Kumquat Marmalade

What's the best part of the end of winter? The beginning of summer!

Preserving is a becoming increasingly popular (judging by blogs and cookbooks available), after many years of everyone being caught up in the fast and convenient food culture. I don't do much preserving, except jams and marmalades.

I love making marmalades especially since it is by far more popular in my home than jam.  A bottle of strawberry jam will last long into the next strawberry season - not so with a marmalade.

I have perfected the art of lemon marmalade, which I make throughout the year. This week I thought I would try making something I have grown up knowing and seeing often, but never actually eaten or cooked with - Kumquats.

Kumquats are widely available at the moment and on impulse I took a bag before sanity could prevail and I am so glad that I did. This preserve / marmalade is sweet with a lovely tang of ginger and of course kumquat.

Kumquat and Ginger Marmalade

1kg Kumquats (washed and then cut 1cm trough the length - not all the way)
Thumb size knob of Ginger, peeled and finely shredded)
1kg of Sugar
Juice of 1 Large Lemon

Water

Place the kumquats and ginger in a large saucepan, and cover generously with water.
Boil for between 1½  hours.
The longer you boil the fruit the less time you'll need to boil with the sugar to reach setting point.
Once the fruit is soft add the sugar.
Stir the sugar until it has dissolved and then allow to boil without stirring, removing any scum.
Once it has reached setting point (4º - 5ºC above water boiling point), add the lemon juice.
Remove from the heat.
Allow to cool slightly and then pour into sterilized jars and seal tightly.
Serve on hot buttered toast!

Strawberry Jam

I love this time of the year. Two of my favourite foods are in full season and I am gorging myself on both! Strawberries and Asparagus are foods from heaven and when they are relatively cheap, like now, it really gets me going!

The only problem is the season does not last for very long. While you can still buy strawberries in December, it's not the same and besides that they have Christmas tax added! So to beat the blues, I stock up and freeze what I can't eat and then I can enjoy my strawberries in jam, pies, smoothies and ice-cream throughout the year.

This easy jam is a great treat for any sweet tooth and it makes just one bottle, which for some families this might prove a problem. It takes only 15 minutes to make, so you can splash out often and treat them with some red gold!

I added some lavender flowers, just for fun and the slight fragrance makes a lovely change.

Strawberry Jam (with Lavender Flowers)

400g Strawberries - washed and hulled
400g Sugar - heat in the microwave for 8 minutes on medium
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 teaspoon Lavender Flowers

Simmer the fruit and the lemon juice for a few minutes until just soft.
Mash the fruit to your preference.
Add the lavender, if using.
Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
Increase the heat and boil rapidly until setting point is reached - STIRRING ALL THE TIME.

Great served with home made white wonder bread....

When Life Gives You Lemons

One of my favourite things to do with lemons, is make marmalade. While the result is sure to make people think you are a Stepford Wife, the process is much easier than you should ever admit to anyone.

I have spent a lot of time perfecting my marmalade. I am always looking at other people's marmalade and comparing it with mine. Colour and consistency is very important, as well as the taste.

I like my lemon marmalade to be light in colour and have a clear jelly with thin strips of lemon peel floating in the jelly. The texture must be soft and easy to spread. I hate any jam or marmalade to tear up the toast when you spread it on.

My recipe is very easy, like just about everything I make.

Lemon Marmalade

2 Lemons cut in half and thinly sliced
1 litre of boiling water
700ml sugar

Put the sliced lemons in a bowl and cover with the boiling water.
Cover the bowl and leave over night.
The next day put the lemons and water in a pot and boil until the liquid has reduced by one third and the peel is soft. Remember that once you add the sugar the peel will not soften any more.
I warm my sugar before adding it to the lemons, this helps it to dissolve quicker.
Add the sugar to the lemons, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Scoop out any pips which you can find. I find it easier to do this once I have added the sugar, as the pips will float after you have added the sugar.
Bring to the boil and keep stirring.
Wash down the sides of the pot if there are any crystals.
Keep boiling until setting point is reached. This is 105°C.
The quicker you boil, the lighter in colour.
Don't leave your pot unattended, as it will burn very quickly.
Once you have reached setting point, remove from the heat, wait 10 minutes and pour into your hot sterilized jars.
The reason you wait 10 minutes after you have finished, is so that your marmalade can cool slightly and the jelly can thicken and then your fruit will not "float" to the top the bottle.
Close the lids immediately and leave to cool completely before using.

This is best served on hot toast. Makes great gifts and is sure to impress even the most difficult mother-in-law.

On Saturday we went to the Cape Town Flower and Garden Show. While I do not have a garden of my own (my back yard is paved), it really was beautiful to see what others can do.

I took a few pictures, which hardly do justice to how beautiful everything really was.

The back drop to the show.

This is an aloe made from wire and beads, the only kind of plant I am qualified to look after.
As Keith said "You talking to a woman who battles to grow her hair!".

1000 blooms. The smell from these roses was heavenly.

Rose & Thorn

You might be wondering where "Rose & Thorn" comes from, so I thought I would tell you the big secret!

I have a passion for baking and cooking. I love to make things and give them away as gifts. I started making lemon marmalade and it was very well received. I decided that I wanted to take my products to the next level, and work on the packaging. My husband is a packaging expert and is in the self-adhesive label business. So the first step was to "order" some beautiful labels.

Keith designed the label, and we worked with the name Rose & Thorn - I am sure you can work out where the Rose comes from, as for the Thorn - I joke that it is my alter-ego.

I am hoping that in time this can work out as a saleable product, and having good packaging is a start. But until then I will just continue to make nice looking things for those I care about, packaged in a way that looks professional.

Above is a picture of my Rose&Thorn Seville Marmalade. I had to cut my cell number off the picture, as I hardly want the entire world wide web to phone me. If you are lucky enough to get one of my products, you will have the number, so you will be privileged enough to be able to call when you wish to order again!

Have a wonderful day.