Jaboticaba Ginger Calamansi Marmalade

yum, jaboticaba!

This marmalade has a deep, bright flavor without the bitterness of some marmalades. It's delicious! It uses about half the sugar of a typical jam, so you need to either bump up the sugar or use a low-sugar pectin like Pomona.

2 pounds jaboticaba
10 ounces calamansi
piece of ginger, about 2 inch more or less
2 teaspoons Pamona calcium solution
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons Pomona pectin

First: make jaboticaba-ginger juice

Wash and rinse the jaboticaba, tossing any that are moldy or "deflated." Under-ripe fruit is OK. Peel and cut ginger into about 1/2 inch cubes.

Put jaboticaba and ginger in a saucepan and fill to about an inch under the top of fruit. Boil for about 45 minutes. About 15 minutes into this time, use a wooden spoon to squash the fruit against the sides of the pot. This will help the flavors seep into the liquid.

jaboticaba bursts open as it boils

After about 45 minutes, turn off the heat and let the liquid cool for 10-20 minutes. Strain the solids and ginger chunks from the juice, pressing down on the peels and seeds.

straining jaboticaba juice

  
Second: prepare the calamansi

Wash and rinse the calamansi. Cut into halves then slice into semi-circles. Cit them as thin or thick as you would like them to be in your marmalade. Discard the seeds, but use everything else.

calamansi slivers

  
Third: make the marmalade

Warm the jaboticaba juice with the calamansi slivers and the Pomona calcium solution in the saucepan and bring to boil for about 10 minutes. Mix together the dry sugar and the Pomona pectin in a mixing bowl. Slowly add the sugar/pectin to the juice while stirring vigorously. This will prevent the pectin from clumping. Bring to a vigorous boil for about 10-15 minutes. Test to see if it gels by spooning a bit onto a cold plate. It should start gelling within a few minutes.

When you are convinced the mixture will gel, pour into jars. (about four 8 oz jars.) Refrigerate and use right away, or water bath or steam can for 15 minutes to store or gift.

This marmalade is packed with flavor! It's not too sweet and not bitter. Good on ice cream!

jaboticaba ginger calamansi marmalade