When I was blown across the parking lot by a bone-chilling gust of wind, thru the never closing doors of the local grocery store, the first thing I saw, stacked right in the entry, were boxes of satsuma's...bright, orange colored fruit - reminding me of summer, palm trees swaying in a gentle breeze, sandy beaches and the smell of sun-tan lotion...they were begging me to take them home...and so I did. Alas...it doesn't matter how many satsuma's one eats, one will not hear ocean waves gently lapping the shore, nor will one turn into Bo Derek with beaded braids bouncing in slow-motion, sun glistening off hard-jiggle-proof body parts to the sounds of Ravel's Bolero thundering through an azure blue sky...but one can dream! Biting into sweet, juicy little satsuma's may not solve your problems, and you may not be transported onto a white sandy beach, but you will taste summer...just a hint of it but it's there...enough to get you through yet another wild wintry day and one day closer to sun.
Satsuma's, like everything, don't last forever...so when those left over oranges begin to shrivel, and in no way conjure up images of fun in the sun - you make marmalade. It's not difficult and your house will smell SO GOOD - seriously good - so good you'll want to lick the air you breathe before you breathe it which isn't really possible but the thought will be there.
This takes about 2 hours start to finish - maybe a little less - if you take out the time spent trying to lick the air...The satsuma's peel practically falls off and if your satsuma's are like mine, they probably won't yield much juice, so you can supplement with orange juice from the fridge if need be. Orange marmalade...thick and gooey, sweet and bitter...remember Paddington Bear? He traveled from the darkest Peru to London, and couldn't wait to sit down to a cup of tea and a biscuit slathered with marmalade! Well, this is a much shorter journey to marmalade - and one well worth the time.
This recipe only makes 4 half pints - with a little extra for the cook's bonus. The "bonus" was eaten immediately, one jar was given to a sick friend, leaving me two jars...one is half gone already and the other will be guarded with my life...in the event of an earthquake or any other natural disaster, I shall save the dog and my last jar of marmalade...get the picture?
One last thing...I added a vanilla bean to the marmalade because I once had orange marmalade that had a hint of vanilla to it and I loved it. If you don't have a bean on hand, then don't worry, it will be fabulous without it but with it, well, it's divine!
Satsuma Orange Marmalade - Adapted from several recipes, including Simply Recipes
14 satsuma oranges
2 cups juice from oranges (or from refrigerated orange juice)
2 cups peels, cut into thin strips
1 large lemon
1 vanilla bean
2 cups water
4 cups sugar
Also needed: candy thermometer, several layers of cheesecloth or muslin for a pectin bag and string to tie with, sterilized jars.
Scrub oranges clean, discard any that are moldy or damaged. Cut oranges in half and juice them, until you have 2 cups of juice. If your oranges don't yield that much juice, supplement with additional orange juice. Save the seeds and membranes in another bowl. Clean out as much of the white pith as you can, leaving just the peel and then julienne the peels, stacking them on top of each other will allow you to cut several at once. You should have about 2 cups of peels.
Cut the lemon in half and juice it, adding to the orange juice. Remove the membranes and seeds and add to the others. Remove the pith and julienne the peel, add to the other peels. Place all membranes and seeds in the center of a 14x14-inch piece of muslin or several layers of cheesecloth. Tie up the ends, forming a bag, with string.
Place the orange and lemon juice into a large Dutch oven, add the orange and lemon peels, vanilla bean and the water. Place the muslin bag into the pot. Bring mixture to a boil, uncovered, and boil for 30 minutes or until the peels are soft and cooked through. Remove the bag of membranes (the pectin bag) and the vanilla bean and set aside to cool. Add 3 cups of the sugar to the orange mixture and stir to dissolve. Taste for sweetness and add more sugar if you want it to be sweeter.
When the pectin bag is cool enough to handle, begin squeezing it over the orange mixture by grasping a small bit of the bag and squeezing and keep doing this until you've got all that you can...basically you're "milking" the bag. This takes a few minutes. When you've gotten as much as you can from the bag, discard the bag. Heat the mixture on medium high heat and bring to a rapid boil. The marmalade needs to cook for about 20 minutes, or until it reaches 220 degrees on the candy thermometer and is somewhat thickened, (it will continue to thicken as it cools). Remove from heat and pour into sterilized jars. Let sit on the counter overnight and then keep in refrigerator. Yield: 4 half pint jars.
"In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you." ~ Deepak Chopra
