Why a pomelo? The fruit is very common to Chinese food festivals such as New Year's Day, the real one (Jan 23, 2012). I saw a pomelo recently and thought about what else one could do with a pomelo besides eating it like a grapefruit. I read a few grapefruit recipes and have cobbled this particular one together.
Here's how it would go down...
1 large pomelo
2 Meyer lemons
2 oranges (1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice)
2 c. water
4 c. granulated sugar
a pinch of Mexican saffron, optional (for color)
Some citrus peels have a high pectin content. This is what makes marmalade gel without added pectin.
1. Fill canner (or a very large pot) with water and bring it to a boil. Wash jars and lids. Put jars on a cookie sheet in the oven at 150 degrees until ready to use them. Put the lids in a bowl and cover with boiling water.
2. Wash fruits thoroughly.
3. Peel pomelo, lemons, and oranges with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Be sure to just remove the skin of the fruit, not the white pith. Julienne the pomelo, lemon, and orange rind into strips.
4. Separate the fruit from the membrane and discard the membrane and seeds. Chop the fruit wedges into small pieces and put them into a heavy bottomed pot.
5. Simmer rind, chopped fruit, saffron, fruit juices and water over high heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover pot and let it cool overnight.
6. Next day, add sugar to pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir occassionally until the candy thermometer reads 215-220 degrees F. At 215 degrees F, the sugar syrup may be pulled into brittle threads between the fingers. I'm not sure why you'd want to test it this way since the sugar is very hot. At 220 degrees F, when a cool metal spoon is dipped into the syrup then raised, the syrup runs off in drops which merge to form a sheet. (Read more about the various boiling stages of sugar syrup).
7. Remove from heat. Skim foam off and ladle into sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4" inch head space. Wipe rims, seal jars, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
8. Remove jars from water bath. Let cool for 12 hours. Label and store in a cool, dark place.
Makes 4 half-pint jars.
