Rosy Pink Grapefruit marmalade

I love giving away this rosy pink grapefruit marmalade during the holiday season, everything about it is optimistic, bright and promising. This recipe is very possible to make, even during the busy holidays, because most of the time it is just bubbling away on the stove.

There is something intensely gratifying about putting up jars of preserved fruit and I love having a larder stocked with splendid homemade gifts ready to give. If you haven’t “preserved” before, this easy recipe is a great way to start.

Our recipe is adapted from one in Nigella Lawson’s cookbook, How to be a Domestic Goddess. Nigella adds lemon juice (instead of rose water) in her version. 

The rose water mellows the grapefruit and adds an ethereal floral earthiness to the concoction. Rose water can be found the Splendid Items section on the SM home page, at middle eastern stores and many grocery stores.

Ingredients

yields just over 2 quarts

4 pounds pink grapefruits (about 5 small fruits)

5 pounds granulated sugar

3 tablespoons rose water

8-9 8-ounces canning jars

Put the pink grapefruits into a large saucepan, filled with enough water so that they float freely, bring to a boil and simmer for about 2 hours, until they are soft and a little puffed. Add more hot water to keep the grapefruits covered as needed. This can be done the day or night before finishing the marmalade. Refrigerate the fruits until you’re ready to finish the process.

When you are ready to process the fruits, place a saucer in the freezer.  I like to sterilize the canning jars on a large vat of water for 20 minutes and start doing it at this stage.

Place the grapefruits on a cutting board with a surrounding well to capture all of the juice. Slice and chop the fruits, being sure to leave some longer “ribbons” of rind, because they look so pretty in the final product. Remove as many seeds as you can and cut away any white membrane. 

Put the fruits back into the saucepan, add the sugar and 2 tablespoons of the rose water. Let the sugar dissolve over a gentle heat and then raise the heat to bring the mixture to a boil. Allow to bubble away for 25 minutes until it has reached the setting point. Stir in the final tablespoon of rosewater. Spoon out any seeds which float to the surface.

To test for the setting point, remove the pan from the heat. Spoon about 1/2 a teaspoon of the marmalade on the chilled saucer. Allow the marmalade to cool. If it is adequately set, it should feel firm and wrinkle when the saucer is held at an angle.

Ladle into prepared jars and close the lids. At this stage, you could keep this as “refrigerator jam” or, seal them in boiling water according the manufacturers instructions.

The European jars with glass lids (La Parfait or Fido) are not approved for canning by the FDA, because of sealing concerns. I can say that I have used these jars for years and they have always sealed beautifully. For safety reasons, you could seal the jars but keep them refrigerated.

 The American made Ball or Kerr jars with the screw on lids are the FDA’s preferred vessel. I do love hearing the soft symphony of “pops” after taking these metal lidded jars out of the boiling water. The “pop” is the sound of the lid sealing.

These labels from Waste not paper make it easy to add a polished finish to your jars. You can go online and download a template on which to print your custom designed labels.

Here she is, Lady Marmalade, all dressed up and ready to go to the party!