Grapefruit Marmalade

1. Grapefruit Marmalade

This was the last marmalade I attempted but it should have been the first. Grapefruit marmalade is actually extremely easy and it can be done on a small scale- like one grapefruit- or you can scale it up if you have a grapefruit glut. The only caveat is that this particular recipe calls for a 12-18 hour waiting period mid-stream. The easiest way to make this happen is to start in the afternoon and pick up again the following morning but plan ahead.

I dedicated 2 grapefruit to this recipe (2A) and I used it as a test of one of my food processor shortcut. Based on my previous batches of marmalade I was wondering if food processing the peel actually made the end product more astringent or bitter. So dedicated half of each peel (in case one peel was already more bitter) to a method of rind chopping.

2. A. My victims B. Peeling the victims C. Piles for each method and a spoon that isn’t effective D. Scraped rinds and a pith pile)

I peeled both grapefruit by slicing the peel in quarters to remove it (2B). and then tried two methods of scrapping out the pith- a toothed grapefruit spoon (2C) and a serrated paring knife. The spoon compressed the pith instead of removing it so the knife was much more effective. I was pinching the blade as I used it which was a little sketchy but I kept my fingers. Once the pith was removed (2D) half of each rind was roughly sliced and went in the food processor and half was diligently sliced into slivers as skinny as I could manage (3).
(Keep in mind that if you upscale the recipe to include more than one grapefruit you can combine everything without issue- this division was for the sake of science.)

3. Food processed grapefruit bits vs “thin” slices.

Of the fruits in my marathon grapefruit seemed to be the easiest fruit to remove the membranes from. I separated each fruit roughly into quarters and used my paring knife to slice out the “core” (PICTURE). Next I used my fingers to pop out the seeds-most of which were obnoxiously small. Finally I used my thumbs to separated one side of a segment from the membrane wall (PICTURE), then continued to pull it free from the outside membrane and around to the other side (PICTURE). Since the pulp ends up completely separated later in the process you can mangle the wedges without issue. The pulp from both fruits was combined in a bowl and mixed thoroughly before I split it between the two batches (PICTURE).

4. A. Grapefruit with “core” and with “core” removed B. Separating flesh from side membrane. C. Continuing to separate flesh from the rest or the membrane.

5. Grapefruit pulp

I used the same saucepan for each of my batches up to step 8 of my directions below (6). I had each batch staggered by about 10 minutes but conditions were essentially identical. I needed the pan so I shifted the pre-marmalade to Tupperware to “rest” for the allotted 12 hours.

6. See directions below. A. Boiling the rind B. Adding rind to fruit C. Mixture before boiling D. Mixture boiling (color becomes more orange) E. Mixture ready to “rest” (more volume present in rind mixture)

Then life happened and I couldn’t finish up that night so I put everything in the fridge and came back to it 2 days later. This did not adversely affect my end product as far as I can tell.

Instead of staggering my final boil I used the saucepan and a skillet at the same time (7). I consider this equal enough since they are from the same set and they have the same exposed surface area.

7. One batch in a skillet the other in a pan.

After the sugar was added and the mixture started to boil again it only took 6 minutes for my thermometer to get to 215 degrees which is supposed to be my magic temperature for gelling. I removed both batches from the heat and did a saucer test and definitely wasn’t ready to party (8A). I had everything going again quickly and at 13 minutes from the original boil my thermometer read 220. When I tried the saucer again I had the same results. One more time back to boiling and at 22:30 total time I pulled both batches because the skillet was foaming enough to spill over and I could not stir it back down and the mixture in the sauce pan was making popcorn popping noises. At this point my thermometer read 215 so I have given up hope on using it in the future. I packaged the marmalade in jars (8B) and processed with my fingers crossed. Now that things have cooled I can say that I would have liked a firmer gel but it isn’t bad.

8. A. Boiling marmalade nearing gel stage B. Marmalade ready to go into jars.

I can also say that the food processer method doesn’t affect the taste. However it does alter the texture of the final product and slightly reduce the volume. This makes sense because the rind bits are more compressible than the slices. I ended up with exactly 3 half-pint jars from the sliced peel and only about 2 and a half from the processed peels. So if you are lazy, in a hurry, or likely to lose fingers you are probably safe using the food processor (but see my notes on what went wrong).

Special Equipment: Water Bath Canner, Jars, lids, and bands, Canning funnel, bubble remover

Grapefruit Marmalade

(Recipe adapted from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving)

1 grapefruit (or more)

Water

Sugar

1.       Wash grapefruit and score outside into quarters to peel.

2.       Scrape out pith with a knife and discard

3.       Slice peel into thin strips (or food process)

4.       Add to saucepan, cover with water and boil for 10 minutes

5.       Drain water and return to pan

6.       Working over a bowl, separate grapefruit segments from membrane and squeeze juice from membrane and discard

7.       Add 4 c water per grapefruit, and segments with juice to saucepan with peel strips and bring to a boil for 10 minutes

8.       Let stand at room temperature for 12-18 hours (or more). Can remain in pan for this.

9.       Return to a boil and boil for ~15 minutes until peel is tender

10.    Measure fruit mixture and return to heat

11.    While mixture is boiling stir in 1 c sugar for every cup of fruit

12.    Continue boiling and stirring until mixture reaches the gel stage (check using temperature, spoon or saucer tests)

13.    Ladle into jars leaving ¼ inch headspace

14.    Remove bubbles and adjust headspace if required

15.    Wipe rim, center lid, and screw band to fingertip tight

16.    Place jars in water bath canner and adjust water level to cover the jars if necessary

17.    Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes

18.    Turn off heat, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes and remove jars

19.    Check seal in 24 hours. Reprocess or label and store

My Yield: Total about 2 ¾ pints or 5- 8 oz jars with some left over