Lemon Marmalade

A friend has a lemon tree that is currently covered in lemons. She let me have as many as I want, as long as she gets some of the results.

So today I made lemon marmalade. It is a sweet - tart treat. I especially like it on thyme scones with a little Devonshire cream. It is a fairly easy recipe, though labor intensive.

I use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin, with as little white pith as possible. I then use a thin, flexible knife to trim off any excessive pith from the back of each piece of peel. I have a ultra thin Teflon coated sushi knife that is ideal for this. I then fine julienne the peel, and chop into about one inch long bits.

I make a simple syrup of two cups water and 2 cups sugar, then simmer the peel in that until it is soft and translucent, about one hour. Strain out the peel. Hold on to the syrup. A lightly lemon flavored syrup has lots of uses.

While that is goung, I remove the pith from each lemon, cut out sections, and squeeze the remaining core of as much juice as possible.

I weigh the resulting juice/pulp, and add one and a half times that weight in sugar. This time, frim 20 lemons I got 42 oz , so added 63 oz. sugar. I then add the peel.

I simmer the mix until it reaches 220 F.I then bring it to a rolling boil, and add a 6 oz; of  liquid pectin. I bring it back to a rolling boil for one minute. I remove it from, then put up in jars. I got 10 half pint jars, plus a bowl for immediate use.

Lemon Marmalade

20 lemons
1 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 times the weight of the pulp and juice in sugar, approx. 60 oz.

Simple Syrup:
2 cups water
2 cups sugar

Using a sharp vegetable peeler, remove the skin from the lemons, trying to get as little pith as possible.

Remove any excess pith from the back of the peel with a sharp knife.

Cut the peel into a fine julienne, then cut into one inch long pieces..

Over meduim heat, combine 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar. bring to a simmer. Add peel, simmer until translucent and soft, about an hour. Strain out peel.

Using a sharp knife, remove the white pith from the lemons. Cut out segments, do not get any inner membrane or seeds. Squeeze out as much juice as possible.

Weigh out pulp and juice. Add 1 1/2 times that weight in sugar. Add salt and peel. Simmer over medium heat until it reaches a temperature of 220 F.

Remove from heat, can marmalade.

Happy eating!

Renaissance Marmalade redux

So last year, about this time, I tried redacting a recipe for marmalade from a early 17th century cookbook, the 1609 edition of Hugh Plat's Delights for Ladies. While inspired by the original, I altered it a lot to resemble a modern marmalade more.This year, I decided to try to follow the recipe more closely.

Modernly, a marmalade means a preserve with shreds of peel. This is not the meaning in the renaissance. Then, it meant a sweet congealed paste of fruit and sugar. Since it is cooked as whole fruit and strained, there is no peel in the result.

The original recipe was: TAke ten lemmons or orenges & boyle them with half a dozē pippins, & ſo draw them through a ſtrainer, then take ſo much ſugar as the pulp doth wey, & boyle it as you doe Marmalade of Quinces, and then box it vp.

 Since the recipe calls for either oranges or lemons, I wanted to try lemons this time. Also, I used Granny Smiths last time, and they never disintegrated. This time I used Red Delicious, which fall apart more easily. The lemons I found were a little small, I felt, so I used twelve instead of  ten.

For good food safety, I canned using modern water processing technique with modern jars and seals.

Because it is cooked with the lemon pith intact, it retains a fair amount of bitterness, but not in an unpleasant way. There is definitely a lot of pectin, it set up solid easily. 

Since it calls for even weights of pulp and sugar, I can't tell you exactly how much sugar. Expect around 45 ounces. My first batch weighed in at 43 oz., my second at 49.85 oz.

Hugh Plat's Apple Lemon Marmalade

12 medium lemons

6 large red delicious apples

sugar to match weight of pulp

1 tsp. salt

Cut lemons and apples in eighths. Put in a covered pot over medium low heat. Simmer until apples disintegrate. 

Press through a colander. Weigh resulting pulp. Combine with equal weight of sugar, and return to stove over low heat. Add salt, simmer and reduce. Marmalade will darken. 

Press through a strainer. Return to the stove on low heat to stay hot while canning, Can using water process or pressure canner.

Happy Eating!

A Trio of Persimmon Preserves

A friend with a very productive persimmon tree gifted me with two full grocery sacks of fruit. I'm always looking to make preserves for my tea business. It is nice to be able to offer a range of possibilities to prospective customers.

I ended up making three different preserves from them, so far. In the upper left is a straight persimmon jam, in front is a bourbon persimmon jam, and in the upper right is a lemon persimmon marmalade.

I figured the straight jam would have the best presentation of the fruit. Always good to have a simple, straightforward option.

When I tasted the persimmons, I thought bourbon would be a great match, flavorwise. Coincidentally, the spouse had just purchased a large bottle of bourbon for her own culinary purposes. She wasn't going to need all of it.

I'm always in the need for marmalade, so thought that would be a good idea. And, persimmon works well with lemon, anyway. I was a little surprised at how red it turned, but think that it is a fabulous color. The lemon peel stayed tougher than I would have liked. Have a plan to fix that in the next batch.

Recipes

Persimmon Jam

6 cups diced persimmon ( peeled and cored)

1/2 cup lemon juice

7 cups sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 pouch liquid pectin

Combine persimmon and lemon juice in a stock pot over medium low heat. Bring to a simmer. Let simmer until persimmon is soft. Use an immersion blender to process smooth. Force persimmon mixture through a sieve to remove any peel, seeds, or fibrous material. Return liquid to pan. Add sugar and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Add pectin, bring back to a rolling boil. Cook three minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer to sterilized hot jars. Seal, process in a water bath for 15 minutes.

Bourbon Persimmon Jam

6 cups diced persimmon ( peeled and cored)

1 cup bourbon whiskey

6 cups sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 pouch liquid pectin

Combine persimmon and bourbon in a stock pot over medium low heat. Bring to a simmer. Let simmer until persimmon is soft. Use an immersion blender to process smooth. Force persimmon mixture through a sieve to remove any peel, seeds, or fibrous material. Return liquid to pan. Add lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Add pectin, bring back to a rolling boil. Cook three minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer to sterilized hot jars. Seal, process in a water bath for 15 minutes.

Lemon Persimmon Marmalade

6 cups diced persimmon ( peeled and cored)

1 1/2 cups lemon juice

7 cups sugar

peel of 4 small lemons, all pith removed, cut in fine julienne

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 pouch liquid pectin

Combine persimmon and lemon juice in a stock pot over medium low heat. Bring to a simmer. Let simmer until persimmon is soft. Use an immersion blender to process smooth. Force persimmon mixture through a sieve to remove any peel, seeds, or fibrous material. Return liquid to pan. Add sugar,, peel and salt. Bring to a low simmer. Let simmer until mixture has thickened, and lemon peel is translucent. Bring to a rolling boil.  Add pectin, bring back to a rolling boil. Cook three minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer to sterilized hot jars. Seal, process in a water bath for 15 minutes.

Happy Eating!

Bread Class: Quick Breads

Monday was our first lab for the bread class. We started out simple, doing some tea bread, and a couple of kinds of muffins.

The first thing we made was an almond lemon tea bread. It has plenty of almond paste and butter, and is flavored with lemon zest and poppy seeds.

While the bread is still warm, a glaze of lemon juice, orange juice, and sugar is allowed to soak into the bread.

This is a great bread, with a texture like a pound cake. The zest and the glaze give it a very strong citrus flavor. I might go a little heavier on the poppy seeds myself. but I really like poppy seeds.

We made two kinds of muffins. The first kind we made were cranberry orange muffins with streusel topping. These are a classic fall muffin.

The orange juice and fresh cranberries give a nice tartness to these muffins. The streusel topping adds a nice bit of crunch, and some sweetness to counter balance the tartness.

These are a simple, straight forward muffin. They have a pleasant soft texture. These are great for breakfast.

The second type of muffin we made was a pumpkin muffin with a cream cheese filling. I love pumpkin muffins, and the cream cheese filling adds a nice twist to another fall classic.

The muffin has a fair bit of spices; in addition to some pumpkin pie spice, it has cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a hint of cardamom.

The filling is cream cheese sweetened with a little powdered sugar. It is piped into the center of the muffin. The muffin is then topped with a little bit of pecans tossed with cinnamon sugar.

It was really fun to get back into the pastry lab again. I really do thoroughly enjoy my pastry classes.

Recipes

Almond Lemon Tea Bread

for the bread:

4 oz. by wt. pastry flour

½ tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. poppy seeds
1/8 tsp. salt
5 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
7 oz. by wt. almond paste
7 oz. by wt. sugar
8 oz. by wt. butter
zest of 1 lemon

for the glaze:

3 Tbsp. orange juice
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
5 oz. by wt. sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Grease and flour a loaf pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. stir in poppy seeds. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine almond paste, sugar, butter, and zest. Cream together until light and fluffy.

 

Add eggs, one at a time, letting each one become incorporated until adding the next.

 

Add extract, allow to become incorporated.

 

Add dry ingredients in two stages, allowing to incorporate after each addition.

 

Transfer to loaf pan, and smooth out top.

 

Bake for 60 minutes, or until bread is set.

 

Remove from oven. Let cool ten minutes in pan.

 

While bread is cooking, prepare glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, dissolve sugar into juices.

 

When bread has pulled away from sides of pan, loosen edges with a small spatula, and invert bread onto a cooling rack over parchment paper.

 

While bread and glaze are still warm, brush bread lightly with glaze. Let bread absorb the glaze, then repeat until bread has a shiny appearance.

Cranberry Orange Struesel Muffins

for the muffins:

10 oz. all purpose flour
5 ¼ oz. sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
2 ½ oz. fresh cranberries, rough chopped
6 oz. orange juice
2 oz. oil
1 egg
1 ½ tsp. grated orange zest

Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

for the streusel:

2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 ½ oz. sugar
pinch salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
2 oz. butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

To make streusel, sift together dry ingredients. Cut butter into dry until mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.

To make muffins, in one bowl sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Stir in cranberries.

In another bowl, whisk together juice, oil, egg, and zest.

Fold liquid into dry ingredients.  Do not over mix.

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Sprinkle streusel on top of muffins.

Bake 15 - 20 minutes, until tops are golden and muffins set.

Makes 10 - 12 muffins.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

for muffins:
7 ¼ oz. all purpose flour
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spices
pinch cardamom
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
7 oz. sugar
8 oz. pumpkin puree
5 oz. oil
1 tsp. vanilla paste

for the cream cheese filling:
5 oz. cream cheese
1 ½ oz. powdered sugar

for the topping:
2/3 cup rough chopped pecans
2 tsp. cinnamon sugar

Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Place in a piping bag with a small round tip.

Toss pecans with cinnamon sugar. Set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.

In one bowl, sift together flour, spices, salt, and baking soda.

In another bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, pumpkin, oil, and vanilla paste.

Fold wet ingredients into dry. Do not over mix.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Pipe about 2 tablespoons of cream cheese mixture into the center of each muffin. Top each muffin with pecans.

Bake 12 - 15 minutes.

Happy eating!