Red Globe Grapes Preserves

Generally, prices of most edible food have gone up each day.  A usual jar of jam [450 gm] from Belgium used to be below RM 8 but now it is above RM 10.  Since my family 'lives' on bread, butter and jam for breakfast almost everyday, making home-made jam becomes as regular chore.  To be more cost effective, I usually go for fruits that are on offer at the supermarkets.

Recently, grapes are relatively cheap and I grabbed about 1.2 kg to make 2 bottles of jam.  You can chose any types of grapes, best to get the seedless type because this means one procedure less to do.  For those grapes with seeds, the seeds have to be removed first before cooking.
The sweetness of the jam is just nice.

Recipe adapted from Good Food, Shared with slight modifications

Ingredients

[makes 2 bottles x 455 gm]

1.2 kg grapes - rinsed, seeded and cut small pieces

600 gm granulated sugar

50 ml water

a dollop of butter

zest of 1 lemon - optional

1. Wash the grapes in cold running water to remove any grit or grim.
2. Remove the stalks and any unripe [green] or rotten grapes.  Halve the grapes to remove the seeds [omit if using seedless grapes].
3. Place cut grapes in a large saucepan add sugar, water and the butter [Tips: the butter will stop the jam from bubbling too much, placing the grapes first in the pan will prevent the sugar from burning into the bottom of the pau].
4. Bring the mixture to boil, skim the scum from the top then slowly cook until grapes are tender and jam gels up when tasted.  Stir frequently as you boil the jam for about an hour.
5. Meanwhile, place a saucer in the freezer and sterilise the jam jars.
6. Place a spoonful of jam on the frozen saucer, leave o the counter for 1 minute, run your finger through the jam, if the skin wrinkles or the track left by your fingers in place, then the jam is ready.  If not continue to boil for another 5-10 minutes, test again.
7. Remove the jam from the heat. lade into warmed jars, seal and label.
   
   
   

   
   
   
   

   
   

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Candied Ginger

Sometimes I love to have a piece of candied ginger when I have ate too much. By chance I saw Alton Brown on TV showing how to make candied ginger, something which I will buy from the Chinese Medical Shop.   Then I thought, if we can make candied orange peel [quite similar to keat paeng] at home, perhaps I can also try candied ginger.  To know 'what is crystallized ginger?' check it out here.

Today, I saw a box of very fresh young ginger roots at the vegetable stall in the wet market.  I bought some to make these candied ginger.

Recipe Source - Candied Ginger from Alton Brown

Ingredients - Small Portion

250 gm young ginger roots - scrape the skin/peeled

1 and 1/2 cup water

200 gm sugar

1. Peel the ginger root and slice into 1/2 cm thick slices.
2. Place ginger and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat and cover to cook for about 35 minutes or until ginger is tender.
3. Transfer the ginger to a colander to drain, reserving 30 ml of the cooking liquid.  Weigh the ginger and measure out an equal amount of sugar.  
4. Return the ginger and liquid to the saucepan.  Add in the sugar.  Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.  
5. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the sugar syrup looks dry [has almost evaporated and begins to re-crystallize, approximately 20-25 minutes.
6. Transfer the ginger immediately to the cooling rack and spread to separate the individual pieces.
7. Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or more.
   
   
   
   
   

Information on Uses of Candied Ginger or Crystallized Ginger from this site
Crystallized Ginger – dried slices of natural ginger root, cured and coated in sugar. Here are 10 great ideas for putting this sweet, spicy and comforting ingredient to work in your kitchen:

1. Chop and add to batter for cookies, such as ginger snaps, or quick breads like gingerbread, orange bread or banana bread.
2. Melt butter with diced Crystallized Ginger, fresh lemon juice and sliced green onions in a saucepan. Spoon over hot rice and serve with chicken or fish.
3. Sprinkle finely chopped pieces as a finishing touch on apple pie a la mode or a whipped cream-topped brownie.
4. Combine diced Crystallized Ginger with nuts, brown sugar and spices for a baked apple or pear filling.
5. Add chunks to a stir-fry for a sweet and spicy bite.
6. Dip Crystallized Ginger pieces in melted chocolate. Let cool and serve as a special after dinner treat.
7. Add to water and sugar mixture to make ginger-infused simple syrup. Strain before adding to drinks, such as iced tea.
8. Sprinkle diced Crystallized Ginger into fruit salad for a spicy, zesty flavor lift.
9. Add to a homemade cranberry sauce with orange zest.
10. Or, just snack on this sweet treat right out of the package. Crystallized Ginger is especially helpful for calming the stomach while traveling.

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Marmalade Butter Cake

A lovely butter cake using marmalade.  The texture is fine, soft, moist and buttery, not too sweet eventhough with marmalade [home-made].  This recipe is for keeps and it should be easy for me to bake this often as I make marmalade [see recipe here] quite often.

This recipe is inspired by Florence's Kamquat Butter Cake.  As I don't have kamquat preserve, I use marmalade instead.

Recipe Source - Do What I Like with slight modification

Ingredients

[loaf pan size - 22 cm x 6.5 cm - 24 pieces]

200 gm cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

100 gm butter

80 gm castor sugar [I used 60 gm]

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

100 ml skimmed milk

80 gm marmalade [I used 3 tbsp]

1 tbsp extra marmalade for topping - optional

1. Preheat oven at 170 degrees C.  Sieve flour together with baking powder.
2. Cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy.
3. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Using lowest speed, add in 1/3 of flour and 1/3 of the milk.  Beat to combine.  Repeat until flour and milk is finished.  
5. Lightly stir in the marmalade.
6. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan.
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until cake is cooked through.  After 15 minutes baking, remove cake from oven and quickly top the cake centre with extra marmalade.  Bake for a further 30 minutes until golden brown.
   
   
   
   
   
   

Notes: Visit this site for Its' Nutritional Facts [here]

I'm sharing this post with Little Thumbs Up April 2014 Event - Orange organised by Bake For Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY hosted by Anncoo Journal

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Candied Orange Peel

Saw Phong Hong's post on this recipe the time when I wanted to make  Orange Marmalade.  Normally, I don't add all the orange skin to the marmalade as my hubby is not in favour of too much zest in it.  The remaining skin is usually discarded.  This time after seeing Phong Hong's post, I put them to good use by making candied orange peel.

The cooking part is quite easy but removing the white pith from the skin is quite time consuming and you need a sharp knife for easy cutting.  I removed quite a bit of the white pith which is bitter.   But it is worth the trouble cos' the candied orange peels are good, very suitable for my mixed nuts mooncake filling and cakes.   I'm very happy that I made these cos' I have used them in several of my bakes [see coming posts].

Recipe Source - Phong Hong Bakes

Ingredients

- Orange peel from 3 oranges [I used about 150 gm]

- Enough water to cover orange peel in a saucepan

- 1.5 cups sugar [I used about 1 cup]

1. Wash the oranges and dry them.  Slice off the top and bottom of the oranges.  Score the skin in quarters.  Keep the orange flesh for making marmalade.
2. Remove the skin [white pith]  an cut into strips of about 1/4 inch wide.
3. Put the orange peel strips into a saucepan, cover with water.  Bring to boil, then drain the water.  Add in water and bring to boil again.  Repeat this twice.
4. Add water just enough to cover the orange peel, add sugar.  Stir to dissolve the sugar, then bring it to a boil.
5. Lower heat and simmer for about an hour or until sugar mixture is thick and syrupy.  Swirl the pan every now and then to coat the orange strips with the syrup.
6. The orange peel should be translucent and the syrup almost dried and some sugar crystals.
7. Remove to cool on a rack then roll in some sugar to coat the peels.  Let dry and store in airtight container.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

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Home-made Sweet Orange Marmalade

Something must have wrong with me or am I getting old?  I have been preparing this marmalade again and again which I like very much yet I have not posted the recipe at all.  I followed Wendy's recipe on Sweet Orange Marmalade but I'm not so conscientious as Wendy in sharing the recipe as in her post.   Sometimes, I like shortcuts and lucky me, it is still good.  Please visit her blog [Table for 2 or More]  for the details and step by step photos if you are interested to make your own marmalade.  Believe me, it is good.

Usually, when I make this marmalade, the skin will be discarded but this time the skin has been put to good use.  Thanks to Phong Hong for sharing her recipe on Candied Orange Peel [see tomorrow's post].  I made it after making the marmalade.  They are good.

Recipe Source - Wendy's Sweet Orange Marmalade [with slight modifications]

Ingredients

Equal Portion of Orange flesh/Sugar/Water [that is 1:1:1]

500 gm orange flesh

500 ml water

500 gm sugar [I used less - about 300]

Flesh of 1 lemon

zest of all oranges and lemon
a tsp of brandy - optional

1. Zest all the fruits [this time, I zest the lemon only, kept the orange peel for making Candied Orange Peel].
2. Peel all the fruits, weigh the flesh [jot down the quantity] to calculate the sugar and water needed.
3. Remove the flesh from the membrane. Chop in smaller pieces.  Press out the membrane and pith to obtain the juice.  Add to the orange flesh. Transfer to a container and refrigerate overnight.
4. Add water to the membranes and pith [this is to derive natural pectin], bring to boil.   Off heat, cover and leave overnight.  Strain and press out the juice the next day. 
5. Combine orange flesh, juices and zest in a heavy saucepan.  Add in juice from Step 4.  Add sugar.  Bring to boil, then lower heat and continue to simmer until jam gels up.  Stir in the brandy if using.
6. Meanwhile sterilised the jam bottles and place a small saucer in the freezer to chill [for testing if jam is done].
7. Place a spoonful of jam in saucer, return to freezer for 10-20 seconds.   If it wrinkles up to form a mass when push with a finger, the jam is done. Otherwise simmer jam a little longer and test again.
8. Pour hot jam into sterilised bottles and tighten cover.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

I'm sharing this post with Little Thumbs Up April 2014 Event - Orange organised by Bake For Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY hosted by Anncoo Journal

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