Bye July - Citrus Glut.

July speaks of all things citrus, and crikey... I sure have given it a good crack to get as much of it bottled, preserved, marmaladed and dried.

 Our grapefruit tree, two lemon trees and mandarin tree are loaded with fruit, which of course must not be wasted, so a few batches of marmalade have been made on top of the wood stove.

 Someone brought me a big box of their home grown  Navel oranges, which have gone into cakes, puddings, casseroles and lots of batches of marmalade.
As I was preserving a couple of jars of lemons in salt I did a trial jar of oranges salted and preserved in the same way. I'll let you know in a few weeks how they are.

 If you're not a huge fan of marmalade, let me tell you that it's the secret ingredient to the best tasting fruit cakes, orange cakes, puddings, casseroles, baked chicken, pork and so many dishes. I fill a whole shelf in the preserves cupboard with jars of marmalade every year and a dollop is generally used in some way on most days.
 Oh and if you are a fan we cannot forget the humble marmalade on sourdough toast for breakfast or morning smoko.

Orange marmalade.

Grapefruit marmalade.

If you have some citrus, here's how I make marmalade - quick and easy;
Any citrus may be used, or a combination. Use a grater to remove the zest and keep aside.
With a sharp knife cut off both ends of the fruit and then cut off all the white pith and discard.
Quarter the remaining fruit, remove pips and weigh out 500g using your kitchen scales.
Then put into the food processor and pulse until chopped but not mushy. (Or slice by hand if you don't have access to a food processor)
Place this chopped fruit into a large pan,
add grated zest
1.5 litres of water
1.5 kgs of plain white sugar

Stir while bringing slowly to the boil and then simmer for an hour or maybe two, depending if you need to turn it down whilst going off to feed the chickens, milk the cow or whatever it is that you do in your day.
Stir it frequently to prevent sticking to the bottom and burning.
After it starts to colour up (a little bit darker), do the wrinkle test.
*Take out a spoonful onto a shallow dish and place in the freezer. After five minutes ake it out of the freezer, hold it to the light and move the spoon across gently. If the surface of the marmalade wrinkles slightly, it's time to take it off and put into jars.

Dried lemon zest will come in handy later in the year when I have no lemons available. Grate with the cheese grater and dry overnight in the oven that has been used to cook something else, but is turned off. I put it on a tray in the bottom warmer oven of the wood stove where it dries overnight.

My favourite  Citrus and vinegar cleaner  is always on the go too, the fragrance is amazing.
 
I'm always looking for new ways to preserve this citrus goodness so if you have any other uses to share I'd love to hear them.

And just like that....July has whooshed by.

Cheers,
Sally XX