 |
| Calamondin Tree (and companions) |
The calamondin tree was already growing in the garden when I bought the house. The variegated scheffelera plant seen under it, was growing in a pot and my mother placed the pot under the tree to get some shade one summer. It remained there for a couple of years and when I went to move it, I discovered that the plant had broken through the plastic pot and had firmly rooted itself in the ground! The bare branched plant in the foreground is a new nectarine tree, which was planted, today.
Eileen had asked if I picked all the calamondin fruits and I said no, the ones we picked were the ones that were within daughter's reach. The tree is full of fruits:
 |
| Close Up of the Calamondin Fruits on the Tree |
(Sorry, not the best photo - I took it at midday with my cell phone, as that's the only camera I have.)
Remember the fruits we picked on Thursday?
 |
| Freshly Picked Calamondin |
On Friday afternoon, I cut each fruit in half and removed the seeds. A very sharp knife is essential for this step and I was very grateful that my daughter gave me a knife sharpener as a gift, one year for Mother's Day! The biggest fruits were about one inch in diameter. Each fruit had about 5 or 6 seeds on average and it took me a couple of hours to cut and deseed them all! I think I had at least half a pound of seeds!
 |
| Deseeded Calamondin Fruits |
The next step was to cut the fruit into thin strips. I cut about half the fruit and processed the rest in the blender (don't have a food processor).
To make the marmalade, I put the cut up and processed fruit into a big pan with two cups of water and 5 lbs. sugar. Then, brought it to a boil, stirring all the time. My daughter was called upon to help with the stirring! While she stirred, I washed and sterilized the canning jars. I used half pint (8 oz.; U.S. pints are 16 oz.) canning jars.
It took approximately 1 hour of boiling and stirring until the marmalade came to the setting point. I tested for "doneness" by dropping a little of the marmalade onto a cold saucer and seeing if it held its shape when tilted. Afterwards, daughter helped to pour the marmalade into the prepared jars. We had 16 half-pint jars of marmalade and almost enough extra to almost fill a pint jar!
 |
| Calamondin Marmalade! |
My daughter, who doesn't like most jams because they are two sweet, loves the calamondin marmalade! It is tangy, with a very pronounced citrus flavor. Several of these jars will be given as gifts to various people, but, daughter will take a couple of jars with her when she goes back to Berkeley. I need to print out some labels to put on the jars.
Today, I am grateful for:
- The calamondin tree and its fruits
- Daughter's help with making the marmalade
- A sharp knife and a knife sharpener!
- M helping in the garden (he planted the other two fruit trees)
- Jars of marmalade to gift to family and friends
Do you have a favorite marmalade recipe?
Those are small fruits if they are an inch or smaller. Is the skin very thick?
ReplyDeleteThey are about the size of those dark red Bing cherries, I'd say. The peel is very thin.
DeleteI didn't realise the calamondin fruit was so small. The filled jars look wonderful and the marmalade sounds delicious. Even though it can be time consuming (and often messy) I find making marmalade to be very relaxing. X
ReplyDeleteI found the deseeding and cutting part of it to be a bit tiring - but the actual marmalade making was fun with daughter helping! But, finished product does have a nice color and it feels good to have several jars of marmalade to give as gifts. :)
DeleteThat sure did make a lot of marmalade! I've never tried making it myself. I hope you and your daughter have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteI suppose I could have picked fewer fruits, but, I didn't realize just how much we picked! Maybe you could try making some, yourself. Thank you; hope you have a lovely weekend, too. :)
DeleteWhoever gets that marmalade will be thrilled. I am jealous that you can grow citrus.
ReplyDeleteAnne, I wish I could send you a jar - but, I am currently not going to the post office to mail anything! Maybe next year!
DeleteYou've had a busy day! I didn't realise the calamondin fruits were so small ... I bet the pip removal and slicing seemed never ending! I hope you had that sense of satisfaction in a job well done when you lined up all the jars full of marmalade.
ReplyDeleteIt was time consuming, but the resulting marmalade is very delicious! And I have plenty to give as gifts in the upcoming months! :)
DeleteWhat a lot of work with such tiny fruits, but the resulting marmalade looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteMy mother used to make marmalade when the Seville oranges were available in the stores. They would be hopeless for eating raw, but make a lovely tangy marmalade and she never used any other type.
It was a lot of work, Bushlady. Maybe, next time, I won't bother cutting them by hand and just call it jam instead of marmalade!
DeleteWow your marmalade looks delicious. We were always told those kind of oranges were poisonous. I would guess there are a few varieties though. Mean
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jean. I know some people grow them as ornamental plants, but, hope they are not poisonous because, if they are, then, I'd be in big trouble! :D
DeleteI had missed yesterday's post so I had to look up calamondin; but it sounds delicious. Anything made with 5 pounds of sugar would be a winner in my book. You said two trees were planted - nectarine and ???
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, believe me, the fruit was so sour that it required every grain of sugar I put in!
DeleteThe second tree we planted was a Santa Rosa plum. :)
I've never heard of calamondin before, but it sounds like something I would like very much. I'm going to be on the lookout for it. I've been using a fig jam and just bought blueberry preserves for a change.
ReplyDeleteI hope you will be able to get some calamondin and taste some marmalade made with them. I made fig jam, one time, when someone gave me some figs from their garden, but, that was a long time ago.
DeleteYour garden sounds really lovely. Is it very big? It certainly sounds like it with all the plants and trees you have growing there.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. I don't think the garden is all that big (typical suburban lot), but, I don't have a lawn anymore and am trying to grow as many fruit trees as possible.
DeleteThanks for telling us how you made your marmalade. I as well, also thought the fruit was much larger then what you've described. It's a very labor intensive undertaking so bravo to you for it because the jam looks just beautiful in those jars.
ReplyDeleteDebra, the fruit is about the size of a cherry tomato. It was time consuming to deseed them all; maybe, next time, I'll pick fewer fruits at a time! But, sometimes, it is better to make one big batch of jam and be done with it!
DeleteHow wonderful! I know from making marmalade myself, what a chore it is to prepare the fruit and cut the peel, so well done! I guess lots of small fruits make this job even worse but what a bounty from your garden - and now plenty of marmalade to share and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lady Ella. Yes, it is a lot of work - I think, next time, I will just process the fruit in a blender and call it "jam"! The longer strips of peel won't be seen, but, the flavor will still be there! And, it will be so much easier! I'm all for easy, these days!
Delete