Boozy Day

The citrus liqueurs are all now in the infusion stage. It has been a LONG day of peeling citrus.

The lineup: Bergamot (same fruit that scents Earl Grey tea), Wekiva (lavender gem) tangelolo, Sarawak (in the pummelo family, and no it is NOT a Tahitian, don't get me started), Carribbean Shrubb (containing the juice of several Clementines, Femminello Siracusano lemons, and some nice spices), Grand Marnier (Bouquetier de Nice oranges), and Limoncello (the Siracusanos again). With the exception of the Shrubb, they're all in vodka (Shrubb is in rum).

Not your average stash of citrus, I must say.

I still have plenty of citrus left, but the booze is gone and I am done, tired, done done with this. I don't precisely follow anybody's recipe, so we'll see how it all turns out. They sit for at least a couple of weeks, up to six, then I'll add a simple sugar syrup to a few of them. They will all eventually be filtered. Some of them are experimental (i.e., I made it up myself), and some recipes can definitely be found online.

It's been a long indoor day - going out into the garden before the sun sets!

Citrus Madness Begins

The annual trip to Mecca was Saturday. The U.C. Lindcove Experimental Citrus Station, where they allow some California Rare Fruit Growers to pick as much as they like (just don't take any genetic material, as they're protected by law).

I scored 75 lbs of fruit. I weighed them and segregated them. I have plans for them.

First recipe: blood orange marmalade, from the book I gave myself for Christmas, "The Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves," by Linda Ziedrich. Six half pints. Here they are, aren't they lovely? Her recipe would NOT have set, I've made enough jam to know that, so I added a little pectin, and time will tell. This recipe took about 7 of the oranges you see toward the top right of the photo, blushed red. There are 5 of those left.

Second recipe: Bergamot Orange Custard Cups, from this website: http://www.hungrycravings.com/2010/01/single-bergamot-orange.html and they're in the oven right now.

They took one - count it, ONE - large bergamot, and it made a double batch. There are 18 left. Uh huh, 18. I'm hunting for recipes.

The rest of this mountain of citrus hasn't been touched. And yes, they're still on my living room carpet.

But I'll get there. All recommendations are welcome. If push comes to shove, I now have a chest freezer and I know how to use it.