ninevirtues | 50 new recipes: Blackberry jam, grapefruit marmalade

Blackberry or Raspberry Jam without Pectin

2 cups of crushed blackberries or raspberries (I crush mine by putting all the berries inside a cup/bowl and smooshing them with a spoon)

2 cups of sugar

2 tsp. of lemon juice

Directions:

In a small pan cook blackberries, sugar, and lemon juice on high heat for 5 minutes and reduce to medium heat and cook an additional 15 minutes. Skim the foam off and store in a heat-proof container. The jam will thicken as it cools.

Pink Grapefruit Marmalade with Vanilla

3 large ruby red grapefruits
3 cups water
4 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
2 tablespoons rose water or lemon juice

1. Set a large pot of water to boil. Cut off the peel of the grapefruits, working to get good thick slices, but leaving the inner white pith closest to the fruit still attached to the fruit. Cut the peels into strips. Blanch the peels by submersing them in boiling water for about three minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under running water. Bring a fresh pot of water to a boil and repeat the blanching process again, this removes any bitterness. Drain and rinse again.
2. Place the peels in a large pot. Cut off all the white pith from the remaining fruits then, working over the pot, cut between the grapefruit membranes so that the fruit sections fall into the pot. Squeeze juice from the membranes and discard them. repeat with remaining fruits.
3. Add the water and sugar to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring to combine. Lower the heat to a very low simmer. Simmer until the marmalade is thick and translucent, about one hour. The marmalade may still appear a touch watery- keep in mind it will thicken as it cools.
4. Add the vanilla bean seeds and simmer another five minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the rose water (or lemon) and set aside to cool. You could can this and process in a hot water bath or simply store in jars in the fridge.