Cumquat jam/marmalade

As I have said before, we have a mini orchard in our small suburban backyard. It's that time of the year when the citrus trees are going crazy producing an abundance of fruit. We have two cumquat trees that were here when we bought the place that we typically get 3-4kg of fruit a year from. It always seemed a shame to throw the fruit out as neither husband or I like it. Years ago I found a cumquat jam recipe that both our Dad's like. However, it is a laborious full day job & we don't get to take full advantage of the fruit as some will be rotten by the time we make the jam. While perusing the Thermomix recipe community I came upon this cumquat marmalade recipe. It's quick & easy which means we can make small batches as the fruit ripens on the tree. If I want a sweeter jam-type taste I just add a bit more sugar. What an amazing recipe find!

Pear and vanilla jam

This week I ordered a standard fruit and vegetable box from the online organic store we use. Usually I just choose what we like to eat and buy that. But there was a special on standard boxes so being the bargain hunter I bought that. Surprisingly, the only thing supplied that we don't eat is pears. 

So I decided to make Pear and vanilla jam. Husband and I are no strangers to jam making. We have a mini orchard in our suburban backyard - dwarf cumquat, lemon, lime, orange, mandarin, lychee, peach, nectarine, mango and avocado trees. The trees line one of our fences, provide a great outlook from the kitchen, and supply us with a load of fruit every year. The cumquats are made into jam every year. Our Dad's love it so we keep making it for them.

I used this Pear and Vanilla jam recipe as the basis for making the jam. We use lemon from our trees as the source of pectin in our jam making (why buy when we have it in our backyard). This was delicious and would make a lovely gift.

Pear and vanilla jam 

Adapted from realfailsafemeals.blogspot.com.au

1kg pears

1 lemon

Seeds of 1 vanilla pod

500g sugar

1. Peel and core pears, roughly chop
2. Remove skin from lemon (leaving the white stuff on), roughly chop
3. Place pears and lemon in thermomix, chop Speed 7/30 seconds (less if you want a 'chunky' jam)
4. Add vanilla seeds and sugar
5. Mix Speed 4/20 seconds
6. Cook 100C/Speed 2/45 minutes
7. Test by putting a teaspoon of mixture on a plate and into the freezer. If it forms a skin after a minute or so it is ready.  
8. If you need it to set more cook it on Varoma/4 minutes with the MC out and steaming basket on top (WARNING - be careful of hot liquid)
9. Blitz on Speed 8/20 seconds if you would like a smoother jam
10. Place jam in hot sterilised jars (washed in hot soapy water and heated in 200C oven for 10 minutes - WARNING - be careful of hot glass)

Source: http://adelineandlumiere.com/2012/03/29/pear-vanilla-jam/ (accessed 9.2.14)