Citrus Preserved

When the time comes to enjoy your new creation, the options are limitless. Although marmalade is most often spread on toast, it can also be used in sauces, puddings, baked goods, and ice creams. Preserves also pair particularly well with a variety of cheeses.

As a final note of warning courtesy of The Orange Shop, it is important to note that Seville oranges are not meant for eating like regular oranges. “They are sour and bitter, which is desirable for the recipes that call for them!”

Maureen recommended this website as a reference for those who wish to try their hand at making homemade preserves.

Maureen’s marmalade can be purchased online at WoodstockHillPreserves.com or by phone at 860-830-JAMS. �

• 18-20 small to medium Seville bitter oranges

• 3 cups water

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

• 7 ½ pounds sugar

Note: At the beginning of cooking, put small plate in freezer for doneness test, after cooking.

1. Wash oranges under warm water with a fruit brush. 2. Cut oranges into four equal pieces. Trim off the white center pith from each quarter and put aside. (Later, scrape for juice, as every drop of juice is precious. The remaining pith is great compost.)

3. Halve the oranges again and squeeze the juice into a large stainless-steel bowl.

4. With a fork, pick out pips inside. Keep the pips to use when cooking.

5. Slice the peel into long narrow strips, about a quarter inch wide, or thicker if you like.

1. Put peel and orange juice into pressure cooker. 2. Add 1 to 1 ¼ cups water. Be careful not to add too much. (Refer to the manual on your cooker.)

3. Pressure cook for five minutes. Peels should be softer, but still firm when done. Note: A pressure cooker softens the peel quickly without compromising flavor or color.

4. When done, use quick release for steam. Slow release may make peels too mushy.

1. Make two to three cheesecloth bags and fill with pips.

2. Fold the cheesecloth two or three times over so no seeds leak out when cooking.

3. Divide the pips into the bags and tie securely with cooking string. Large tea infusers work too.

1. In a good stainless-steel pot, add the prepared orange peel and juice (about 5 pounds), water, lemon juice, and pips in cheesecloth bags. As it begins to heat, pour in sugar, stirring constantly.

2. Once sugar dissolves, increase the heat and bring to a boil. Do not stir while the marmalade is boiling.

3. After 8-10 minutes boiling, do a freezer test for setting point.

Spoon a teaspoon of the hot marmalade onto the freezer plate and put back in the freezer. In three minutes, tip the plate to one side. If marmalade is set, it will ripple when tipped. If the marmalade is too thin and runs down side of plate, return to boil for another 3-5 minutes.

When you reach your set, ladle marmalade into sterilized jars. When filling jars, do not fill to the top. Leave a quarter inch of head space so a vacuum seal forms. Wipe any marmalade from the rims of the jars. Center lids on jars and twist on until fingertip-tight.

1. Place hot jars in pot of hot water. Water should cover jars with head space of one to two inches. Be careful when putting jars into hot water. If jars have cooled too much, they could break in hot water. 2. Bring water to boil. Boil for 12 minutes. 3. Remove jars and let cool. 4. Test the seal pressing on center of cooled lid. If jar is sealed, the lid will not flex up or down. If it is not sealed, refrigerate immediately, reprocess, or enjoy now!

Follow the recipe through pressure cooking. Let cool. Freeze orange peels and juice in 5-pound blocks, in airtight containers. Freeze pips in separate bag. Keep frozen until you’re ready to use. Pull out a block, thaw, and cook.

• 2 ¼ pounds blood oranges

• 7 cups water (use 1 cup in pressure cooker)

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

• 2 ½ to 3 cups of sugar

• 2 Sure Jell Certo liquid fruit pectin pouches

(6-ounce pouches) Note: Put small plate in freezer for doneness test, after cooking.

1. Wash oranges. 2. Cut oranges into four equal pieces. 3. Trim off the white center pith from each quarter and discard. 4. Cut each quarter again and pick out pips and discard. 5. Slice the peel in long narrow strips, about a quarter inch wide, or thicker if you like.

1. Put peel and orange juice into pressure cooker. 2. Add 1 cup water. Be careful not to add too much water. (Refer to the manual on your cooker.) 3. Pressure cook for five minutes. Peels should be softer, but still firm when done.

Note: You can prepare the marmalade with strips of peel or you can cut into smaller pieces. For uniform small pieces, use a food processor on pulse for only a couple seconds. Do not over chop.

1. In a good stainless-steel pot, put orange peel and juice, remaining six cups waters, and lemon juice in a pot. 2. As marmalade begins to heat, pour in sugar. 3. Once the sugar is dissolved, bring the mixture to a boil and pour in pectin. Bring it back to a quick full boil. Boil for one minute.

Spoon a teaspoon of the hot marmalade onto the freezer plate and put back in the freezer. In three minutes, tip the plate to one side. If marmalade is set and done, it will ripple when tipped. If mixture is thin and runs down side of plate, return to boil for another three to five minutes. Depending on how much juice is in the orange, you can add another pouch of pectin, boil for another minute, and freezer test again.

When you reach your set, ladle into jars. When filling jars, do not fill to top. Leave a quarter inch headspace so a vacuum seal forms.

Wipe any jam or jelly from the rims of the jars. Center lids on jars. Twist on the bands until fingertip-tight.

1. Place jars in pot. Water should cover jars with headspace of one to two inches.

2. Bring water to boil. Boil for 12 minutes.

“I once moved to Paris just to eat,” explained Maureen Estony. “I dined in the finest restaurants at night and in neighborhood cafés in the morning. I stayed until the money ran out.”

Thankfully for the rest of us, Maureen eventually returned to the United States to settle in Woodstock, a picturesque town nestled in Connecticut’s bucolic Quiet Corner. There, she fulfilled her desire to own a small business by purchasing Woodstock Hill Preserves, which today stands as the oldest preserve company in Connecticut.

Maureen had initially stumbled upon the now 40-year-old company’s

products at a local farm stand and was immediately struck by their presentation and distinctive flavor.

“They were absolutely the best preserves I’ve ever had,” she recalled. “Everything about the jar was beautiful, and I knew this was the real deal.”

Maureen now single-handedly crafts an impressive line of all-natural, handmade preserves in her home commercial kitchen. The products are prepared in small batches and then sold online and in select locations throughout the state.

During citrus season, which runs from November through June,

Maureen focuses her attention on the labor-intensive but highly rewarding process of making homemade marmalade.

“It’s not the hardest thing to make, but it takes a really long time,” she said. “I can be prepping for four to six days. But it’s quite a beautiful process and an absolutely exquisite preserve.”

The most time-consuming part of the preparations may very well be the process of eliminating the pips from each individual piece of fruit. There can be up to 50 pips in each orange, Maureen said, but the beautiful part of a marmalade-making session is that absolutely nothing is wasted during the process.

“These are all jewels, put them all aside,” Maureen instructed. “It’s like

fishing. It’s truly a labor of love.”

Marmalade can be made from any combination of citrus fruit, including lemons, limes, grapefruits, bitter or sweet oranges, mandarins, kumquats, and bergamots. The end result is a sweet, tart, and slightly bitter combination of jellied citrus juice and tender peel.

Maureen explained that Seville

oranges are her citrus fruit of choice for her Woodstock Hill Preserves brand, which she refers to as “the perfect, most classic marmalade.”

Seville oranges have a distinct, bitter, or sour flavor and a high level of pectin, which is ideal for jams and jellies, and they’re treasured worldwide for their key role in traditional English bitter orange marmalade.

“The peel itself leaves a tingle on your tongue,” Maureen said.

According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, when peeling citrus fruits for use in marmalades, “be sure to include some of the white membrane found just under the skin,” as this is where most of the pectin is located. Pectin is a naturally occurring starch that gives jams and jellies their “set”

when they cool, as helpfully explained in an article on thespruce.com.

During a recent interview from her office, Maureen was eager to share her personal recipe and also divulged the name of her favorite orchard from which to purchase the coveted Seville oranges. The fruits have a narrow window of opportunity and are only available between November and March, according to Maureen.

“If you time it well, you can get a nice supply. But once they’re gone, they’re gone,” she cautioned. “It’s getting very hard to find these particular oranges because there isn’t a lot of market for them.”

The good news, Maureen explained, is that Seville oranges can be used year-round, as they “freeze beautifully without compromising quality.” The secret to freezing the fruits is to be sure they are dried completely after rinsing and to store them in an airtight container.

This year, Maureen purchased her treasured stockpile of Seville oranges from the Orange Shop, an orchard in Citra, Florida, that prides itself on carrying “rare and unique citrus varieties,” according to its website.

“This is a very unique orange. It’s quite extraordinary when you cook it,” Maureen noted.

The oranges can be ordered online at floridaorangeshop.com and are sold in quantities of 12-15 individual fruit per tray. Prices for this season are $38.99 (1 tray), $54.99 (2 trays), $66.99 (3 trays), and $79.99 (4 trays).

Another helpful tidbit of wisdom from the Orange Shop’s website: “The peel color starts out greenish in the beginning of the season and gradually turns pale yellow, but don’t fear; they’re just as good in November as in March for every cooking and baking recipe.”

After the marmalade is prepared, it typically sets overnight and is shelf-stable for one year. The jars only require refrigeration after they are opened and must be stored in a cool, dry location.