As the trend to mix marmalades and jams into cocktails becomes less unusual, combining cocktail flavours into sweet preserves remains attractive to the preserver who likes to experiment. Limes, mint, sugar and white rum are essential ingredients in a Mojito cocktail and a Mojito Marmalade.
Allow plenty of time to make a Mojito Marmalade. Preparing limes before shredding the peel frequently tests my patience as the inner membranes ( unlike those in Seville oranges) are tricky to remove. One tip I learnt from a student last year, invert the juiced halves of the limes and scrape the inner membranes off with a teaspoon.
To maximise the release of pectin, and to avoid tough peel, shred the peel finely and leave the mixture to soak overnight in the water and juice. Failure to soak and too short a cook before the sugar is added will give you a mouthful of chewy peel.
To keep the alcohol as well as the flavour, add the rum after setting point is reached and not with the sugar. My thanks to Tate and Lyle for posting their Mojito Marmalade on their Taste and Smile website, it prompted me to post my version.
Makes around 2.2kg
675g limes
1 lemon
50g fresh mint
1.4kg granulated cane sugar
1.75 litres water
70ml white rum
1. Juice the fruit and pour the juice with the water into a large, lidded pan with a capacity of at least 7 litres. Remove the inner membranes and pips from the limes with a sharp knife. Leave the pith attached to the peel. Put the membranes and mint into a food processor or mini-chopper and chop finely.
2 .Put the chopped membranes, mint and pips into a 36cm x 36cm piece of thin cotton muslin. Tie this up with string and add it to the pan.
3.Slice the peel finely and add to the pan. Leave the pan overnight to allow the fruit to soak. Next day, bring the lidded pan to boil, turn down the heat and simmer very gently for two hours.
4. After two hours, the peel should be tender and the volume in the pan reduced by a third. Remove the lid from the pan and set aside. Remove the muslin bag. Place it in a sieve suspended over the pan. Using a large spoon press any liquid from the bag back into the pan. Warm the sugar in a low oven at 140C (275F/Gas1).
5.Add the sugar to the pan and dissolve it carefully. Bring the pan to a rolling boil and test for a set after 7 minutes using the flake or temperature test. Remove any scum with a large metal spoon. Leave to cool for 8 minutes.
6. Add the rum and gently stir the marmalade to distribute the peel. Pour the marmalade into clean sterilized warm jars and cover with new twist top lids. Leave the jars upright and undisturbed to cool and set.
Links
First Preserves, please let me know by email if you would like it signed by me as the author.
For jars, Bottle Company South
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