Tuesday, August 23, 2011

orange peel jam

When orange trees are a common sidewalk occurrence, consumption of their citric fruits is almost morally obligatory. Whether in a orange-banana-honey smoothie or as a surprise ingredient in homemade goat-milk-farm-egg flan, fresh picked oranges are in abundance and always looking for ways to incorporate themselves into the daily menu.

But what to do with the peel? Sure, you can dry them and use them to flavor up your mate or you can place them near the crackling fireplace and fill the room with warmth and a citric aroma… but there are just so many peels. My newly inaugurated compost pail is easily overwhelmed when faced with too much citric acid; it craves a balanced diet. And our new pets, the earthworms, aren’t too well equipped to deal with citrics. So what to do with all those peels?

Orange peel jam. Obviously.

I first tried this delicious preserve over a bowl of creamy ice-cream at a get-together on a hot sunny day about a week ago. And I was sold instantly. So I decided to learn to make it.

Here’s what we did:

Obtained freshly picked oranges from our Tango teacher's backyard.
Washed six of them.
Juiced them.
Cut the peel into thin slices.
Lit a fire in the fireplace.
Boiled orange peels and some pulp in water over hot embers.
Added sugar.
Kept boiling jam.
Tasted jam.
Filled three jars.
Drank the leftover orange juice.
Yum.

More recipes to come :)

2 comments:

Peaceful Road Warrior said...

Good for you, Alisa. FYI, this is called marmalade in English.

Can't wait to see more recipes!

Yo' mama

ali sa said...

ooooo. thanks ma.

clearly my english needs brushing up.