Calamansi Marmalade/ Calamondin Marmalade

Calamansi is Philippine lemon and is commonly used for cooking.It is known in the west as acid orange, calamondin orange, or Panama orange.

Marmalade is a fruit preserve, made of orange or other citrus fruit, sugar, and water. Recipes include some amount of peel and zest, which imparts a sharp, bitter taste from the bitter citrus oil.(Source: Wikipedia)
Whats usually made into marmalade are Seville oranges which are higher in pectin than other oranges. Pectin are acid molecules which serves as thickener and forms a thick gel when combined with sugar.

Calamansi has a very good amount of pectin so it is perfect for marmalade. I also find Calamansi's flavor fantastic. I'd choose an ice cold Calamansi Juice over Orange Juice anytime. I've heard a lot about a good calamansi marmalade sold somewhere in Quezon City but I don't know where to get it so I thought of making one myself.

Ingredients:
300 grams of Calamansi
2 ½ cup Sugar
3 cups water

Directions:

• Wash the calamansi very well because you will be including the peel in making the marmalade.
• Remove the stem ends and squeeze the juice through a strainer so as not to include any seeds. Your marmalade would become very bitter if you included the seeds.
  
• Slice the skins thinly.Pour in water and bring it to a boil.
• Simmer for 20 minutes.
• Let it cool to room temperature and place in the fridge overnight to extract maximum pectin.
• Take the cold calamansi soup out of the fridge and add sugar.
• Boil the mixture in medium high heat until it reaches 220°F in a thermometer [setting point]. If you don't have a thermometer, like me, [which reminds me, I have to get one] just boil/simmer it for 20 minutes.
• Skim the scum on top and put in sterilized jars.
• Set in the kitchen counter until it settles.

This measurement yielded two and a half small bottles of great tasting marmalade. Do not attempt to make this if you don't like the sweet-bitter-sour flavor of Calamansi but I recommend this highly if you do. This is magnificent tasting Calamansi marmalade. I'm not saying this because I made it, I'm saying it because this is such a great recipe. I'm amazed with the results. So perfect on buttered toast...

an entry for and. Have a great weekend!