Cooking With Raspberries Series – Raspberry Marmalade

Berries as such aren’t easily available in most parts of India. So it is natural to not know what to do with a pack of frozen raspberries, which I picked up out of curiosity and was lying in the freezer for a couple of days. Well, I’ve been doing my bit of research and found that mostly these berries are used in the form of jams, spreads and the like, unless eaten fresh. I took that cue and looked up some recipes and the result was a gorgeous cup full of raspberry marmalade!

Now, thankfully, I’ve heard about marmalade and have tasted it too, but never tried making it at home. I though it may require those preservatives and all that. Yes, as usual, I was wrong! Berries, water and sugar – that’s all you need to cook up super-awesome marmalade – how cool is that?

First attempt at making the marmalade and did I own it or what? :p Yes, I am so very excited and every time I stepped in the kitchen to give those bubbly gorgeous red berries a stir, I kept on wondering, “why wouldn’t anyone make a perfume that smells as good? (or may be, there is)” I happily licked away a couple of spoonfuls while taste-testing and  saved the rest for the dishes I planned to include in “cooking with raspberries series”!

Raspberry Marmalade

YOU NEED

Frozen or fresh raspberries, 1 ½ cups

Water, slightly over 2 ¼ cup

Sugar, slightly over 1 ½ cup

Vanilla extract, ½ tsp (optional)

HOW TO

If using fresh fruit, wash and hull it.

The previous night, soak the fruit in the water, cover and let it sit overnight.

Next morning, cook it along with sugar on high heat. Boil for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Now, there is a trick to check if the marmalade is cooked enough. Take an ice cold spoon (preferably kept in freezer) and put a little bit of marmalade on it. Return it to the freezer for 2-3 minutes and when you flip it over it shouldn’t slide off.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Once cooled, put in sterilized containers and refrigerate. These can stay so for a month or so.

Amazing to go with breakfast breads and to use in cakes and cookies!