My friend Dennis dropped a bunch of oranges off on my front porch the other day. I had told him I was crazy about jam making lately and he wasted no time in providing the goods for my next batch. He's a straight forward, down to earth sort of guy. I'm guessing he probably wants a traditional, easy going marmalade... nothing too shocking our "foodie" oriented. You know, something with basic ingredients. But I can't help myself.
Behold my secret ingredient. Cardamom! I got the recipe from another local jam maker - Rachel Saunders of Blue Chair Fruit. Santa - ahem - my husbando got me her jam cookbook for Christmas and I have been seriously obsessed since then. I think this is my 5th batch of marmalades so far. When I noticed I had Navel oranges on my hands (which are in the "sweet" orange category - vs. bitter) - I knew they'd be perfect for the recipe I'd been eyeing which called for oranges, kumquats, cardamom and a few drops of orange flower water. Delicious!
If I'm being totally honest, I should admit that I think it turned out just a tad bit on the sweet side. Not cloying - but still more sweet than I had wanted. The raw fruit was incredibly sweet - so that should have been a clue to adjust the recipe (nearly 4 pounds of sugar for 5 pounds of fruit!). Oh well. Guess I'll have to make another batch. Maybe I should wait for strawberry season....
No comments:
Post a Comment