The recipes I have for making marmalade, say from oranges, call for just
using the thin pigmented layer at the outside of the peel, and also some
of the pulp of the fruit. One basically lets it sit for three days in water,
boiling for 10 minutes every 24 hours (I guess to kill whatever might start
growing in it), and then adding a lot of sugar and boiling it for an hour or
until thick.

I don't know why one excludes the rest of the peel, so as an experiment
I simply took two entire grapefruit peels and nothing else. I cut them
up and chopped them in a blender with a lot of water and then followed
the above procedure using just the peel, no inside fruit. I've been using
the results for about a week and it tastes fine. So, I'm inclined to conclude
that:
(1) All you need to make acceptable marmalade is the peel and some sugar
and water; you don't need any of the pulp of the fruit.
(2) You don't need to discard any part of the peel.

Is there any reason I'm not aware of for avoiding most of the peel?

I'm cross posting this to sci.chem just in case someone knows a chemical
reason for avoiding it.

Ignorantly,
Allan Adler


************************************************** **************************
* *
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT Artificial *
* Intelligence Lab. My actions and comments do not reflect *
* in any way on MIT. Moreover, I am nowhere near the Boston *
* metropolitan area. *
* *
************************************************** **************************

"Allan Adler" > wrote in message
...
>
> The recipes I have for making marmalade, say from oranges, call for just
> using the thin pigmented layer at the outside of the peel, and also some
> of the pulp of the fruit. One basically lets it sit for three days in
water,
> boiling for 10 minutes every 24 hours (I guess to kill whatever might
start
> growing in it), and then adding a lot of sugar and boiling it for an hour
or
> until thick.
>
> I don't know why one excludes the rest of the peel, so as an experiment
> I simply took two entire grapefruit peels and nothing else. I cut them
> up and chopped them in a blender with a lot of water and then followed
> the above procedure using just the peel, no inside fruit. I've been using
> the results for about a week and it tastes fine. So, I'm inclined to
conclude
> that:
> (1) All you need to make acceptable marmalade is the peel and some sugar
> and water; you don't need any of the pulp of the fruit.
> (2) You don't need to discard any part of the peel.
>
> Is there any reason I'm not aware of for avoiding most of the peel?
>
> I'm cross posting this to sci.chem just in case someone knows a chemical
> reason for avoiding it.
>
> Ignorantly,
> Allan Adler
>

The white inner layer of a citrus fruit is called the pith. Generally it
creates/has very little flavor of the particular fruit however in most cases
it is very or quite bitter and therefore changes the end product
substantially. Outer layer or zest contains most of the violate oils of the
citrus fruit where a very concentrated flavor is contained.

Dimitri

Allan Adler > wrote:

>
>The recipes I have for making marmalade, say from oranges, call for just
>using the thin pigmented layer at the outside of the peel, and also some
>of the pulp of the fruit. One basically lets it sit for three days in water,
>boiling for 10 minutes every 24 hours (I guess to kill whatever might start
>growing in it), and then adding a lot of sugar and boiling it for an hour or
>until thick.
>
>I don't know why one excludes the rest of the peel, so as an experiment
>I simply took two entire grapefruit peels and nothing else. I cut them
>up and chopped them in a blender with a lot of water and then followed
>the above procedure using just the peel, no inside fruit. I've been using
>the results for about a week and it tastes fine. So, I'm inclined to conclude
>that:
>(1) All you need to make acceptable marmalade is the peel and some sugar
> and water; you don't need any of the pulp of the fruit.
>(2) You don't need to discard any part of the peel.
>
>Is there any reason I'm not aware of for avoiding most of the peel?
>
>I'm cross posting this to sci.chem just in case someone knows a chemical
>reason for avoiding it.
>
>Ignorantly,
>Allan Adler

>
Ask the question in rec.food.preserving. There are some very
knowledgeable people there.

--
Susan N.

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who do not.

Allan Adler wrote:

> The recipes I have for making marmalade, say from oranges, call for just
> using the thin pigmented layer at the outside of the peel, and also some
> of the pulp of the fruit. One basically lets it sit for three days in water,
> boiling for 10 minutes every 24 hours (I guess to kill whatever might start
> growing in it), and then adding a lot of sugar and boiling it for an hour or
> until thick.
>
> I don't know why one excludes the rest of the peel, so as an experiment
> I simply took two entire grapefruit peels and nothing else. I cut them
> up and chopped them in a blender with a lot of water and then followed
> the above procedure using just the peel, no inside fruit. I've been using
> the results for about a week and it tastes fine. So, I'm inclined to conclude
> that:
> (1) All you need to make acceptable marmalade is the peel and some sugar
> and water; you don't need any of the pulp of the fruit.
> (2) You don't need to discard any part of the peel.

It may be because the pithy part of the peel is bitter. That can be a good
thing. When I make Seville Orange Marmalade I juice the oranges and save the
juice and the seeds. The seeds go into a cheese cloth sac. The peels are sliced
thin (in a food processor) and go into a pot with the juice and bag of seeds and
enough water to cover. I bring it to a boil and then turn down the heat and steep
the mixture until the peels are soft enough to be squished between the fingers.
I then make the marmalade in small batches, using equal parts of mash and sugar
and boiling for five minutes. It makes tremendous marmalade.

On 14 Apr 2004 16:39:23 -0400, Allan Adler >
wrote:

>
>The recipes I have for making marmalade, say from oranges, call for just
>using the thin pigmented layer at the outside of the peel, and also some
>of the pulp of the fruit. One basically lets it sit for three days in water,
>boiling for 10 minutes every 24 hours (I guess to kill whatever might start
>growing in it), and then adding a lot of sugar and boiling it for an hour or
>until thick.
>
>I don't know why one excludes the rest of the peel, so as an experiment
>I simply took two entire grapefruit peels and nothing else. I cut them
>up and chopped them in a blender with a lot of water and then followed
>the above procedure using just the peel, no inside fruit. I've been using
>the results for about a week and it tastes fine. So, I'm inclined to conclude
>that:
>(1) All you need to make acceptable marmalade is the peel and some sugar
> and water; you don't need any of the pulp of the fruit.
>(2) You don't need to discard any part of the peel.
>
>Is there any reason I'm not aware of for avoiding most of the peel?
>
>I'm cross posting this to sci.chem just in case someone knows a chemical
>reason for avoiding it.


You might also try sci.bio.food-science
There are food profesiosnals there -- among others.


Nothing harmful; I know people who like to eat orange peel. Grapefruit
peel tends to be more bitter.

As others have noted, the composition of inner and outer peel are
quite different, so you should get different taste and texture
depending on what you use. Suit your taste.

bob

> The recipes I have for making marmalade, say from oranges,
> call for just using the thin pigmented layer at the outside
> of the peel, [...]

> I'm cross posting this to sci.chem just in case [...]

This might not be helpful, but I recall an unusual incident
whereat a recombinant hen was reported to have laid an orange
(rather than an egg). Her other baby chicks were amazed and
peeped, "Hay! Look at the orange marmalade!"

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 16:05:19 +0200 (CEST), futureworlds
> wrote:


> Her other baby chicks were amazed and
> peeped, "Hay! Look at the orange marmalade!"
>
LOL! Good joke, but hasn't anyone ever you "hay"
is for horses?



Practice safe eating - always use condiments