Clementine and Lime Marmalade

Clementines are still with us, by the boxful! Some of our box got made into this marmalade.

As far as I can remember, my mother's marmalade-making afternoons were messy and laborious, but the kitchen was filled with the delicious fragrance of Seville oranges. Home made marmalade is just so much better than that anodyne, glucose-laden jelly you get in the shops that it's well worth making. So how to recreate that wonderful aroma and those luminescent orange jars of preserve without all the mess?- With a food processor, that's how. The end result is not as glassy, and I did find there was a hint of bitterness in my marmalade (maybe because of the pith?) but when it's spread on crackers or bread, you don't really notice and the aromatic clementine flavour comes through. Besides, a good marmalade is supposed to have a complex flavour, comprising sweet, bitter and sour. Thanks to www.chatelaine.com for the time-saving food processor idea.

Makes a large jar (the kind you get gherkins in)

14 clementines

2 limes (total weight of fruit about 900g)

1 tab lemon juice

2 1/4 cups (290g) soft light brown sugar

1 tab agave

• Wash the fruit thoroughly.
• Grate it all using the fine grating attachment on your food processor.
• Using a jelly bag/ muslin cloth, squeeze the juice and pulp out into a sturdy pan.
• Pass what's left through a fine-meshed sieve and remove any pips and large pieces of peel or pith. You can chop the peel into fine shreds with scissors or a small, sharp knife and return them to the pan. 
• Over a gentle heat, dissolve the sugar into the fruit with the lemon juice.
• Bring to a steady boil, and remove from heat when it reaches setting point. (Test by dropping a little into a glass of cold water. If it holds together, it's ready.) This may only take about 10-15 minutes.
• Stir in the agave.
• Bottle in sterilized jar(s), sealing the top with a circle of waxed paper. Put the lid(s) on when cool. Keeps up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

Marmalade facts:

Did you know that marmalade was originally made by the ancient Greeks and Romans, using quinces, or melo? This quince paste is still made in Portugal and Southern Europe today, where it is known as marmalado. It was only in the 17th century that marmalade came to be associated with citrus fruits.

What recipes could you use this marmalade in? I think I'd like to use it to top a vegan cheesecake...

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