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Lessons from Marmalade - 08:22, Saturday, February 10, 2007

For Valentine’s Day last year my husband bought me a beautiful little citrus tree. The whole even of picking out the tree was a treat. We went to Lowes garden center on a cold and rainy February afternoon.

I examined every flowering plant there from orchids to bromeliads. I kept returning to the little citrus trees, blooming with sweet-smelling flowers. Some already had little perfectly round green fruits.

I finally decided on the healthiest looking citrus tree, we paid for it, and put it in the car, being careful to make sure it wouldn’t fall over on the trip home. I was grinning like a kid with a shiny new bike. My husband was grinning with gentle amusement at my delight with such an unusual Valentine’s Day gift. (You can read my perspective on Valentine’s Day gifts here.)

The tree filled our house with a fabulous scent. I took care to keep it watered. I researched the variety online and found that Calamondins produce a sour fruit similar in flavor to a lemon. The three little fruits that were on the tree when we purchased it ripened to a lovely bright orange.

One evening in early May, my husband grilled salmon and I picked the three little oranges which had grown to the size of a nickel each. I sliced them into wedges and we squeezed them over the fish. The fresh citrus flavor was fantastic.

As the weather turned warmer, I transplanted the tree into a larger container and put it on the back porch. It continued to flower and produce tiny fruit until September. At that point the flowering stopped and the fruit grew. When night-time temperatures began to drop, we moved the tree into the family room in front of the big windows.

By the end of January this year, the more than dozen fruits were turning orange. In preparation for harvesting them, I searched the internet for recipes in which to use them. I settled on marmalade. I printed two recipes, one using the addition of regular oranges and the other using orange juice.

I have never made orange marmalade, but the recipes looked simple. I harvested 18 fruits from my tree, sliced them, and removed the seeds. I sliced two navel oranges, removed the pulp, and sliced the pith away from the peel. The pith went into the compost bucket and the Calamondins, oranges, and peels went into the food processor. I got two cups of orange mush.

Lesson 1—Follow the Plan:

I decided to combine both recipes, using three cups of orange juice along with three cups of water. I started to add six cups of sugar but got interrupted in my counting by a question from my dear son. Since I couldn’t remember whether I had already put in four or five cups, I added another cup and a half.

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”--James 1:5-8

Lesson 2—It looked good on the outside:

The mixture in the jars was a beautiful light orange color with bits of orange peel suspended throughout. The taste was wonderful (I licked the spoon!), but even after sitting overnight, instead of having nine jars of marmalade, I had nine jars of orange syrup.

As tasty as this was, it was not the plan I had for my Calamondins. I had set out to make marmalade. I searched the internet again, this time for solutions to fix watery marmalade. Finding that others have had similar problems and trying one possible solution, I decided to pour all the jars back into the pan and try to “cook it down.”

“Your adornment must not be merely external…but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.”           --1 Peter 3:3-4

Well it did cook down. This time instead of filling nine half-pint jars, I filled six. I put the re-sterilized, filled jars back onto the window sill. Each top popped down and by evening it was obvious that the marmalade was setting up, although now it was a dark orange instead of light orange.

Lesson 3—“Sticking” to the Task:

The next day, I made biscuits and sausage for brunch. I made extra biscuits to use for trying out the marmalade. I opened one of the jars and dipped into the marmalade. It was very sticky instead of jelly-like. This made it difficult to spread, and the taste was a bit darker than before, still tasty, just not as good as the first day.

I was disappointed in the texture of the finished marmalade. I thought I had ruined it, but the flavor is fine. I won’t throw it away. I probably also won’t give any of this batch to my mother-in-law, a marmalade fan. But, I have a great recipe for Orange Marmalade Chicken Wings, and I can always heat up a bit of syrup and add some marmalade to use on my Amish Pancakes. Next time I will know to spend more time at the beginning to get greater results at the end.

“For this very reason, applying all diligence, in your faith supply virtue, and in your virtue, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

Valentine’s Day is coming up. We’re going shopping for a dwarf lemon tree this week. Maybe next year I’ll try to make my own Lemon Curd. It’s absolutely wonderful on my homemade Lemon-Blueberry Scones!