Well, I done it and have 7 pint jars of grapefruit marmalade, somewhat
more bitter than I like.

Here's my plan; if I"m headed for a disaster, please let me know:
Two things I'd like to correct. First, it's too bitter and second, the
instructions said NOT to leave a headspace, but without a headspace
the fruit would keep the lid from clicking, my signal that I got a
vacuum.

Tomorrow, I will make a saturated solution of suger water (boil water
and add sugar until it can't take anymore), empty my marmalade into
the pot with the boiling sugar water, stir, evaporate the water until
the temp is allowed to come back to 220*. Then refill the jars (new
lids) and leave 1/2" headspace.

Anything wrong with this logic? - Mike

Michael Horowitz wrote:
> Well, I done it and have 7 pint jars of grapefruit marmalade, somewhat
> more bitter than I like.

Did you put the white inside of the peel in the marmalade? That is often
the cause of bitterness and is the reason the instructions say to peel
the fruit without getting the white pith.

> Here's my plan; if I"m headed for a disaster, please let me know:
> Two things I'd like to correct. First, it's too bitter and second, the
> instructions said NOT to leave a headspace, but without a headspace
> the fruit would keep the lid from clicking, my signal that I got a
> vacuum.
>
> Tomorrow, I will make a saturated solution of suger water (boil water
> and add sugar until it can't take anymore), empty my marmalade into
> the pot with the boiling sugar water, stir, evaporate the water until
> the temp is allowed to come back to 220*. Then refill the jars (new
> lids) and leave 1/2" headspace.
>
> Anything wrong with this logic? - Mike

I see nothing wrong with it but a quarter inch headspace should do it. I
would also wash the jars and at least dip them into boiling water. Just
on the off chance a bug might have got in there. Personally I would put
the stuff back into the pot, add sugar to taste and boil it until 220. YMMV

George

Michael Horowitz wrote:

> Well, I done it and have 7 pint jars of grapefruit marmalade, somewhat
> more bitter than I like.
>
> Here's my plan; if I"m headed for a disaster, please let me know:
> Two things I'd like to correct. First, it's too bitter and second, the
> instructions said NOT to leave a headspace, but without a headspace
> the fruit would keep the lid from clicking, my signal that I got a
> vacuum.
>
> Tomorrow, I will make a saturated solution of suger water (boil water
> and add sugar until it can't take anymore), empty my marmalade into
> the pot with the boiling sugar water, stir, evaporate the water until
> the temp is allowed to come back to 220*. Then refill the jars (new
> lids) and leave 1/2" headspace.
>
> Anything wrong with this logic? - Mike

Maybe. Are you continuing to boil the water as you add the sugar? It will
never saturate, it just keeps increasing the boiling point (up to about 300.)

BTW, it's supposed to be bitter. But if it is too bitter for ya, you
should probably add more juice (and a little lemon juice) instead of water.
Sweeter and bitter is not much better than just bitter -- you have to add
some sour to balance it out.

Good luck,
Bob

Just one more thing. Go ahead and reuse the lids if you don't bend them
getting them off. Jelly or marmalade cooked to 220 is not in any real
danger of spoiling.

Bob

Do y'all think there could be a use for a little bitter neutralizer (like bicarb
of soda for acid) or something similar to cut the bitter a little? Is there such
a thing? Seems to me I heard something on TV about it so it must be true... My
local chile powder producer at the farmer's market adds baking powder to one of
his mixes to cut the bitter, but this might be a whole nuther ball of wax.
Edrena


> > Michael Horowitz wrote:

> Tomorrow, I will make a saturated solution of suger water (boil water
> > and add sugar until it can't take anymore), empty my marmalade into
> > the pot with the boiling sugar water, stir, evaporate the water until
> > the temp is allowed to come back to 220*. Then refill the jars (new
> > lids) and leave 1/2" headspace.
> >
> > Anything wrong with this logic? - Mike
>
> Maybe. Are you continuing to boil the water as you add the sugar? It will
> never saturate, it just keeps increasing the boiling point (up to about 300.)
>
> BTW, it's supposed to be bitter. But if it is too bitter for ya, you
> should probably add more juice (and a little lemon juice) instead of water.
> Sweeter and bitter is not much better than just bitter -- you have to add
> some sour to balance it out.
>
> Good luck,
> Bob

George Shirley > wrote:

>
>Did you put the white inside of the peel in the marmalade? That is often
>the cause of bitterness and is the reason the instructions say to peel
>the fruit without getting the white pith.

Good morning George - The instructions didn't mention anything about
pith or peeling the fruit.


>I see nothing wrong with it but a quarter inch headspace should do it. I
>would also wash the jars and at least dip them into boiling water. Just
>on the off chance a bug might have got in there. Personally I would put
>the stuff back into the pot, add sugar to taste and boil it until 220. YMMV

No moisture? OK, I'll give it a try

>
>George

zxcvbob > wrote:

>
>
>Maybe. Are you continuing to boil the water as you add the sugar? It will
>never saturate, it just keeps increasing the boiling point (up to about 300.)

Hmm OK, boil water, remove from heat, add sugar, stir

>
>BTW, it's supposed to be bitter. But if it is too bitter for ya, you
>should probably add more juice (and a little lemon juice) instead of water.
> Sweeter and bitter is not much better than just bitter -- you have to add
>some sour to balance it out.

OK, I can do that


>
>Good luck,
>Bob

Michael Horowitz wrote:

> George Shirley > wrote:
>
>
>>Did you put the white inside of the peel in the marmalade? That is often
>>the cause of bitterness and is the reason the instructions say to peel
>>the fruit without getting the white pith.
>
>
> Good morning George - The instructions didn't mention anything about
> pith or peeling the fruit.
>
>
>
>>I see nothing wrong with it but a quarter inch headspace should do it. I
>>would also wash the jars and at least dip them into boiling water. Just
>>on the off chance a bug might have got in there. Personally I would put
>>the stuff back into the pot, add sugar to taste and boil it until 220. YMMV
>
>
> No moisture? OK, I'll give it a try
>
>
>>George
>

The citrus marmalade recipes I use all call for a thin peel, cut into
strips, discard the white pith, section the fruit avoiding the
membranes, double or triple boiling the peel to soften and then
proceeding with the process. The Ball Blue Book leans on this heavily as
do all of my other citrus marmalade recipes.

George

Michael Horowitz wrote:

> Well, I done it and have 7 pint jars of grapefruit marmalade, somewhat
> more bitter than I like.

It's supposed to be bitter. However, when I made marmalade, I found that
I didn't really like the bitter aspect but I did like the intense flavor
from the peels. I forget where I read this, but you can cut down on
the bitterness. Peel the citrus, and cut it into the strips that you're
going to use. Put these in boiling water for a few minutes and simmer,
then drain. This gets a fair amount of the bitterness into the water,
which you discard, and still leaves the rind with plenty of flavor,
in my experience.

Sandy

wrote:

>Michael Horowitz wrote:
>
>> Well, I done it and have 7 pint jars of grapefruit marmalade, somewhat
>> more bitter than I like.
>
>It's supposed to be bitter. However, when I made marmalade, I found that
>I didn't really like the bitter aspect but I did like the intense flavor
>from the peels. I forget where I read this, but you can cut down on
>the bitterness. Peel the citrus, and cut it into the strips that you're
>going to use. Put these in boiling water for a few minutes and simmer,
>then drain. This gets a fair amount of the bitterness into the water,
>which you discard, and still leaves the rind with plenty of flavor,
>in my experience.
>
>Sandy


Neat idea - Mike

> > George Shirley > wrote:
> >
> >
> The citrus marmalade recipes I use all call for a thin peel, cut
into
> strips, discard the white pith, section the fruit avoiding the
> membranes, double or triple boiling the peel to soften and then
> proceeding with the process. The Ball Blue Book leans on this
heavily as
> do all of my other citrus marmalade recipes.
>
> George
>

I've seen at least one recipe that called for the fruit to be sliced
thin. No mention of peeling. I thought at the time it would be
rather large pieces of peel and the fruit wouldn't stay in the
circles after cooking.

I'll remember this next time I think about making marmalade. It'll
happen one of these days.

Deb
--
(in Oregon, the pacific northWET) ;>

Deb wrote:
>>>George Shirley > wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>
>>The citrus marmalade recipes I use all call for a thin peel, cut
>
> into
>
>>strips, discard the white pith, section the fruit avoiding the
>>membranes, double or triple boiling the peel to soften and then
>>proceeding with the process. The Ball Blue Book leans on this
>
> heavily as
>
>>do all of my other citrus marmalade recipes.
>>
>>George
>>
>
>
> I've seen at least one recipe that called for the fruit to be sliced
> thin. No mention of peeling. I thought at the time it would be
> rather large pieces of peel and the fruit wouldn't stay in the
> circles after cooking.
>
> I'll remember this next time I think about making marmalade. It'll
> happen one of these days.
>
> Deb
> --
> (in Oregon, the pacific northWET) ;>
>
>
I've made kumquat marmalade doing just that, wash fruit thoroughly then
cut the stem end off and discard, slice thinly, peel and all, take out
seeds if any, continue on to make the marmalade from the slices. Worked
out real well and it wasn't too bitter. Of course kumquats aren't peeled
when eaten and the sweet ones are really sweet and the "sour" ones
aren't really that sour IMHO.

George

George Shirley wrote:
> Deb wrote:
>
>>>> George Shirley > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> The citrus marmalade recipes I use all call for a thin peel, cut
>>
>>
>> into
>>
>>> strips, discard the white pith, section the fruit avoiding the
>>> membranes, double or triple boiling the peel to soften and then
>>> proceeding with the process. The Ball Blue Book leans on this
>>
>>
>> heavily as
>>
>>> do all of my other citrus marmalade recipes.
>>>
>>> George
>>>
>>
>>
>> I've seen at least one recipe that called for the fruit to be sliced
>> thin. No mention of peeling. I thought at the time it would be
>> rather large pieces of peel and the fruit wouldn't stay in the
>> circles after cooking.
>>
>> I'll remember this next time I think about making marmalade. It'll
>> happen one of these days.
>>
>> Deb
>> --
>> (in Oregon, the pacific northWET) ;>
>>
>>
> I've made kumquat marmalade doing just that, wash fruit thoroughly then
> cut the stem end off and discard, slice thinly, peel and all, take out
> seeds if any, continue on to make the marmalade from the slices. Worked
> out real well and it wasn't too bitter. Of course kumquats aren't peeled
> when eaten and the sweet ones are really sweet and the "sour" ones
> aren't really that sour IMHO.
>
> George
>

Kumquats are frightfully expensive up here, so I've never cooked with them.
Just eat them whole, which freaks people out that aren't familiar with them.

Tangarines skins are not very bitter. I made some jam using whole
tangerines a couple of weeks ago; I just thinly sliced them to make
marmalade, and decided the slices were too thick for marmalade and not
thick enough for preserves, so I blenderized them and made jam. It's a
lovely color, and not very bitter at all. I didn't use a recipe so I can't
tell you exactly how I did it -- I had a bunch of tangerines that tasted OK
but were kind of dry. They were Florida tangerines that were very bright
orange, and hard to peel. I added the juice of a lime or two, water, and a
bunch of sugar. It didn't need any Sure-Jel.

Best regards,
Bob

zxcvbob wrote:

> George Shirley wrote:
>
>> Deb wrote:
>>
>>>>> George Shirley > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The citrus marmalade recipes I use all call for a thin peel, cut
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> into
>>>
>>>> strips, discard the white pith, section the fruit avoiding the
>>>> membranes, double or triple boiling the peel to soften and then
>>>> proceeding with the process. The Ball Blue Book leans on this
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> heavily as
>>>
>>>> do all of my other citrus marmalade recipes.
>>>>
>>>> George
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I've seen at least one recipe that called for the fruit to be sliced
>>> thin. No mention of peeling. I thought at the time it would be
>>> rather large pieces of peel and the fruit wouldn't stay in the
>>> circles after cooking.
>>>
>>> I'll remember this next time I think about making marmalade. It'll
>>> happen one of these days.
>>>
>>> Deb
>>> --
>>> (in Oregon, the pacific northWET) ;>
>>>
>>>
>> I've made kumquat marmalade doing just that, wash fruit thoroughly
>> then cut the stem end off and discard, slice thinly, peel and all,
>> take out seeds if any, continue on to make the marmalade from the
>> slices. Worked out real well and it wasn't too bitter. Of course
>> kumquats aren't peeled when eaten and the sweet ones are really sweet
>> and the "sour" ones aren't really that sour IMHO.
>>
>> George
>>
>
> Kumquats are frightfully expensive up here, so I've never cooked with
> them. Just eat them whole, which freaks people out that aren't familiar
> with them.
>
> Tangarines skins are not very bitter. I made some jam using whole
> tangerines a couple of weeks ago; I just thinly sliced them to make
> marmalade, and decided the slices were too thick for marmalade and not
> thick enough for preserves, so I blenderized them and made jam. It's a
> lovely color, and not very bitter at all. I didn't use a recipe so I
> can't tell you exactly how I did it -- I had a bunch of tangerines that
> tasted OK but were kind of dry. They were Florida tangerines that were
> very bright orange, and hard to peel. I added the juice of a lime or
> two, water, and a bunch of sugar. It didn't need any Sure-Jel.
>
> Best regards,
> Bob

Probably the infamous Florida tangerine. Dialog, two citrus farmers:
"les us dye them little dried up thangs bright orange and ship em up to
them yankees that live in southern Canada." "Sh*tfar, we could make a
fortune."

We had some of those available locally last week Bob. My produce guy at
Kroger's lets me try them before buying so I didn't buy any. I sort of
browse my way through there when I go and he's telling me the virtues of
his produce and I tell him how it really tastes. He's just so glad to be
out of the dairy department and the reefers after 25 years that he's
quite pleasant nowadays. <VBG>

George