Lemon & Vanilla Marmalade

gennaio 11, 2010

Here I am after a great weekend at the seaside with my friends in Liguria. Once more I’ve had the proof that simplicity is fundamental and amazing! Whatsoever context you are examinig, you only need a few ingredients to make the recipe work. Fists quality ingredients, a simple and essential recipe, a pinch of magic… and the result could really leave you without words! This is true for Saturday’s fish recipes, for our weekend spent in between food, laughs, pictures and friends… and for this marmalade recipe, made just with sugar, lemons and vanilla.

You can find this recipe into Falling Cloudberries, A world of family recipe, a Tessa Kiros recipe book, one of the most amazing cook book I have ever found. It is organized into chapters – Finland, Greece, Cyprus, South Africa, Italy – according to the country a recipe belongs to: you can browse through memories, recipes and people in a wonderful trip throughout time and space. This recipe comes from the Italian section.

Ingredients:

organic lemons, 6
sugar, 1.25 kg
vanilla pod, 1 split in a half

Choose organic lemons, with a thin peel. Rinse them well, remove top and bottom of each lemon and slice them thinly. Remove all seeds and divide lemon slices into four parts. Put lemon into a large and shallow pan and pour in 1,25 lt of water. Bring to the boil and let it simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently, until lemon slices get soft.

Add sugar and a vanilla pod split in a half. Let it simmer for about 45 more minutes: you can add more water if needed. To test if it ready, put a few drops of marmalade on a plate and bend it: if it won’t run but it will remain quite firm and jelly, it’s ready. Let it cool down for a little while before you test it, and don’t let the sugar get too brown!

You can eat all your marmelade at once, or you can make an attempt to save it for some months! Use sterilized jars (wash them into boiling water) and pour marmalade inside. Close them tight, put them into a large pot (use a table cloth to separate them) and cover them with water. Bring it to the boil and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the jars cool completely into the water. You can store your marmalade in your cupboard for months and months, and when you’ll open the jar it will be as fresh as just made!

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