Campari Jelly


It was Christmas, and I wanted to make German jelly sandwich cookies. Instead of some ordianry jelly, I thought a Campari jelly would be a nice variant. I looked on Google for a recipe a Campari jelly, and there were a lot, but they all used gelatin which requires refrigeration. I needed a pectin-based, not a gelatin-based jelly.
The nearest grocery store didn't have any pectin, so I looked around for alternatives. December is Clementine season, citrus fruits are high in pectin, and I figured that the flavors would go well together. I wound up making a clementine-Campari marmalade, which turned out be tasty. If you like Campari, that is.
  • Wash Clementines, remove the little green stem, quarter them and remove any seeds.
  • Blenderize to a pulp. Make a note of how much you have by volume.
  • Add 125% of that volume in Campari.
  • Simmer, covered, for half an hour.
  • Add 150% of that original volume in sugar.
  • Boil, uncovered, for 10-20 minutes, until a dollop of the jelly dropped on a pre-chilled plate is thick enough for your purpose.
  • Refrigerate, or process half-pint jars in a hot water bath for five minutes.

    VARIANT:

    If you want a clear jelly, you have two choices. The lazy easy way is to strain the jelly through a fine sieve or a chinoise or cloth before jarring it. The other option is to juice the clementines, chop up the peels and membranes, and boil the peels and membranes in a cloth bag along with everything else. The first method results in an almost clear jelly, you have to use the second method if you want a glass-clear jelly.
    Here are the cookies. The orangey ones in the middle are the clementine and Campari ones. The lighter ones at the top are made with a lime marmalade, the darker ones at the bottom are cranberry. The marmalade recipe is basically the same for all three kinds: simmer the acidic fruit with liquid, add sugar, boil until jelled.

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