I did two canning batches today (I like to re-use the water that's already in the canner). The first (in the pint jars in the background) was a strawberry/lemon marmalade. The recipe had a problem: it listed 4 cups of crushed berries and said t was about 2 quarts. Where I'm from, 4 cups is a quart. I should have made something else, but instead I went with 6 cups. It is softer than a marmalade should be, though still pleasant enough. I'm not posting the recipe because it is obviously lacking detail and it wasn't that special anyway.
The blood oranges are another story. Oh my, my, my this is a special jelly. It should be, of course given how dear those oranges are, but really, it was worth it to have such a spectacular jelly. You won't see this sitting on the shelf at Hy-Vee. Usually, I'm happy to give away jars of my shimmering canning projects, but I don't think I'm going to be sharing these. Oh my goodness, that's some fancy jelly.
I have about seven pounds of oranges left and I'll probably make marmalade with them. I might just throw caution to the wind and make a batch of sorbet, or can some slices in a honey syrup. I don't think I can convince Mr. Eat The Blog to let me buy any more this season unless the price comes down dramatically, so I want to make the most of what I have. I sound kind of obsessive, huh? It's funny, for a food blogger I'm pretty indifferent to most food (go figure). I enjoy preparing more than eating-except in the case of blood oranges which I would happily eat until sickness sets in, if I could afford it.
The recipe is identical to the one for Mandarin orange jelly, except that I substituted the blood oranges. They do tend to be a bit drier, so prepare much more chopped pulp than you think you'll need. Any extra can be mixed with vodka (not that I would ever do that) or reduced into a syrup. But do make extra-I ended up using every last drop.
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