Orange Marmalade: Part 2

 So just in case you missed part one of this FANTASTIC orange marmalade tutorial feel free to go to Orange Marmalade:Part 1.

 So we have now practiced patience and waited 22 hours before continuing to make our item at hand. Yes I know the recipe only calls for 12-18 hours of waiting but hey, some of us have to work and cannot always follow the rules. Now what we want to do is quick boil the mixture of orange pulp, peel, lemon and water until the peels are tender. You can tell when they are tender by mushing them with the spoon you are using to  mix with.

 Now it is time to dirty yet ANOTHER pot and add equal amounts of sugar to your citrus mixture. I had 8 cups of mixture so I added 8 cups of sugar! Simple math makes me happy!

Measuring a cup at a time into my 8qt stockpot

Add equal amounts of sugar or whatever sweetener you choose

 Next, over high heat bring the sugar-citrus mixture to a boil and stir constantly. Cook until it is almost at a gelling point(if you want put some spoons in the freezer and once they are cold check for a gel by letting some marmalade cool on the spoon and seeing how solid it gets after a minute). Once you reach that point remove the mixture from the heat and start jarring it up!

Lids and rings softening

Jars sterilized

CAUTION: JARS AND MARMALADE EXTREMELY HOT

Now if you are going to process the jars to preserve all your hard-work go ahead and add the lids and bands for mason jars or gaskets and clamps to Weck jars. Put the jar back into the boiling hot water bath and let boil for 10-12 minutes. Remove, let cool then check to make sure all your jars have sealed!

My finished product! Ain't it pretty?!
Do you see the tongue?! The jar sealed right.

Jars processing in hot water bath

After ALL this I only had one jar not seal because the rubber gasket ripped. With the Weck jars you will know if they sealed properly by the little pink tongue pointing down. I came out with a total of:5 4oz jars, 3 8oz jars and 3 12.5oz jars...that is a lot of marmalade.

Raw packed cherries in simple syrup

The tastiest thing I've decided to add to my zombie apocalypse bomb shelter all summer!

So tonight I decided to raw pack a few pounds of cherries I picked up dirt cheap at work. Rainer cherries were on sale this week and I got about 5 pounds for $10! Now I love my cherries in the summer but what about that sad dreary time in the winter, I can only stuff sooo many apples down my throat.


Ingredients:
2 pounds fresh Rainer cherries pitted
2 cups of sugar
4 cups water
2 vanilla beans cut into small strips
And jars, I used 5 Weck 12.5 oz jars


First off if you haven't done it already clean and pit your cherries. You can use a fancy cherry pitter or if your a broke 23 year old like myself, you can just jab those little pits right on out with a straw!

Now you want to make sure you sterilize your jars and lids and in my case seals. Boil your many small components and keep them warm! We wouldn't want those precious jars to burst when we pour the warm simple syrup in!

Now while you wait for the jars to boil feel free to start making your simple syrup. In a small sauce pan over medium heat warm your sugar and water to a gentle boil stirring occasionally. You want the sugar to completely dissolve or you will have sugar crystals form in your jars after you are done processing everything. also now is a good time to cut up your vanilla beans.

Next take your freshly sterilized jars and fill them with the cherries. Make sure to leave enough space in the jar for your liquid to fully cover the cherries AND have room to expand. Now go ahead and add a strip of vanilla bean, pour in your syrup and attach the lid. 

Begin your hot water bath and process for 15 minutes.

Remove the jars from water place on cooling rack and allow to cool down. Check to make sure the jars are sealed and now marvel at how easy that was, along with how delectable those beautiful cherries look!

Go ahead and eat some now, but more importantly save some for later on when you miss that taste of summer! Plus the vanilla bean will enhance the flavor as time goes on the longer you wait the better!