Grapefruit Basil Marmalade

Believe it or not, I enjoyed grapefruit even as a child. I used to have a half grapefruit as an afternoon snack. My dad would carefully cut the half grapefruit around the circumference so that I could spoon each juicy chunk out, leaving the bitter skin membrane behind. I admit, I’m definitely a big sweets fan and love sugary fruits and treats, but something about a cold, refreshing grapefruit just hits the spot on a summer day after sweating in the afternoon sun, like lemonade!

When considering what to make for this winter's blogger collaboration where grapefruit is the theme, I immediately thought of marmalade. I love orange marmalade and grapefruit marmalade is an exotic, sweet and tart flavour twist to this breakfast spread.

Have you ever wondered what the differences are between marmalade, compote, jam, jelly and preserve? I came across a very cool article on Serious Eats that describes the various breakfast spreads. If you'd like to delve into the technique and terminology, have a read.
Seriously, Serious Eats is hardcore, they even explain the FDA requirements for sugar to fruit ratio needed when making jam!

This is also where I learned that the word marmalade is derived from the Greek word, melimelon, which is "quince fruit stored in honey". And so, I chose to use 2 parts honey and 1 part sugar for my recipe.

Makes 500 ml of jam

Time 1 hr 30 min

3 grapefruit
1 1/2 cup high-quality honey
1 tsp vanilla
3 basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 cups of water

With a Y-peeler zester, remove a thin layer of the rind from 2 grapefruits. Slice into thin strips and boil in water for 10 min. Drain the water and repeat this 2 more times.  This helps to remove some of the bitterness from the rind.

Meanwhile, place meat and juice of grapefruit in a bowl, removing the seeds (the tiny seeds are OK), the skin membrane and the pith (white parts of the fruit).

Place the grapefruit meat and juice into the medium pot with the drained rind. Add the honey, sugar, vanilla, ground cloves and water. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to simmer for 40 min, stirring regularly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

After 40 min or so, bring the heat up to medium high, add the thinly sliced basil and stir regularly to prevent burning. Cook off the liquid for 10-15 min. Grapefruit tends to contain more juice than the average orange so the consistency will be more running at this time. Once it is refrigerated, it will be more gelatinous in texture.

Serve with fresh bread, toast or cheese and crackers.