Gingery Muscadine Marmalade Recipes

MUSCADINE JAM

Steps:

• Inspect four 8-ounce jars (or two 16-ounce jars) for cracks and rings for rust, discarding any defective ones. Immerse in simmering water until jam is ready. Wash new, unused lids and rings in warm soapy water. Place a couple of small plates in the freezer.
• Wash grapes and cut in half. Combine grapes and sugar in a large pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Maintain a medium to low boil, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking; make sure it does not get too hot.
• Check doneness by dropping a small spoonful of jam onto a frozen plate. Let sit for 1 to 2 minutes; if jam appears to gel, it is ready. Continue cooking if jam appears thin and runny.
• Transfer a portion of the jam mixture to a blender; puree until all hulls and seeds are ground. Set pureed jam in a pot to keep warm, and continue with remaining mixture.
• Pack pureed jam into hot, sterilized jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the top. Run a clean knife or thin spatula around the insides of the jars to remove any air bubbles. Wipe rims with a moist paper towel to remove any residue. Top with lids and screw rings on tightly.
• Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil and lower jars 2 inches apart into the boiling water using a holder. Pour in more boiling water to cover jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil, cover, and process for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Remove from water and set aside until the entire canning jar cools and you hear the "pop" of the can sealing, at least 1 hour. Store and enjoy at your leisure!

ORANGE-GRAPEFRUIT MARMALADE WITH GINGER

Steps:

• Cut fruit in half, squeeze out juice and pulp, discard seeds. The volume of this should be approximately 4 cups. Remove zest, this should yield approximately 1/2 cup. Transfer juice, pulp and zest to a large glass bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. This helps the peel to soften.
• After soaking, put the citrus in a large stockpot. Add 6 cups of water, simmer for 1 1/2 hours. A sample of the peel should feel quite tender if rubbed between fingers. Add sugar and ginger. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Boil hard for 20 minutes until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thickened. If the mixture foams up, add a pat of butter and the froth will subside.
• Test for jell-point: drop a small amount of hot marmalade on a chilled plate. Return to the freezer for 1 minute. If surface forms a skin, it has reached jelling point, if still syrupy, continue cooking and test again in 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat, stir in pectin. Cool for 15 minutes, spoon into half-pint sterilized jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace and seal.
• ** Recipe Note: Traditionally the citrus seeds and pith are enclosed in a nylon bag and boiled along with the juice/pulp. This releases the natural pectin that is stored in that part of the orange. For time and ease, we eliminated that step and used store-bought fruit pectin. It worked very well.
• ***To sterilize the canning jars, wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse. Boil them in a large pot for 10 minutes. Keep the jars in hot water until ready to use to prevent the jars from cracking. Dry with paper towels before filling with marmalade. Once filled, put on lids and collar. Boil again for 10 minutes to seal the jars.

GINGER SHALLOT MARMALADE

Steps:

• In a heavy 10-inch skillet (preferably cast-iron) cook shallots and ginger in butter over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Increase heat to moderately high and stir in a remaining ingredients. Cook mixture, stirring frequently, until syrup and almost all liquid is absorbed, about 12 minutes. Marmalade keeps, covered and chilled, up to 2 weeks.
• Serve marmalade with meat, poultry, fish, or vegetables.

GINGER-PEAR MARMALADE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.
• Stir; let stand about 1 hour until pears release their juice.
• Heat and stir until it comes to a boil.
• Cook uncovered, stirring often until pears are mushy.
• Cook rapidly, stirring constantly until jam stage is reached. This will take about 55 minutes.
• Discard spice bag, skim if needed.
• Pour into hot sterilized half pint jars to within 1/4 inch of top. Place sterilized metal lids on jars and screw metal bands on securely. For added assurance against spoilage, you may choose to process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

GINGERED ZUCCHINI MARMALADE

Steps:

• Have 4 or 5 washed half-pint jars, kept ready on a try in a warm oven.
• Place shreded zucchini in a large, heavy-bottomed stainless steel saucepan or kettle. Use a zester to remove just the colored peel from oranges; stir into zucchini in pot. Use a peeler or sharp knife to remove white pith and remaining peel from oranges and lemons; tie in a large gauze bag. Tie grated ginger in a separate gauze bag.
• Finely chop oranges, lemons and apples an stir into the pot, Place pot over medium-high heat. Add sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves and mixture is boiling. Add gauze bags to the mixture. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes, or until marmalade reaches desired consistency. Discard seasoning bags. Ladle into hot jars and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

GINGERY MUSCADINE MARMALADE

Steps:

• Prepare grapes by cutting partway through the skin and popping the pulp/seed capsule out of the hull. Put pulp into one pot and the hulls into another.
• Simmer the pulp, covered, on low-medium until soft enough to press through sieve or food mill ~ 10 minutes. Add just a little water if necessary to prevent sticking.
• Meanwhile, chop hulls very finely in the food processor and return to their pot. Add just enough water to make it possible to simmer without sticking. Cook slowly, covered, 10 minutes or until hulls are softened.
• Peel lemon and the orange. Chop peel finely. Use entire peel, including the white part, to ensure good jelling.
• Juice the lemon and the orange.
• Peel and mince ginger.
• Press pulp through a sieve or food mill to remove seeds. Stir sieved pulp into cooked hulls in a large pot.
• Add citrus juice, citrus peel, and ginger. Bring to a boil.
• Stir in sugar and return to a boil.
• Simmer, stirring frequently until the jellying point is reached ~ 45-90 minutes. Timing is approximate and will vary depending on conditions and the amount of natural pectin in the fruit. Check frequently.
• Pack into hot, sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes in boiling water bath.
• Note: Prettier made with Scuppernongs (bronze muscadines), than with the purple varieties. Can add a few purple ones to provide additional flecks of color.