for seeds and all the instructions to grow your own pequins.  They also have several good salsa recipes.

Use this sauce like Tabasco.  It adds a little sparkle to just about any savory dish.

Ingredients for 1 pint bottle:

• 2/3 cup fresh pequin chilies, red and green, stems removed
• 3 sprigs of fresh oregano
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed slightly
• juice of 2 limes
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp sea salt
• enough white vinegar to fill bottle

Method:

1. Sterilize a pint bottle in boiling water for 10 minutes.  Drain.
2. While still hot, add chilies, oregano, garlic and lime juice to the bottle.  With a wooden spoon handle, crush the chilies slightly.
3. To make the brine:  In a small saucepan heat the water, sea salt, and vinegar to simmering.  Stir to dissolve salt.
4. Pour brine over chilies.  Cap or seal.  Let set for 7 days.  Refrigerate.

Notes:

1. For large batches, water-bath all bottles in boiling water for 15 minutes.  Water level must be 1-inch above bottle tops.  Remove from bath to draft-free area to cool.  Check that tops are sealed and store in cool, dark pantry for 1 year or longer.  Refrigerate after opening.
2. When sauce loses piquancy its time to start another batch or open another bottle.  When a bottle runs low on sauce but the chilies are still pleasantly piquant, just add more brine.