there are hundreds and thousands of recipes out there. some suggests that you slice the whole grapefruit before boiling, some suggests boiling it whole - skin, pith and all before slicing it, some suggests peeling the skin and discarding the white pith and some suggests soaking the peels overnight etc.
apparently, the more pith you leave on the grapefruit, the more bitter your marmalade would taste. after reading all the different recipes, i decided to use the same recipe as the cumquat marmalade i made last week except this time i peeled the skin of the grapefruit and cut them into strips. i also cut away the thick white pith before cutting the grapefruit flesh into chunks and i added 2 lemons to it too.
after 2 hours of medium simmer, the peels finally soften and the chunky flesh becomes a pulpy mess.
i added 8 cups of sugar and let the marmalade simmer away stirring it occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning. i watched as the colour of the marmalade went from light yellow to orange and finally, a deep amber.
2 more hours of medium simmer later, the marmalade is finally ready. it definitely tastes different from the cumquat marmalade i made last week. it has a deeper flavour with a distinct bitterness to it. it is definitely an adult taste.
i managed to bottle 6 jars in total and i gave one away to Myfanwy when she came by for afternoon tea today. i kept two for ourselves and the rest will be gifted.
Jim is having them with some toasts tomorrow.
