When the ghouls have gone to sleep and the candles inside of pumpkins everywhere have been blown out tomorrow night, there will be millions of pumpkins that have fulfilled their destinies.
Well Halloween won’t be the end of the road for our pumpkins, that is for sure.
Here’s a nice, seasonal recipe adapted from Mary Anne Dragan’s
Well Preservered that was featured over at
Tigress in a Jam that we’ll be digging into this weekend.
RECIPE: PUMPKIN MARMALADE
1 small pumpkin or winter squash (about 3 lbs)
2 lemons (preferably organic)
1 orange (preferably organic)
4 cups sugar (preferably raw)
Yields Approximately 1 1/2 pints1. Slice the orange and lemons in half lengthwise, take the pits out and save to the side. Place cut side down on counter and cut off the tip of each citrus end. discard ends.2. Very thinly slice the the oranges and lemons. Then cut each slice in 3 or 4 pieces and then cut the stacks in 3 to 4 pieces. Ensure that the peel pieces are small and thin.
3. Place the pits in a little piece of cheese cloth & tie with twine.
4. Add cut & sliced citrus pieces, seeds in cloth, and 3 cups water to a non-reactive pan (no iron or aluminum) and bring to a boil. Once boiled turn it down to a low simmer and cover. simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until the peels get soft.
5. While the citrus is simmering, peel and chop pumpkin into 1/2 inch squares about 1/8 of an inch thick. You want about 8 cups/2 liters pumpkin once it is chopped.
6. When the citrus peel is soft remove the pit bag and squeeze out any excess juice into pan. Keep the heat low, add the 4 cups sugar and let it dissolve slowly. this will take about 5 minutes.
7. Add the pumpkin and turn up the heat to come to a rapid boil. it will take about 30 minutes to gel. After about 15 minutes you will want to turn the heat down a bit and to stir often to prevent sticking.
Hot water process and it is Halloween in a bottle for the rest of the year.
