It‘s no wonder that the botanical name for grapefruit is Citrus Paradisi. The scent, the flavor, the cholesterol lowering properties and the endless list of healthy attributes make it a fruit straight from paradise indeed.
Grapefruit is one of the fruits I love to use in desserts since it brings an unmatched flavor to countless desserts. The juxtaposition of sweet and tart in desserts is high on my list of importance and grapefruit is one that delivers. Rose, ginger, mango , Grand Marnier and certainly chocolate can be wonderful pairings with grapefruit.
Whenever I use citrus peel such as for grapefruit marmalade, I only use organic non treated grapefruits. I still do not know if conventional treated citrus fruit is ok to use, but I do know that they are treated with chemicals and often times lac resins. It is just not the type of thing I like to feed my wonderful engine. If anyone has scientific non partisan data on whether using non organic citrus peel is safe to use, I would really love to hear.
For many, marmalades or jams can be a little scary since they may not set if not properly prepared. For success it is important to stay with the listed recipe as the ingredients and their ratio play a vital role. If for example the sugar is reduced then the cooking time will increase resulting in cooked flavor. (Although I must say, for certain jams or marmalades I do reduce the sugar and I obtain proper setting by using additional pectin.) Certain fruits, such as the citrus family contain a good amount of the setting agent pectin, which naturally plays a very important role. Some fruit such as strawberries contain little pectin. For such fruit, specific cooking methods and or pectin additions are necessary for brilliant results. For many of my marmalades I like to make my easy to make “pectin cocktail” by simply simmering some non peeled Granny Smith apples in water. Once the apples are super tender I mash them and pour in a fine mesh sieve. The obtained juice is what I use to assist the gelling of my marmalades.
Getting It All Together!
Combining the peel, segments, sugar, apple juice and lemon juice has to be done a day before cooking the marmalade. This will ensure a pleasant (not too hard) peel and a perfect setting marmalade.
Grapefruit marmalade
| 24 oz | Grapefruit, organic | 720 g | |
| 16 oz | Extra fine Granulated sugar | 480 g | |
| 1 oz | Lemon juice | 30 g | |
| 2 oz | Apple juice, see recipe below | 60 g | |
- Wash and peel the grapefruit with a vegetable peeler. Cut the peel into small pieces.
- With a sharp knife cut away all the white part exposing the flesh. Cut along each membrane to remove the segments. Cut the segments into 4 pieces. Combine the chopped peel and segments. Scale to obtain 1 lb (480 g)
- Place in a non reactive bowl and add the lemon juice and apple juice cover with plastic food wrap and store in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and pour thru a chinois or fine sieve. Do not throw away the fruit meat or the liquid! Set aside the fruit meat.
- Combine liquid and sugar and boil without stirring to 230°F (110°C), at this temperature add the fruit meat and bring to a simmer. Stir to 224.5°F (107°C). Remove from heat.
- Pour in sterilized jars and cover using your preferred method.
Pectin rich apple juice for marmalade and Jam preparations
Yield: 5 oz (150 ml)
| 8 oz | Granny smith apple, organic | 8 oz | |
| 12 oz | Water | 360 g | |
- Wash the apple, without peeling cut in 8 segments and place in a small saucepan.
- Cover with water and simmer on low heat for 25 minutes.
- Mash the apples using a potato masher.
- Pour the puree into a chinois or fine meshed sieve and allow the juice to drip out the puree without stirring.
- Freeze any unused juice for other uses.
This article: How to make grapefruit marmalade
Thanks for the recipe and method . I can’t wait to try this !
It will be perfect with popovers and brioche .
Dag Chef
“Do not throw away the fruit meat”
Kan je hier chocoladevormpjes mee vullen ?
een chocolade truffel
mvg
This looks amazing!
I’ve made jams in class, and I’ve done a couple here at home, but I have never attempted marmalade. And I bet it’s outstanding!
Looking forward to trying this soon!!
Happy New Year, Chef!! Hope 2011 is an incredible year for you! ;0)
Hillary,
Best wishes for 2011 to you as well!
Eddy.
Chef Rudolf,
Interesting question… perhaps you could if it was combined with something that would bring some sweetness….perhaps fondant and Mandarine Napoleon? I would have to test…Now remember not to confuse others… for the grapefruit marmalade itself, the fruit meat goes back into the reduced syrup.
Wishing you a stunning 2011!
Eddy.
I am so looking forward to making this!! It will go with so many wonderful things!!!! Happy New Year!! Enjoy your holiday, and I will see you soon!!!
Sorry I’m not a chef 😉
but I like the taste of chocolate and citrus/grape fruit.
Een gezond en succesvol 2011
mvg
Grapefruits were broken down into juices and I like to make a drink out of it. The combination of Grapefruits and h2o is essential, even though I can not consume the whole gallon at once. Later Chef Eddy….
A good grapefruit is one of my favorite fruits. You have given me a great idea for this year’s neighborhood Christmas gifts. Looking forward to the grapefruit/apple flavor combination.
Great combination chef. The color on the grapefruit is wonderful.
Great work with this recipes’ presentation, the vivid colors of the grapefruit are beautiful…
Lovely recipe but you don’t indicate at what part the sugar is added!
Very healthy filling, and the grapefruit really has a magnificent color to it that, when paired up with the right dessert, will look and taste great! Can’t wait to try this! Thanks Chef.
Would love to try this with Foie Gras or some hot buttery biscuits and call it day.
Chef Eddy,
While looking up your chocolate syrup recipe I ran across your The Grapefruit Marmalade Recipe… its sounds delicious and another recipe of your’s that I’ll definately try.
John
Chef is this something that needs refrigeration after preserving? Or is there enough sugar to help it be shelf stable?
Tilly
I just used your Grapefruit Marmalade recipe as a basis for my grapefruit/orange marmalade. I too eat my grapefruit like an orange so the removal of the white stuff wasn’t too bad. I added about 2 1/2 cups of sugar and toward the end of the simmering I added a 1/2 cup of brown sugar. I started with about 8 grapefruit and 5 oranges. These were gifts from a relative in Florida but just weren’t great eating fruit. The only other change I made was to use 24 oz. of bottled 100% blood orange juice I purchased on sale.
This is the best ever marmalade I ever had and the jellying was perfect.
Love your blog by the way.
Laurie
Hello Chef,
Could you tell me at what stage the sugar should be added?
Thank you.
Thank you for bringing to my attention! The directions were confusing indeed.
Eddy.
I was always wondering how I can make a marmalade without Pectin powder now I got the answer and I can make my own Pectin Thanks Chef.
What do you alter if the marmalade is runny and doesn’t set up well?
I made this with organic white grapefruit from a friend’s tree. Although I used the apple juice as per the recipe, the marmalade is soft-set (but not runny) and I would add the grapefruit pips in a muslin bag next time, to try for a little more pectin. Or perhaps leave the lid off the pot completely to allow the liquid to reduce more.
The flavour is very fresh – I tested it against a kumquat, lime and grapefruit marmalade I recently made using a more traditional recipe with a longer boiling time and this one has the edge on the other for liveliness of taste. I think that next time I would add a second citrus – lemon or lime – for a little more depth and complexity. Or perhaps try a grapefruit/ginger combination.
The recipe was easy to follow and didn’t take too long to make. So it’s good all round. Many thanks.