lemon marmalade

my lemon trees are spoiling me with their bounty, and i'm trying to make the most of the season to try new recipes.

i used an old margaret fulton cumquat marmalade recipe as the basis of this recipe.

1.5kg lemons

2.2kg white sugar

3L water

wash and halve fruit, and place all seeds in a small bowl. with a vegetable peeler, peel off the yellow rind. cut off white pith and discard. 

finely slice the fruit and rind, place in large saucepan with 2.5L of water; cover the seeds with the remaining water, leave to stand overnight.

the next day, strain the seed water into the saucepan. boil all together until the liquid is reduced by half. add sugar and boil for about 1.5 hours or until marmalade sets (drop a teaspoonful of marmalade onto a cold plate- it should be gently firm, not runny or solid after 30 seconds).

while still hot, pour into hot, sterilised jars, seal and if possible, process in a water bath.

rose petal jam

rose petal jam. how luxurious! and how better to enjoy roses from the garden than by extolling their fragrance  and eating them?

there is a massive variety of recipes available, and this is only my first attempt (i've been promised bags of petals from a colleague's garden to practice on). i've made 500ml batches to test the method:

60g fresh, unsprayed petals (the more perfumed, the better)

1.5c caster sugar

0.75c water

1/4tsp citric acid or 1/2tsp lemon juice

wipe or gently rinse bugs off each petal. with small scissors or fingertips, remove the pale pit of each petal (the part that connects the petal to the centre of the flower- if left on, the result will be bitter). in a medium glass or ceramic bowl, gently use a fork to bruise the petals with 0.5c of sugar. cover with cling wrap and leave overnight (or at least for a few hours)

the next day, mix the remaining sugar and water in a small pan. bring to a gentle boil, and cook until a slightly thick syrup results. add in petals and citric acid/lemon, and cook on the lowest possible heat for up to 10 minutes or until jam is a little sticky on the back of a spoon.

strawberry jam

an unexpected abundance of strawberries led me to the unthinkable: jam.

i can't believe that i've had this opportunity; cooking strawberries, to me, has always been luxury verging on impossibility. i have not used as much sugar as is usually recommended, which means that it may not keep for long (as though that was really a concern...). if you want a thicker jam, increase sugar to 800g, and/or add pectin.

also, i don't fully sterilise (only sit my jars in boiled water for a few minutes), nor do i seal (but i do store in the fridge until and after opening). the peach and fig jams i made in march are still fine: no mould or other spoilage so far.

1kg strawberries, rinsed and leaves cut off

2 small green apples

400-500g raw sugar

1 lemon, juice and pips

cut strawberries into halves, place in large saucepan. thickly peel the apples, remove cores and wrap peel, lemon pips and core in muslin. tie muslin closed securely and place in pan with apple cut into large chunks. cook over low heat for 30 minutes. add lemon juice and sugar, cook for a further 10 minutes, or until jam sets on the back of a spoon. mash with a potato masher, or blend with a stab mixer.

i also made a smaller batch with xylitol (400g strawberries, 2/3c xylitol, 1 apple, 1 lemon juice and pips). it tastes 95% as good as the sugar batch, but is not as gelled.