Best of 2012 – Number Three

Recipe and Styling by Libbie Summers

Photography by Chia Chong





Ingredients:

4 Mandarin oranges, very thinly sliced into rounds

1/4 cup freshly squeezed Mandarin orange juice (from approximately 1-2 oranges)

1/2 cup Prosecco

Granulated sugar

Directions:

Sterilize a one pint canning jar, lid and band and set aside.

In a large non-reactive pot over high heat, add the orange slices and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow mixture to simmer for 10 minutes. Drain water and repeat the process.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, add cooled slices and pulse just a few times. I like my marmalade chunky, but you can continue to pulse if you like yours a bit finer.

Using a kitchen scale, weigh the orange pieces. In a large non-reactive pot, add the orange pieces and the same weight of sugar as the slices weighed. Stir in orange juice and prosecco. Bring mixture to a boil and continue boiling until marmalade reaches the gel point of 220º F (approximately 10 to 15 minutes).

Remove from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle into prepared sterilized jar. Let cool 10 minutes and then refrigerate for immediate use. Process in a water bath for longer storage. Mandarin Orange Prosecco Preserves will keep refrigerated for 2 months.

Cook’s Note: If you don’t have a thermometer, you can test to see if the marmalade has set by placing a plate in the freezer when you start cutting the clementines. A few minutes into the final boiling with sugar, remove the plate from the freezer and put a small dot of marmalade onto the cold plate. Run your finger through the marmalade. If the mixture leaves a clean path where you ran your finger through and doesn’t come back together, your marmalade is done. If it does run back together, keep cooking and re-test again until it is set.

Yields: 1 pint

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Inactive Time: 20 minutes

Difficulty: You need to have a little skill

Recipe courtesy of Libbie Summers and adapted from her cookbook, The Whole Hog Cookbook (Rizzoli 2011)