'tigress can jam' January Entry

Tea Infused Hibiscus Flower and Blood Orange Marmalade

I probably wouldn’t know how delicious hibiscus Tea was if it weren’t for the folks at Pilar’s Tamales who set up shop rain, shine, snow, or sleet, in Ann Arbor’s (open air) Farmer’s market. The tea and candied then dried flowers have a tart berry flavor, reminiscent of cranberries that I thought would pair well with blood oranges.

 

To begin you’ll need about 2 lbs (about six) of blood oranges. Skin color, I’m told, is not a marker for ripeness but I’ve still found those with the most ruby blush on their skin to be the richest, dark red, and flavorful inside; this may be purely psychological but I don’t care. You’ll also need about 4 ounces (by weight) of candied/dried hibiscus flowers. I found these at our local Co-Op but I’ve also seen them at Trader Joes.

 

Makes enough to fill four half-liter Weck jars, or 6 half pint jars, or 4 12oz. jars:

You will also need:

2 Tablespoons hibiscus tea (may also be called sorrel or flor de Jamaica)

6 cups granulated sugar

4 – 5 cups water

 

Prep:

You begin, as the English do, with tea. Place 2 Tbsp. hibiscus tea in a heat proof bowl or measuring cup, add about four cups boiling water and set aside to steep for at least one hour.

 

Meanwhile, peel and supreme the oranges into a 7 quart pot or kettle (you’ll be cooking the marmalade in this later) and set aside. Be sure to squeeze as much juice from the remaining membranes as you can. Remove the pith of orange peels with the back of a knife or a grapefruit spoon and then, julienne the peel to about 1/8 inches thick or less. This step took me about an hour and half, but I’m quite happy dithering - chopping and slicing - in the kitchen. It IS worth the time.

 

Place peel in a medium sized sauce pan (about 3quarts) and cover with an inch of cold water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and boil for ten minutes. Drain into a hand sieve, return peel to the pot, and cover again with cold water. Bring to a boil, cook for an additional ten minutes, then drain and add to the orange segments and juice in the kettle.

 

While the peel is boiling on the stove, slice the hibiscus flowers in a similar sized julienne. It’s not a perfect julienne but as long as the bits are similar in size to the orange peel it will be fine.

 

Pour tea through a hand sieve lined with cheese cloth or paper towel; discard leaves and measure out a generous four cups of liquid. If you do not have enough, add water to match the volume. Place dried hibiscus flowers into the same pot you just used for boil the peel, and add the tea. Bring this to a gentle simmer for ten minutes to rehydrate the flowers separately from the orange segment and peel mixture. You can also use a heat proof bowl and the microwave if you wish, but why dirty another bowl.

Pour hot tea and flower mixture over the orange segments and peel in your cooking vessel. Bring this mixture to a simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes.

 

At this point I covered the pot and left everything to marry for about an hour, (I had to make and eat lunch) some marmalade recipes would have you set it aside for twelve hours at this stage and certainly if you need to make this recipe in two distinct sessions, now is a good time to stop, clean up, and go about your business. Now would also be a good time to get your hot water bath heated and sterilize your jars, etc.

 

With everything in place for the home stretch, measure out 6 cups of the peel/flower/orange mixture, and return to the pot with 6 cups of granulated sugar. If you do not have enough liquid to equal the required volume just add water. If you have more than six cups of liquid you can also add sugar at a 1 to 1 ratio.

 

Bring marmalade to a boil over medium high heat stirring constantly. Cook until it reaches a jelling stage. (The mixture falls from a clean spoon in sheets, or sets in seconds on a cold plate.) Let mixture stand off the heat for three minutes to redistribute peel and flower pieces. Ladle into sterile jars leaving ¼ headspace, and process in the hot water canner for 10 minutes.

 

The results: Though more chucky then some folks might like, the finished marmalade is nicely balanced without so much as a hint of bitterness, and dark ruby red in color. The profile is most definitely orange (citrus) with fresh berry and flower notes.

 

Learning Curve: I might hold back some of the peel, maybe up to twenty five percent less, just to satisfy everyone, but I really do like the ‘meatiness’ of this marmalade. The biggest stressor was the photography. I just couldn’t seem to get a decent picture of the finished jam in the jar like I wanted because the Weck Jars reflect everything and pick up flash points and the color is just too dark to come through on screen.

Comments

[gloria]

This preserve look really interesting. I love sorrel. A friend from the caribbean makes an amazing drink. Brilliant to put these 2 flavours together and too end up with such a ruby red jam. Looks totally fab

[Charrington]

Thanks Gloria. I was feeling a bit smug this morning as I ate the last of the open leftovers. I can’t wait to see what this tastes like once it’s had a couple weeks to cure.

[cafelibby.blogspot.com]

You've got some great skills (and patience) with your fruit prepping. And the color of your marmalade is gorgeous! I love the raspberry and floral notes in blood oranges, and it's great that you highlighted those qualities by adding hibiscus. Good job!

[Charrington]

Thanks Libby. I actually enjoy the repetitive prep work, there’s something predictable and meditative about it that gets me out of my head.

[tigress]

this looks great. and oh boy, tell me about tryin' to photograph jams in a weck jar!

[elle ross]

wow i love your use of hibiscus, sounds so exotic, i bet it is amazing!

[Charrington]

I am glad I have pleased the tigress.

And Elle, thank you. The taste is a bit exotic but it's also close to some well remembered flavors: I find it very similar to the combination of cranberries and orange.

[Catalina]

Mmmm yummy idea! I always get quite a buzz from jamaica (or maybe it's the sugar), but it sure is tasty!