Orange Marmalade

I love fruit, and Oranges are one of my favorites. So needless to say, I love Orange season. Up until now, Orange season meant that I bought heaps of Oranges and ate quantities everyday. This year however, is different.

Pinterest opened my eyes to a hoard of recipes and sparked an interest that mere browsing would not have achieved. I created my Food & Favorite Recipes board among many others and started pinning avidly. One pin lead to another board to follow, and soon I had more recipes than time to experiment. 

January 2013 is the month of my experiments with Oranges. I ate many Oranges and soaked the Orange Peel in Vinegar to make Orange Vinegar (that smells delicious and cleans like a charm). Then one day I came across a recipe to make Orange Marmalade. I googled to learn more, and decided to give it a shot. 

I followed that recipe more or less, but it's different from the original recipe in a few aspects. I took the photos with my iPhone, the original recipe has lovely photos. Here's what I did:

I bought 2.5 pounds of Kinnow Oranges and 1 Lemon

I used 2 pounds of Sugar and 1 pound of Demerara Sugar

I added 1/4 teaspoon of salt 

I washed the fruit in salt and water. The placed the fruit in a thick bottomed saucepan and added 1.5 quarts of water. I brought the fruit to a boil on high heat. Then let it simmer after covering it for 1.5 - 2 hours. Then I had to be patient and let it stand overnight. This was the hard part for me.

The next morning, I cut the fruit into quarters.  Then scraped the pulp and fruit into the water. I squished the fruit pulp and the lemon, and brought it to a boil leaving it to bubble for 10 minutes on high heat.

In the meantime I chopped up the peel and set it aside.

After 10 minutes, I strained the liquid into a bowl and squeezed the pulp in the strainer to get all the liquid out. Then I put the liquid back in the saucepan with the chopped peel and brought it to a boil.
 

Once the contents in the saucepan were boiling, I added the sugar and stirred till the sugar was completely dissolved. Then I let it boil for 35 minutes and tested it to see if it was done.

Quoting the original blogger: "put a teaspoonful of hot marmalade on a cold plate and place it in the freezer to chill for a couple of minutes. Take the plate out of the freezer, and push at the jam with your finger. If it wrinkles, it’s done. If it doesn't wrinkle, let the marmalade cook for another 10 minutes and test it again, and repeat the process until it’s done."

After 55 minutes, it was done!!! I stirred in the salt, let it stand for 20 minutes, then transferred the Orange Marmalade in to the jars and sealed them.

Orange Vinegar

I love oranges and don't need an excuse to eat them. I came across this Recipe on Pinterest and it requires exactly 2 Ingredients. Orange Peel and White Vinegar, and a Glass Jar. I used an old Honey Jar.

I packed the Orange Peel into the Jar and covered it in the Vinegar. Then waited for about 3 weeks. I sneaked a whiff each time I saw the Jar in my kitchen; and the Jar looked so cheerful and pretty sitting there.

I did some Google-ing and discovered that this cleaner may be diluted in the proportions 1:1 - 1:4 or not at all; and one may add salt to it too.

I've used it in my kitchen, and it worked.

Research also indicates that it works on mold and the Orange Essential Oil in it gives wood a lovely glow.