Week 58: Orange Marmalade

I have always thought of orange marmalade as Classy and British, two things I want to be. Consequently when I came into 7 kilos of oranges, that were quickly hardening past edibility, I thought it would be a great idea to make marmalade. A brief Internet search later I came across a very simple recipe and was not at all stymied by the fact that I did not have a candy thermometer nor a mandolin to cut the oranges. Sunday afternoon came and it was time to begin the marmalade process, as it turned out my knife was no match for my oranges and there is a reason that a mandolin is recommended to thinly slice the oranges. However, orange chunky marmalade is still good and I instead like to think that I made candy coated orange rinds in a thick goo. Okay perhaps not quite as thick as marmalade usually is, but here is where I understood the purpose of the candy thermometer and mostly just did not want my cooking gas to run out. I am not quite ready to go into business but I think it was a good first attempt, and I believe the most important thing for me to remember next time is that, I do not actually like orange marmalade… oops! Now what to do with the jars of candy coated orange rinds in a light syrup… Any takers?

This week I also went up to Serowe to help out with the training of the new volunteer group and continued to tutor my neighbors.  I wanted to share that so it doesn’t sound like I am only boiling oranges for hours at a time, I am occasionally working and interacting with people.