SOUR CHERRY MARMALADE
Essential Best Foods Cookbook by Dana Jacobi
I call this marmalade because it includes chunks of orange zest. It is so tart that you can also serve it with savory dishes, especially pork and turkey. The spread keeps for a month in the refrigerator when you spoon it into clean jars taken straight from the dishwasher and still hot, an easier method than dealing with canning.
Makes 2 (1/2-pint) jars
Ingredients
• 1 cups orange juice
• 1 cup dried sour cherries
• 1 Valencia orange, halved
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
Directions
1. Combine the orange juice and cherries in a bowl and soak until the cherries are plumped, 20 minutes.
2. Cut half the orange into thin slices then chop the slices. Place in a heavy stainless steel or other nonreactive medium saucepan. Squeeze the juice from the other orange half into the pot. Discard the orange half. Add the cherry mixture and lemon juice to the pot.
3. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the orange peel is pleasantly soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
4. While stirring, add the sugar slowly and gradually. Increase the heat and boil the mixture vigorously until it reaches the gel stage, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove it from the heat and test to be sure. (See Best Technique, below, for how to test.)
5. Skim off any foam and carefully transfer the hot marmalade into clean glass jars hot from the dishwasher. Cover tightly and set aside to cool completely to room temperature. If it is not gelled when cool, it will still taste great. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Best Technique: To see if your marmalade is ready, use this gel test:
Place 2 or 3 small plates in the freezer until chilled, at least 20 minutes. Spoon 1 teaspoon of the boiling marmalade onto a cold plate and return it to the freezer for 1 minute. Push the edge of the spread with your finger. When it has reached the gel stage, it will set and the surface will wrinkle when the edge is pushed. (See www.homecanning.com for more information.)
Nutrition
Per serving (2 tablespoons): 86 calories, 0 g fat. 0 g saturated fat, 1 g protein, 21 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber
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