Clementine and anise marmalade

The best way to deal with a deeply upsetting news day is to fuss over something fiddly in the kitchen!



This clementine and anise marmalade is sweet and mild, though not bland. I prepped the fruit by cutting the peels off in segments, slicing off most of the pith, and chopping the remainder into matchsticks; then I cut the flesh away from the membranes holding it in place, and coarsely chopped it. There are still some chunks of fruit hidden amongst the strips of peel in the finished marmalade, so it's got a nicely unhomogeneous texture.



Five little oranges prepared thus yielded a total of two cups of chopped fruit, so I set it up to soak in the fridge overnight with two cups of water and a teaspoon of anise seeds in a sachet. This afternoon I boiled the mixture until the peel was tender (testing it was no burden as the peel was remarkably sweet all by itself), added two cups of sugar, and boiled until it reached its setting point, which took about ten minutes. Five more minutes processing in a hot water bath and it was done.

Eileen has been using marmalade to glaze meats (she challenged me to lime, and the gears are turning in my head—mojito marmalade?), and I bet this one would make a really great marinade for grilled chicken. (We are plotting some outdoor grilling adventures with friends for later this month, so I may report back!) So far I have 1) scraped off the leftovers from the bottom of the pot and eaten them directly off a spoon; 2) dropped a spoonful into a cup of black tea; 3) stirred some into plain yoghurt for lunch; 4) eaten some on a toasted English muffin for post-lunch dessert, and it was all pretty awesome.