Citrus Marmalades

Julie, my gourmet cooking friend who last fall taught me to make pepper jelly that actually sets up, makes a plethora of jams, jellies and marmalades for the fair every year. She takes mostly all first places, occasionally a second place.  Generous person that she is, she brings a stash of it to work to pass out to different folks.  If you are ever invited to her home, there is always a plate of crackers or breads set out along with five or so different jams, jellies or marmalades to sample.  So wonderful :o}  I used her method of making marmalade this past weekend so that I could use the fruit off of my Calamondin Citrus tree for something edible.  Calamondins are too bitter to eat straight off of the tree!

 Very simple to make, the marmalades only use citrus fruit and sugar.  After washing the fruit well, juice 1/3 of them.  Cut the remaining fruit into chunks that your food processor can handle, and whirl them into marmalade consistency.  Add the juice to this, and then 1/2 of the sugar.  The total amount of sugar is just a little less than the fruit.  For example, if you have 1 kilo of fruit, you will use 900 grams of sugar.  Translated into our unit of weight, that means approximately 2#3oz of fruit to just slightly under 2# of sugar.  Once you stir in 1/2 of the sugar, mix and allow it to sit overnight while it 'candies'.  The next day add the remaining sugar and heat on stove top until mixture is of marmalade consistency.  Time will depend on how high your heat is turned up, but it will take about 30 minutes.  If you are making a big batch, it needs to cook at least 30 minutes for a longer shelf life.  To test if it done, put a small blob on a plate and let it cool.  When you tilt the plate, it should stay in place.