Daniel Karlsson in our pastry kitchen has conjured up a delicious seasonal dessert in the form of a Pomegranate and Blood Orange Jelly. Just the ticket for this time of year when you really can’t face another heavy pudding or slice of fruit cake. It’s light and refreshing with just the right amount of acidity to sweetness. You can have a go at making jelly yourself. First make a flavoured fruit “stock”. You do this by poaching fruits of your choice ( try apples, blackberries or oranges) in water to extract the flavour. Chop the fruit and add just enough water to cover, add the juice of a lemon and cook on a very low heat for approximately 30mins or until soft. Strain and sweeten with a little sugar to your taste. Measure the liquid and add 1 leaf of gelatine to each 200ml of fruit stock. It’s best to soak your gelatine leaf in cold water and squeeze dry before adding to your warm stock, as this will help it dissolve smoothly into your jelly. Pour into shot glasses or moulds of your choice and refrigerate until set. Serve on a plate with a little chilled cream if you fancy a treat. For serious “Jellyphiles” have a look at these Jelly Mongers.
Monthly Archives: January 2011
Seville Oranges are the only fruit (this time of year)
It’s full steam ahead at the Melrose and Morgan production kitchen in Chalk Farm, London. We have all enjoyed the Christmas break but now it’s time to make the annual batch of Seville Orange Marmalade. It’s a short season for these fruits, just this month and next so there is no time to be wasted in capturing these rays of Spanish sunshine and getting them into a jar to enjoy throughout the year. It’s our most popular preserve and we have just 40 jars left from last years stock so the season has started just at the right time. There are lots of recipes for marmalade that you can follow - I was taught by Pam Corbin on a day course at River Cottage a few years ago, how to refine my marmalade making skills. She has published this recipe which I recommend you try as a starting point. As you make more marmalades from year to year you will come up with your own twist on this recipe to make it unique to you and you will discover your own set of rules that will improve your final product. Some of my rules that I apply to my preserving are; buy the best quality fruit you can find at the peak of its season; scrub your fruit before cooking - you will have a clearer jam; use different types of sugar to give depth of flavour; shred your fruit finely - it helps to release more pectin; don’t stir the jam while it’s cooking - you will interupt the set; taste the jam when you have a set and season with lemon juice to lift the flavour if needed. Our Seville Orange marmalade was Highly Commended at the Original Marmalade Festival last year so we will entering again this year and going for gold!