Needless to say, the poor thing produced no oranges our first winter here. I even thought it was dying. But each year, as I better learn how to care for it, the tree is becoming healthier and producing more and larger fruit. I'm not sure if it will simply decline with age, but I am looking forward to seeing how well it produces in this coming year.
Over the past couple weeks, I have slowly been harvesting all the oranges of this season. (Just in time... new buds are already forming!!) Many oranges were split, possibly because we installed a block well around the tree mid-summer, drastically increasing its irrigation halfway through the year. Several of the largest oranges were eaten by birds (foul birds!). And then many others were nice, juicy, medium-sized oranges. Our tree is one of the Arizona Sweet varieties, so the oranges make ridiculously delicious juice. Last year, a friend and I just juiced all the oranges. This year, I'm juicing most of them, but also wanted to try something different...
ORANGE MARMALADE!
I love this spread. Though traditionally made with Seville or bitter oranges, marmalade can also be made with sweet oranges. I did some research, combined a few different recipes, and came up with the following for my first batch. It turned out quite well. As soon as I get over this darn cold, I'm going to make a second batch.
Ingredients:
6 large oranges
1 lemon, zest finely grated and juiced
2 1/2 cups water
2-3 cups sugar
4 1/2 tsp low-sugar pectin
3 tsp calcium water
Instructions:
Scrub the oranges and remove a small slice from each end. If you have a mandoline, cut the oranges into 1/8-inch slices, removing seeds as you go; stack the slices and cut them into quarters. If, like me, you have to do it the hard way (a mandoline is now on my wish list), first quarter the oranges and remove any seeds, then thinly slice each quarter.
Place all the pieces in a large pot, pour in the water, and squish with a potato masher to release some of the juice. Cover and let sit overnight.
The next day, add the lemon zest and juice, bring the mixture to a boil, and then simmer until the rinds are tender, about 30-60 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit again.
On the third day (I actually did the previous step in the morning, then this final step that night), measure the amount of fruit and juice in the pot. Mine came out to about 6 cups. Return to the pot and add the sugar, pectin, and calcium water. If you want to get fancy, you can also add a pinch of ground cloves or a couple tablespoons of fresh ginger. Bring to a boil and cook until the marmalade gels, about 30 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove from heat and cool for another 5 minutes, stirring to release air bubbles. Skim off any foam.
Can using the boiling-water method. Ladle into hot, sterilized canning jars (4-oz or half pint are best for marmalade, though I ran out so had to use 1 pint jar also) and try to release any trapped air. The orange rinds seem to like trapping air bubbles all over the jar, so perhaps use a sterilized knife to poke them out. Process for 10 minutes (make sure you keep the pot covered, unlike in my photo above; I thought bubbling water would be more dramatic than a lid), remove from heat, and let the jars sit in the water for 5 minutes more. Cool on the counter for several hours, check your seals, and store for up to 1 year.
Makes approximately 2 1/2 pints.
I might experiment with some spices for the next batch. I'd also like to try grapefruit marmalade, since my parents have about a million grapefruit trees on their property and, really, how often can you find grapefruit marmalade in American stores?
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