Winter
is here with its long awaited crop of citrus fruit.
Beautiful
to look at, sweet,
sour, fragrant and juicy, citrus fruits are one of the largest
agricultural crops in the world. They come, literally, in hundreds of
shapes and sizes from the gigantic smooth pomelo to the tiny, dainty
kumquat. In my garden the Cape Lemon tree is groaning with
ripening fruit, ready to be picked and turned into a delicious range
of pickles, preserves, jams and konfyt for use during the year.
Lemons
and oranges are
inexorably immersed in the history of Cape Town and were amongst the
first trees to be planted by the Dutch East India Company. Citrus
fruit, with its high content of vitamin C, was used to combat scurvy
the 'sailors disease', which plagued the early sea travellers.
Being
rich in pectin, the ingredient
that together with acidity and sugar helps to gel jams and jellies.
Lemons and a few varieties of oranges such as
Seville oranges are essential in the making of jams, marmalades and
jellies. A few tablespoons of lemon juice will improve the gelling of
any jam and preserve. It also contains a high amount of vitamin C,
citric acid and antioxidants that help to preserve the natural colour
of yellow and red. This acidity will destroy chloroform and discolour
green vegetables. Citric acid also helps to slow down the
discoloration of peeled fruit and vegetables.
Most
citruses
have perfumed essential oils that are stored in the skin of the fruit
and leaves, and are extensively used both in the food and cosmetic
industries. Early South African cookery books record that both orange
and lemon leaves and naartjie peel were added to Cape classic dishes
such as bobotie and were used instead of bay leaves to flavour
bredies, meat curry and milk tart. C. Louis Leipoldt goes even further
and maintains that citrus leaves are much better as they do not contain
poison, which bay leaves have and should be used with caution.
The
following recipes were collected to show the many possibilities of
preserving this versatile family of fruit.
LEMON
MARMALADE
(Makes
about 2 kg)
Clear,
tart and bittersweet, this is my favourite marmalade. I use it with my
morning toast, for lining tarts and as a topping for steamed pudding.
Almost any citrus fruit can be used in the same way.
I
like my marmalade nicely bitter. To achieve a milder result, discard
the water after the first boil, top with fresh water to cover, bring to
the boil and finish as usual.
2
kg lemon
water to cover
1,5 kg sugar
Wash
the lemons well and cut into halves. Squeeze out the juice and reserve.
Keep also the pulp and the pips. Cut the peels into quarters and slice
into very thin slices. Cover with water and allow to steep
overnight.
Next
day drain well and discard the steeping water. Place into the pan, cover
with fresh water and bring to the boil. Skim well and simmer gently for
about 30 - 45 minutes or until the peel is just soft and the content is
reduced by about a half. Add the sugar and the lemon juice and bring
slowly to the boil stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Skim well.
Boil
hard for 20 - 30 minutes or until set is achieved. Bottle hot and seal.
PINEAPPLE
AND ORANGE JELLY
(Makes 1,25 kg)
It
is lucky that oranges share the same season as pineapples. The
combinations of these two produce a bright, crystal clear, beautifully
perfumed yellow jelly. I use it as a cake filler, to glaze pies and
serve with venison. Or fold into whipped or sour cream or yoghurt for an
interesting dessert or freeze the mixture for an instant ice cream.
1
medium (400 - 500 g) pineapple
1,5
kg oranges
3 lemons
1,5 litres water
15 g coriander seeds, crushed
5 - 6 cloves
sugar
Unless
they are from your garden wash the fruit well, preferably with mildly
soapy warm water and rinse well.
Coarsely
chop the fruit and place into the preserving pan. Add the water and the
crushed coriander seeds and bring slowly to the boil. Reduce the heat
and simmer for 30 minutes or until the fruit is soft and mushy.
Transfer
into a jelly bag and allow to drain until it stops dripping. Return the
pulp to the pan and add water to cover. Bring to the boil, reduce the
heat and simmer for a further 30 minutes. Drain in a jelly bag until the
juice stops to drip. Combine the two batches of juice and measure. Use
500 g sugar to each 500 ml juice.
Place
the juice and sugar in a heavy bottomed preserving saucepan. Bring slowly to
the boil and boil for a few minutes. Reduce the heat and skim well.
Increase the heat and boil rapidly for 10 - 12 minutes or until set is
achieved.
Switch
of the heat and allow the jelly to settle. Skim very well. Bottle and
seal hot.
GLACE
GRAPEFRUIT 'SNAILS'
This
is my grandmother's recipe in which the peel is rolled into little
snails and threaded on strings. This ingenious method makes the tedious
preparation of this delicacy much easier. Alternatively secure each 'snail' with a cocktail stick.
In
my grandmother's time, slack lime was used to remove the bitterness from
the peel. Today lime is hard to come by so I use salt.
6
grapefruits, well washed
3 tbsp salt
water to cover
For the syrup:
2 kg sugar
1 litre water
juice of 1 lemon or 1 teaspoon citric acid
wooden cocktail sticks
cooling rack
Slice
the grapefruit into halves and squeeze out the juice. Either drink the
juice or use it to make grapefruit cordial (see below).
Slice each half into 8 equal slices. With a sharp knife remove
some of the white pith leaving about ½ cm.
Place
the peel in a bowl, add the salt and water to cover and stir until the
salt has dissolved. Weigh down with a plate and allow soaking for 12
hours.
Rinse
the peel and drain well. Place in a pan, cover with fresh water and
bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or
until the peel is soft. Drain and cool under running water.
Gently
squeeze out the moisture, roll each piece into a 'snail' and secure
each with a cocktail stick.
Place
the sugar, water and lemon juice into a large pan and bring to the boil
and boil for about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and skim well. Add the
grapefruit 'snails' and simmer very gently for 2 - 3 hours or until
the peel is transparent.
Place
the cooling rack over an aluminium-lined tray. Lift the 'snails' out
and arrange on the rack to drain and dry for 24 hours.
Roll each piece in granulated sugar and store in an airtight
container.
GRAPEFRUIT
CORDIAL
1
grapefruit
juice from previous recipe
sugar
Finely
grate the rind of the grapefruit and squeeze out the juice. Measure the
combined juices and allow 500 g of sugar for each 500 ml of juice.
Place
the juice, grated rind and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to the boil,
stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Skim very well and boil rapidly
for about 10 minutes. Skim again, bottle and seal hot. Keep refrigerated.
PRESERVED
LEMONS
When
lemon is preserved in salt the results are surprising. It looses a lot
of their bitter flavour, the skin softens acquiring an aroma, which is
essential to many North African recipes.
They
are served as a part of the mezze table in side salads and give a
distinctive flavour to Moroccan tagines and couscous. They are easy to
make and last almost for ever! Select small, thin skinned lemons.
1
kg
small lemons
salt
lemon juice
Wash
and scrub the lemons. Slice the lemon into quarters but leave them
attached at the top end so they resemble 4 petal flowers. Open each
lemon sprinkle with about 5 g (1 tsp) of salt. Close the lemon and pack
tightly into jars. Weigh them down with a clean stone or a glass bottle
filled with water. Stand, preferably in the sun for 4 - 5 days. By then
some liquid should have accumulated at the bottom of the jar.
Top
up with a mixture of lemon or lime juice and water (¾ juice to ¼
water). Pour over the lemons making sure that they are covered.
Pour a thin layer of oil to prevent moulding and close the jar tightly.
At the beginning the brine will look cloudy. It will clear in about 3 -
4 weeks, when the lemons are ready for use.
CITRUS CHUTNEY
Chutneys
are not normally associated with fish cooking but the following breaks
the rule. I first made it to serve with smoked trout, it worked well and
proved to be good with many other fish. The spicing is based on a
traditional north Indian recipe.
400
g
limes, topped, tailed and sliced into thin 5 mm slices
2 tbsp salt
500 g apples, peeled cored and coarsely chopped
500 g oranges, topped, tailed and sliced into 5 mm slices, seeds removed
300 g kumquat, halved and de-seeded
3 - 4 red or green chillies, chopped (optional)
500 ml white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
500 g light brown sugar
2 tsp dill seeds, lightly roasted
1tsp fennel seeds, lightly roasted
1tsp black cumin, lightly roasted (or ordinary)
6 black cardamoms, lightly roasted and finely ground
Place
the limes in a glass or china bowl, sprinkle with salt, mix well and
allow to stand for 12 hours. Transfer
the limes with the liquid that has accumulated into a non-corrosive
preserving saucepan. Add the apples, oranges, kumquat, chillies (if used) and
the vinegar. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer slowly for 30
- 40 minutes or until the orange peel is just soft.
Add
the sugar and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce
the heat and simmer for 1 - 1 ½ hours or until thick and most of the
liquid has evaporated. Add the spices, mix well and simmer for a further
minute or two.
Bottle
and seal hot. Allow maturing for at least 4 weeks before serving.
