Microwave Orange Marmalade
Orange Marmalade from Not Your Mother's Microwave Cookbook, pp 298-99 by Beth Hensperger
Marmalade usually refers to a preserve derived from a citrus fruit, the most common being tart oranges. Marmalade can also be made from lemons, lives, grapefruits, or a combination. Marmalade recipes include sliced or chopped fruit peel, h is simmered first in fruit juice and water until soft before adding the pump and pectin; it can take hours to make traditional marmalade. No more. Here is a lovely microwave recipe based on one created by Jane Trittipo, a microwave-cooking teacher, who ran the recipe as Marvelous Microwave Marmalade in Bon Appétit magazine in the 1980s and self-published a book called The Everyday Gourmet: Fast and Fabulous Microwave Recipes (1988). Instead of stripping the peel and cooking it separately, the entire fruit is ground. Your finished product won't have the strips of zest, but it will still be incredibly delicious and do your morning toast proud.
Makes [1/2 to] 3/4 cup
Microwave cookware: 2-quart Pyrex measuring cup[/bowl with handle] Microwave wattage 1,100 to 1,300 Microwave cooktime 5 to 6 minutes Standing time At least 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
1 navel orange (preferably organic), unpeeled, scrubbed, and quartered Sugar Light corn syrup
INSTRUCTIONS 1. Place the orange quarters in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until reduced to 1/4-inch pieces.
2. Transfer to the measuring cup. Note the amount and add an equal amount of sugar; stir. Note the amount and add 1 Tablespoon corn syrup, which will prevent crystallization during cooling, per cup of orange-sugar mixture.
3. Microcook, uncovered, on HIGH for 2 minutes. Microcook on LOW (10% power) or DEFROST for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is slightly thickened and the peel is tender. Be careful not to overcook. The mixture should fall from a spoon in thick drops.
4. Transfer to a storage jar. Let stand to cool to room temperature; the mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.
Note: You can store the marmalade in a tightly covered jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
My Notes
I made this with an in-season blood orange which gave me 1/2 a cup of pulp. Flavor and color were beautiful. I found this traditional, equal-parts-fruit-and-sugar recipe FAR too sweet for my taste. However, when I remade the batch this afternoon adding a second half cup of blood orange pulp but no more sugar, it was just right. We'll see how it sets up. Note that pectin is naturally occurring in citrus pith and seeds which forms bonds with sugar unlike the low/no-sugar-required pectin which forms bonds based on calcium (so if you use the latter and add any water, the harder your water, the firmer it will set up).
