How to cook an affordable marmalade in the shape of citrus fruit with just a few ingredients.
Marmalade slices are a classic treat made in the shape of a citrus wedge. Each little candy has a light layer that resembles the peel, and the transparent part – the pulp. It looks like a real lemon or orange wedge. It is tangy, enticing, delicious and also affordable!
Originally, Russian chefs learnt the recipe for marmalade from French confectioners during the era of the French Revolution. Its commercial production, however, began in our country thanks to businessman Alexander Abrikosov at the beginning of the 19th century. Marmalade was sold in elegant boxes, and wasn’t as inexpensive as the ‘slices’ that were invented more than one century later, in the 1930s.
Members of the older generation say that in the 1970s tin jars with marmalade slices sold out quickly in Moscow, and in other cities and towns these sweets were considered a rare delicacy.
Ingredients:
For the “peels”:
- 115g sugar
- 7g agar agar
- 95g cold water
- 85g corn syrup
- 95g orange juice
- 50g powdered sugar
Cooking:
- Make your molds from a simple plastic bottle by cutting it in half lengthwise. Wrap the two parts in plastic film to ensure that nothing leaks out. Cut two strips of parchment paper the size of the bottle halves.
- Mix the sugar with agar agar and whisk into a pot with cold water.
- Add the corn syrup and bring the mixture to a boil while stirring. Cook over moderate heat, stirring until it reaches 106°C. It will take about 5 minutes of gentle boiling.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add the orange juice. Whisk the sugar mixture and juice until homogenous.
- Divide the mixture in half and spread the first part thinly on your two strips of parchment paper. Act fast; the mixture sets very quickly!
- Place the second part of the mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the powdered sugar and whisk on high speed for about 5-10 minutes.
- Spread this mixture on top of the first layer from paragraph 5.
- Place the strips in the molds with the paper side down. Allow to set in the fridge while you make the inside part.
For the lemon inside:
- 160g sugar
- 7g agar agar
- 130g cold water
- 120g corn syrup
- 130g lemon juice
Cooking:
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 from the “peels” recipe.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add lemon juice. Whisk the mixture until homogenous.
- Pour the lemon mixture into the two molds containing the citrus “peels”. Try to fill the jelly to the top, but don’t cover the “peels” (try to keep it the same level).
- Allow to set in a cool place for at least two hours.
- Remove the two gelled strips from the molds and place flat side down on granulated sugar. Carefully remove the paper from each piece.
- Trim the excess “peel” from the sides of each piece and sprinkle sugar over both.
- Cut the molded jelly into strips that are about ½ cm wide. The pieces should resemble slices of citrus fruit with peels intact.
- Sand each piece with sugar and store overnight to allow the sugar to dry before eating your slices.
- Priyatnogo apptetita!
Read more: How to drink tea like a Russian in 5 steps
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