There are several theories about the origins of marmalade, a sweet jelly with suspended fruit rinds and chunks. Some say Mary Queen of Scots had seasickness and her French physician created a sugar-based citrus spread to help her. “Marie est malade” or Mary’s sickness became ‘marmalade’. Myth or fact, the likely origin is marmalade’s derivation from the Portuguese word for quince “marmelada”, a dense jelly eaten after a meal. By the 1600s marmalades were created with citrus and eaten in England and Scotland for breakfast.

Marmalade lovers are particular folk! Some like it runny, some firm; some like it bitter, some sweet. Some will tolerate the addition of vegetables, some absolutely will not. There are as many views about marmalade as there are recipes and methods. Over the years I have made marmalade with almost every citrus variety and even some vegetables. I’ve had successes and failures! Here are a few of my learnings.

Basic marmalade recipes call for the thinly slicing of the peel of citrus, removing of the white bitter pith, chopping the pulp and using the natural pectin of the seeds and fruit (put in a cheesecloth package). Some recipes add 1/8 tsp of baking soda to soften the peel, but I didn’t find this made a difference. I tried to speed up the process by using a recipe that added commercial pectin. Not helpful! It didn’t gel. The take-aways: develop skill at testing the “set point”; and remember, some good things in life take time and marmalade is one of them.

Set point can be determined a few ways such as the “wrinkle test” dropping hot marmalade on a frozen saucer or watching the mixture drop off a spoon as it transforms from liquid to thick droplets. I have concluded that a candy thermometer is the most accurate and reliable method. At sea level, the set point is 220 F but altitude affects boiling point and therefore set point. Even at 1000 ft, the set point is between 218 and 220 (I go for 218). But if you live at higher altitudes (Dundalk Highlands), the set point will be between 216 and 218. I would use the lower point as the marmalade continues to cook during water-bath processing. Another learning is that marmalade can take up to 48 hours to set up. So even if it looks loose give it 48 hrs before deciding whether to start over.

Marmalade for breakfast is wonderful but don’t just save it for mornings. It is also excellent as a glaze on meats, or as a dollop on ice cream, in a thumbprint cookie, or atop of a cheesecake. This is the time of year to embrace the marmalade challenge!

Want to learn more about canning?

Join me on Feb 3rd in a class offered by Agriculture Grey-Bruce via Zoom. To register: info@greyagservices.ca

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

Winter brings an array of citrus to grocery stores and often at a good price. Oranges, tangerines, Clementines, mandarins, lemons, Meyer lemons, limes and grapefruit delight the senses. There are so many ways to work with citrus, but here I’m focusing on salt and sugar curing, ancient methods of preserving. Both salt and sugar inhibit microbial growth by several means, but primarily by osmosis where water molecules join up with sugar or salt molecules reducing free water necessary for microbial growth. Salt and sugar also have anti-microbial actions, altering the enzymatic activity of microbes and weakening the molecular structure.

Salt-Curing: Preserved Meyer Lemons

January means making a jar of preserved lemons. Middle Eastern cuisine would not exist without preserved lemons. I prefer Meyer lemons but any (preferably organic) lemons will do. Opening, salting and ensuring the lemons are submerged in fresh lemon juice will preserve them in the fridge for a year. They add a fermented taste to recipes that fresh lemons cannot achieve. There are many simple recipes for preserved lemons on trust-worthy internet sites or contact me. Give them a try with chicken, in a bowl of couscous or in a vinaigrette.

Sugar-Curing: Candied Citrus Peel

We often think of candied peel at Christmas but did you know May 4th is National Candied Orange Peel Day? Who knew? Since winter is the time for citrus, why not try your hand at candying (aka sugar curing) the rinds? My friend and I reviewed many recipes so here are tips. Any citrus fruit with thick skins will work well (organic preferred). The key to making good peel is blanching the ¼ inch slices of peel in 4 cups of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and repeat this process again. This will remove the bitterness from the pith of the rind. Make a simple syrup (50% sugar to 50% water) about 2 cups each will be enough for a batch. Heat the syrup until the sugar is dissolved and then simmer the rind for 45 minutes. Remove rind and left drain on a rack for a couple of days. If you want, dust the rind with a small amount of superfine sugar. The rind will last for at least a month in an airtight container. Use it as a great sweet treat, in cakes, breads, muffins, puddings or as garnish. The syrup can also be kept in the fridge. Add a piece of rind and drizzle of syrup to a cup of tea or a scoop of yogurt.

Sugar and salt curing are two ways to preserve citrus fruit when it comes into season. Expand your winter culinary activities and make preserved lemons and candied citrus peel.

For information:
preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

Tis the season for wonderful food! As an avid preserver, a large part of the fun is putting the fruits of my labour to work in creative food applications. At this time of year, our celebratory meals always involve dessert so I’m going to raid the pantry for items to put into a traditional French tarte.

Every patisserie in France offers tartes frequently made with fruit and often with an almond cream base called frangipani. Tartes are open faced ‘pies’ so to speak made in pans that have removable sides and bottoms. It is possible to use a typical pie pastry for the tarte but I like to use a pate brisée which is a butter based pastry with excellent flavour and enough turgor to stand up once the pan is removed.

Pate Brisée
2 ½ cups unbleached white flour 1 tsp. salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter cut in small pieces ½ cup ice water
I use my food processor but you can use a pastry cutter to cut butter into salted flour. Gradually add ice water until the pastry starts to come together. It might be less than ½ cup. Put out on lightly floured surface and bring the pastry together with your hands. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch thick. Press the dough into the tarte pan. Let it hang over the sides. Take the rolling pin and roll lightly across the top of the pan which will cut the pastry off to exactly fit the pan. This pasty freezes very well. For each filling below, add it to the pastry lined pan and bake at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes for a 9 inch or 40 minutes for a 6 inch pan. To ensure a crispier bottom crust, bake on the lower shelf.

Pear Mincemeat
In the Fall I made Pear Mincemeat (Bernardin). I used a small 6 inch pan and about ¾ of a cup of mincemeat. I cut a snowflake out of the pastry to add to the top and brushed it lightly with melted apple jelly.

Double Apple
This tarte, adapted from a Ball recipe, uses preserved apple sauce (one 250 ml jar) combined with 1 cup chopped, peeled apples. Put the sauce mixture into a 9 inch tarte. Thinly sliced one to two apples and place them in concentric circles around the tarte as illustrated. Brush with melted apple jelly and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Pear with Frangipani Filling
Blend ½ cup soft butter, ½ cup sugar, 1 cup ground almonds, ½ tsp. almond extract, 1 TBSP flour. Spread the almond cream into a 9 inch tarte pan. Slice the preserved pears decoratively and place them around the tarte pressing slightly. Brush the pears with melted apple jelly.

Voila, you have three French tartes made with home-made preserves ready for the holiday table.

I wish you all a joyful and safe season and look forward to returning in the New Year. If you have any topics you would like me to cover, please send me a note at:
preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

Recently in Fine Cooking, it said “if you aren’t familiar with the cheese board trend gone wild, you must have been actively avoiding Instagram and Pinterest for several years”. Yup, creating boards is a huge trend even if, like me, you’re not addicted to social media. Creating a board is fun, creative, and beautiful to look at not to mention delicious to consume.

Last week I was asked to prepare a Festive Platter for staff at one of our hospitals. I anchored the platter with a jar of Thyme-Infused Red Wine jelly (pantry item). I think the key to a great platter is contrasts – colour, texture, and taste (sweet-salt). For this platter, I used three cheeses of various textures, cured salami, cranberry-orange sweet bread, prosciutto pinwheels, Provolone snowflakes cut with Christmas cookie cutters, baked olives, spiced nuts, mandarins, pomegranate, dried apricots, crostini, and crackers (GF). The options are endless. It’s fun to share as an appetizer or even as a light meal.

For more information and resources:

Preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

Herbal teas are technically not teas at all because they do not include “true teas” such as green, black, white or oolong. The term “tisane” refers to decoctions or infusions made from herbs, spices, bark, roots, fruit or seeds. Infusions are used for herbs that are steeped in hot water as we normally do with tea. Decoctions are reserved for woody, tougher spices, seeds, roots and barks that require a start in cold water and a 15 – 25 minutes simmer. For example, mint is prepared as an infusion whereas ginger or turmeric would be prepared as a decoction. Either way, they are both tisanes.

Tisanes have a very long history dating back to 2700 BC in China and 1550 BC in Egypt where herbal teas were enjoyed for pleasure but also used for medicinal purposes. For instance, chamomile was used centuries ago to support relaxation and sleep. In America, following the Boston Tea Party ordeal, drinking tea was considered unpatriotic so people turned to herbal teas as a pleasant substitute. In recent years, our attention to natural, unprocessed foods and drinks has brought a resurgence in the consumption of tisanes.

Although I have always dried some herbs for the purposes of tisanes, this past year I started a “tea garden” to intentionally expand my tea-making. I planted lemon and orange balm, bergamot, various mints varieties, and German chamomile to complement my other herbs and flowers. Along with these, I dry lavender, oregano, rosemary, rose hips, as well as orange and lemon slices to augment flavour. I sometimes use my dehydrator for herbs and flowers, but I mostly air dry the old-fashioned way. I find the oven, dehydrator and microwave can be a touch too hot for drying herbs.

There are an endless number of possible tisanes from simple chamomile, mint, lavender, or lemon balm to combinations that are delicious. This combination of herbs and spice is one of my favorite recipes that comes from an older book by C. Costenbader.

½ cup dried rosemary
½ cup dried lavender flowers
½ cup dried mint leaves
¼ cup dried chamomile flowers
¼ cup dried cloves

Combine and store in air-tight container. Use 1 tsp. of the mix to 6 oz. of boiling water. Steep for 6-8 minutes.

As our gardens head for their winter sleep, the herbs, flowers, bark, roots, fruit, and seeds along with spices can add to our comfort in the chilly months ahead

For more information and resources:

Preservingwithmartha@gmail.com