2015 Christmas Offerings

It doesn't seem to feel a lot like Christmas yet. A year ago we had a blizzard. This year leaves are still on some trees and the predicted high tomorrow is 9C! But, weather notwithstanding, Christmas is three weeks today. The Centre for Social Innovation Pop-Up Market was a great success and supplies of the condiments continue to dwindle. Christmas Offerings 2015 includes shortbreads and condiments, both in sweet and savoury versions.

The shortbreads are made from the finest ingredients; Balderson 12 year cheddar, 72% dark chocolate, organic flour and sweet butter. Each package contains 10 cookies.
As always most of the fruits and vegetables come from my organic garden. We had a devastating frost in May so there were very few wild grapes. But sometimes adversity leads to opportunity. In this case, for the first time, as well a picking wild grapes, I also bought grapes - Fredonia which is a native wine grape and Concords. So this year there are wild grape, Fredonia and Concord grape jellies.

The jellies contain nothing but fruit juice and sugar (no commercial pectin). The marmalades highlight citrus fruits available only for a few weeks each year. The savoury condiments include a spicy ketchup made from my heirloom tomatoes, cayenne and jalapeno peppers. New this year are Pickled Radishes. The pickles and relish come in 250 ml jars and everything else is in 125 ml jars.

You can order by email as often as you like. Order early, regardless of your delivery date, to ensure you get what you want. I make the condiments as the fruits and vegetables are in season so once they’re spoken for they’re gone. I continue to bake the shortbreads as orders come in so they’re always fresh. Let me know when you prefer me to deliver it and how many gift bags you would like.

Each item is $5.

Have wonderful holidays!

So this year's list

SAVOURY SHORTBREADS

12 Year Cheddar Rich and with a bit of a cayenne kick

Parmesan Fennel Light and melt in your mouth

SWEET SHORTBREADS

Toblerone      A classic shortbread studded with the dark chocolate version of this Swiss chocolate bar

Lemon       Flecks of lemon zest add a bit of tang to complement the richness of this traditional butter shortbread

Dark Chocolate Orange     A classic duo

Cranberry Pistachio       Perfect for Christmas with flecks of red and green

SAVOURY CONDIMENTS

Bread and Butter Pickles 250 ml    A great addition to sandwiches and charcuterie plates   Sold Out

Sweet Zucchini Relish 250ml    Perfect for hamburgers or mixed with mayo as a homemade tartar sauce for fish  Sold Out

Pickled Radishes 250 ml        New this year   Four left

Hot Pepper Jelly      A lovely jewel-like deep red with a bit of edge from jalapeño peppers

Spicy Tomato Ketchup Much more complex than commercial ketchup. Slow cooked all day. Great with gourmet grilled cheese!

SWEET CONDIMENTS

Grape Jelly            Choose Wild Grape, Fredonia or Concord

Crabapple Jelly            Beautiful translucent red jelly good for breakfast and with roasted pork and chicken

Blood Orange Marmalade         A taste of summer in the depths of winter   One left

Meyer Lemon Marmalade         Not too sweet, a refreshing marmalade with toast and scones

                                                       

Making Blood Orange Marmalade

I decided I would try making Blood Orange marmalade. As always, nothing is ever as simple as I expect it will be. And each new venture is a learning experience.

The first challenge turned out to be finding blood oranges. I went to eight stores but only had luck at two. One of the bigger natural food stores in the city told me it was the wrong season. Blood oranges come from Sicily or Spain or more recently are also grown in the US. Mid January, continuing for 3 to 8 weeks, is the only time of year they're available. Six stores wouldn't be carrying them because of the prohibitive cost (up to $2/lb which can be close to a dollar an orange). I finally found a single 2 kg bag at one store and 7 loose oranges at the other. Mission accomplished.

The beautiful carmine red colour of blood oranges is due to anthocyanins, an antioxidant. This in contrast to the red flesh of Cara Cara Navel oranges which is a result of lypocene. The peel is orange but sometimes there is a reddish tint.

Next was choosing a recipe. I always eliminate any recipe that calls for commercial pectin (which requires more sugar than natural pectins and can have less taste of the fruit used). The number of recipes was overwhelming with a great variation in approach. I found the explanation for the different approaches in my mother's Time Life book on Preserving. There are two contrasting styles to making marmalade with equally distinct results.

The first marmalade has firm and chunky fruit and the cooking process is relatively short, resulting in  chewy fruit which contrasts with the smooth jelly.

The second marmalade requires two days of preparation. The fruit is whole or sliced and soaks in water overnight. The longer process makes for tender peel which is more a part of the jelly rather than distinct from it.

I don't have fond memories of bitter orange marmalade with thick fruit so I used the second approach, slicing the oranges and soaking them overnight. The ingredients I used came from The Art of Preserving put out by Williams- Sonoma. When perusing recipes I had noticed one which started by making a natural pectin from Granny Smith apples. I didn't do that but I did open a jar of crabapple pectin I had made last summer. Blood oranges have less pectin that Seville oranges. Using a natural pectin allows for less sugar but there is nothing more frustrating than a preserve that doesn't set. So my crabapple pectin was insurance.

Clockwise from top left;                                                                                                                                                                      freshly squeezed orange juice, sliced blood oranges soaking in water,  lemon juice, seeds, crabapple pectin 

Freshly squeezed orange juice (I used one blood orange and one navel) and lemon juice are added to the measured sliced oranges and soaking water. This mixture is boiled down and then the sugar is added ( 3/4 cup for each cup of fruit and liquid). Then the mixture is boiled until the jelling temperature is reached. Different reports gave the timing anywhere from 7 minutes to 40 and the jelling temperature anywhere from 220F to 225F. I guess this is where the art vs the science comes in.

Everything boiling down with seeds ( for pectin) suspended in cheesecloth

I made two batches. Both have a warm orangey red colour with good consistency to the jelly, not stiff but not runny either. A taste of sun for the bleak days of winter.

Blood Orange Marmalade