What to do with them? Even with my plethora of books on pickling, preserving & pretty nifty google skills there would appear to be few recipes for using a whole heap of grapefruits.
So it was back to the tried & tested from Jams & Chutneys - Preserving the Harvest by Thane Price. A marvellous little book all seasonally arrange. The pineapple & red onion relish is delicious plus some great vinegars.
Back to the mountain of grapefruit & a great recipe for Pink Grapefruit Marmalade. Only slightly tweaked here as I had regular grapefruit & used a little less sugar as I prefer a tarter jam & happy just to spend a little longer to set to get that tang,,for me that makes it a great marmalade.
Back to the mountain of grapefruit & a great recipe for Pink Grapefruit Marmalade. Only slightly tweaked here as I had regular grapefruit & used a little less sugar as I prefer a tarter jam & happy just to spend a little longer to set to get that tang,,for me that makes it a great marmalade.
The recipe will make about 1.6kg or 3.5lbs & will keep for a year (at least! I still have some of last year's batch & all good!) Though this year's batch once distributed around the neighbours & a flat mate, Teresa, who has fallen in love with it. The recipe also calls for some lemons & very happy to have a great crop myself this year.
So here is the recipe, a little prep required with the overnight soaking but well worth it for these jewel like jars sweet, yet tart, deliciousness.
Pink Grapefruit Marmalade
Ingredients
3 pink or red fleshed grapefruits ( I used regular)
2 large lemons scrubbed
1.35kgs (3lbs) white granulated sugar (I used 1.2kgs)
Directions
Cut the fruit & half & squeeze out all the juice & strain in to a large bowl. Reserve the pips & store juice & pips in fridge until needed.
Using a sharp knife, cut the shells of the grapefruit & lemons into fine shreds. (Or as chunky or less chunky as you like in your marmalade - for as long as I can remember I loved Mum' marmalade but did not like "the bits"! So for me it is quite a fin chop!) Put these in a large china or glass bowl & cover with 1.5 litres (2 3/4 pints) of water & leave to soak for 24 hours.
Tie the reserved pips in a muslin bag (Or gauze from the chemist works too). Put the fruit & water in to a preserving pan with the reserved juices & the bag of pips. Bring to the boil& simmer for 60 minutes until the peel is very soft. You should be able to cut it easily with a wooden spoon.
Stir in the sugar & simmer over a low heat until it has dissolved. If any scum rises the the surface, skim it off. You may need to do this several times. Now increase the heat & cook at a full rolling boil for 20-30 minutes & then test for a set. It took me a little longer with less sugar but worth the wait.
When it has reached setting point,,,,,put a little on a cold saucer & leave for a moment & then check with your finger to see if it wrinkles,,,if it does you are set!
Once you have reached setting point let it sit for 5 minutes & then pot into sterilized jars, seal & label.
Still a bowl of grapefruit so going to try & preserve them,,,,after discussions with one of the neighbours if one can preserve lemons in salt why not grapefruit?
Enjoyed reading about your grapefruit bounty. Look rorward to sampling it in October, if there is any left ! J & C
ReplyDeleteThis looks SO good!! You're so creative. Come summer I'll have to give you a jar of our plum jam. Will be my second year making it - lots of fun!
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