Except for Meyer lemon marmalade, which is a year-round thing for me, marmalade season is over. Last week, I was planning a final, simple batch of clementine marmalade, using a lovely recipe nipped from Julia, who found it in Mes Confitures. But then — whether due to inspiration or exhaustion (it was late at night) — I started throwing extra things into the pot: the entire contents of my small bottle of Kaffir lime syrup, some slivered almonds, a little bit of almond extract.
I like how it turned out, so I’m going to write it down here to remember for next year. Then I’m going to give the preserving posts a rest until it’s time to do something with herbs for the April can jam, in a couple of weeks. I still haven’t filed my taxes!
Clementine Almond Lime Marmalade
1 3/4 pounds clementines
3 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 3/4 cup apple jelly (good luck . . . see below)
5 oz. Kaffir lime syrup
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
First, some notes about potentially hard-to-find ingredients:
- Apple jelly. It can be a real bitch to find store-bought apple jelly. If you live here in Marin County and you hope to find apple jelly in a grocery store, you won’t — at least I didn’t, when I checked every single market back in February. (One guy said, “But we have apple butter, and that’s the same thing.” Then he and I had a little talk.) After much effort, I discovered that Bay Area folk can find Smucker’s Apple Jelly at the Lucky supermarket in El Cerrito, but do you really want that? I now make my own stock jelly to keep on hand, using the oh-so-simple recipe from the Ball Blue Book.
- Kaffir lime syrup. Okay. Yum. I got this amazing elixir from the renowned Robert Lambert. He comes out in person to sell his creations at the Marin Farmer’s Market on Sundays, but most everything he has is available on his website. (I just noticed that he has bergamot syrup. I think that’s where I’m going next.)
Next, here’s a rough guide to the process I used. If you want to try this and have any questions, please do leave a comment below.
3 (optional). The next day, add about 1/4 cup of water (this isn’t in the original recipe, but I like to do it), simmer the mixture again, and let it sit another night in the fridge. (Some reputable sources say this step isn’t necessary and that you can go ahead and finish the marmalade on the second day, but I’ve continued to let it sit for a second night, because it works — or maybe because I’m lazy, not sure which.)
4. The following day (this is day two or three, depending on whether you include Step 3), put the mixture back into the heavy pot and add:
- apple jelly
- Kaffir lime syrup
- slivered almonds
7. Ladle the hot mixture into sterilized half-pint jars and process. I left 1/4 inch head space and processed for ten minutes in a water bath canner.
Yields about 6 half-pints.
