For those of you that struggle with marmalade and getting them to gel remember the two methods of testing to get to a gel stage; spoon and freezer plate. You will want to have a candy thermometer to get the recipe to 220 degrees. Here they are to refer to:
SHEET TEST
Dip a cold metal spoon into the boiling
FREEZER TEST
(Note: To prevent overcooking or scorching, remove the soft spread from the heat before performing this test.)
Chill a small saucers in the free
zer. Place a teaspoonful of soft spread on the chilled saucer and place in the freezer for 1 minute. Remove the saucer from the freezer and push the edge of the spread with your finger. A mixture that has reached the gel stage will be set, and the surface will wrinkle when the edge is pushed. If you have tried and just don't want to take a chance you can add half a box of sure-jel to the recipe to get the marmalade consistency. I hope that you will try though to master the art of making marmalade without.
Orange Pom Marmalade
4 ½ cups diced oranges (10 – 15 medium)
½ cup orange rind without white pith, slivered (you can omit if you don’t like it)
4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups 100% Pomegranate juice
Preparation : Prepare 6 half pint jars, lids, and rings. Sterilize the jars and keep them in the hot water till its time for processing. Make sure to fill your water bath canner and get the water to a simmer.
Cooking: In a stainless steel or enameled dutch oven combine ½ cup of pomegranate juice and orange rind and cook on medium and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add oranges and the rest of the pomegranate juice and continue to cook for 15 minutes on medium heat, stirring every 5 minutes. The oranges will start to break down and the mixture will start to create a foam on the top. Don’t worry about that till the end. Stir in all the sugar and continue to cook on medium but stir more often since now you have added sugar. You don’t want the sugar to burn so keep the heat at a good simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the candy thermometer and get the recipe to 220 degrees. Once you have achieved the 220 degrees do the gel test methods from above. Remember if you do the plate in the freezer method remove the recipe from the heat while you test. If you are doing the spoon method hold the spoon high enough that the heat of the pot will not affect the outcome. If the gel is not ready, continue to heat and test. Once you have achieved the sheet or the wrinkle it’s time to turn off the heat and ladle.
Note: If you still have foam on the top of your recipe skim off the foam with a metal spoon before ladling.
Cooking: In a stainless steel or enameled dutch oven combine ½ cup of pomegranate juice and orange rind and cook on medium and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add oranges and the rest of the pomegranate juice and continue to cook for 15 minutes on medium heat, stirring every 5 minutes. The oranges will start to break down and the mixture will start to create a foam on the top. Don’t worry about that till the end. Stir in all the sugar and continue to cook on medium but stir more often since now you have added sugar. You don’t want the sugar to burn so keep the heat at a good simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the candy thermometer and get the recipe to 220 degrees. Once you have achieved the 220 degrees do the gel test methods from above. Remember if you do the plate in the freezer method remove the recipe from the heat while you test. If you are doing the spoon method hold the spoon high enough that the heat of the pot will not affect the outcome. If the gel is not ready, continue to heat and test. Once you have achieved the sheet or the wrinkle it’s time to turn off the heat and ladle.
Note: If you still have foam on the top of your recipe skim off the foam with a metal spoon before ladling.
Filling the jars: On a dishtowel place your hot jars in a semi circle leaving room for your pot that has your recipe. Using your funnel in each jar ladle the mixture into the jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Start from the top of the semi circle and work your way to the end. Remove air bubbles and refill to the proper headspace if necessary. Remove your recipe and taking a clean papertowel wet it with warm water and wipe the rims of the jars removing any food particles that would interfere with a good seal. Using your magic wand extract the lids from the hot water and place them on the now cleaned rims. Add your rings to the tops of each of the jars and turn to seal just "finger tight". Processing: Make sure your rack is on the bottom of the canner and place the jars in the water bath making sure that the water covers each of the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add hot water to the canner if it doesn't measure up. Cover the pot and turn up the heat under the canner and wait for the water to start boiling. Once the water has come to a boil start your timer for 10 minutes. When complete turn off the heat and remove the cover and let the jars sit for another few minutes. Remove the jars and place them back on the dishtowel in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Do not touch or move them till the next morning.
Sealing: Some time in the next hour your jars will be making a "pinging" or "popping" noise. That is the glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into the jar for proper sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your lids and reprocess any jars that did not seal.
Sealing: Some time in the next hour your jars will be making a "pinging" or "popping" noise. That is the glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into the jar for proper sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your lids and reprocess any jars that did not seal.
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