Physalis Jam - a twist

Physalis or CapeGooseberry Jam was what was cooking in my kitchen a few days back. While this is not my first attempt at making jam, this is my first attempt at making jam from this fruit, mostly because I either was too lazy or had too little time to experiment with and make jam from it; the fruit also being very seasonal. The idea to make jam from it came from looking the fruit up on google; with it came many variations in recipes. I first discovered it in a local market a few years ago and picked it up out of curiosity. At that point in time I did not know what to do with it. I asked a friend and she wove me a nostalgic story about how she and her siblings would pick these fruit that would grow wild in their home town and just eat them. I ate quite a few of these fruit too. I like their sweet and tart taste.

I used 300 g of Physalis; 200 g of Demerara Sugar, and the juice of 1 1/2 limes to make the jam. I prepared the fruit by easing them with salt and water and cutting them into quarters.

Mix the sugar and lime juice in a cup of water and bring this mixture to boil in a thick bottomed pan on high heat. Once the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is bubbling, add the chopped physalis to the pan. Wait till the mixture comes to a boil again and then lower the heat so that the mixture in the pan is simmering.

I tested it to see if it was done after about 30 minutes.

How to test if a jam is done? 

• Place a few drops of the jam on a cold spoon and put the spoon in the fridge for a couple of minutes. 
• Take the spoon out and push at the jam with a finger; if it wrinkles, it is done. 

If not, continue to simmer till it is done; checking at 5 minute intervals. My jam was done in about 45 minutes.

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.