Apple Marmalade

[Biscoitos]

I never heard of apple marmalade before.
But when I found this recipe I had to share with all the Civil War "foodies" out there.
From an 1860 newspaper:

Apple Marmalade. To make apple marmalade, boil some apples with the peel on them until they are perfectly soft, which may be known by pressing them between the thumb and fingers; then remove them from the fire, and throw them into cold water; pare them; place them on a sieve, and press the pulp from the cores; the pulp, which has passed through a sieve, place in a stewpan, and place the pan on the fire long enough to remove the moisture, so that the pulp may become rather thick; take an equal quantity, in weight, of lump sugar as of pulp; clarify the sugar, and boil it to a good syrup; add the pulp to it, and stir them well together with a good spatula or wooden spoon; place them on a fire; and as soon as they begin to boil, remove them. The process is completed. When the marmalade has become a little cool, put it into pots, but do not cover the pots until it is quite cool.

 

[Georgia]

I never heard of apple marmalade before.
But when I found this recipe I had to share with all the Civil War "foodies" out there.
From an 1860 newspaper:

Apple Marmalade. To make apple marmalade, boil some apples with the peel on them until they are perfectly soft, which may be known by pressing them between the thumb and fingers; then remove them from the fire, and throw them into cold water; pare them; place them on a sieve, and press the pulp from the cores; the pulp, which has passed through a sieve, place in a stewpan, and place the pan on the fire long enough to remove the moisture, so that the pulp may become rather thick; take an equal quantity, in weight, of lump sugar as of pulp; clarify the sugar, and boil it to a good syrup; add the pulp to it, and stir them well together with a good spatula or wooden spoon; place them on a fire; and as soon as they begin to boil, remove them. The process is completed. When the marmalade has become a little cool, put it into pots, but do not cover the pots until it is quite cool.

Thanks for sharing- it sounds almost like a preserves meets an apple butter. And, to cook the whole apple and then press sounds like it would be much easier than the boil to remove skins, cutting of the fruit and mashing.
Guess our spice addition which was common in Colonial times took leave during the 1860's. It's always interesting to see the trends that come and go in cooking as tastes wax and wane.

We haven't replaced our stove yet and it's a 1960's special with a double oven set up. There isn't much height between the ovens for the stovetop so it's kept me from making jellies and preserves the past few years. I've debated about trying butters made in the oven and then processing in an outside propane set up we routinely use for Low Country Boil.

It's difficult for me to replace the ovens as they still function - granted, I have to adjust the temps based on thermometers in each of them. I dream of a double oven with perfect thermostat heat which would allow for pound cakes made with ease and also a gas stove with a true flame for cooking like I grew up with in my childhood home.

Gas ovens make keeping cast iron so easy as once washed, you can place the piece on the oven and the existing flame dries it out perfectly. Perhaps once we get to working on the kitchen we'll make the changeover although that will mean a propane tank as there are no gas lines this far out in the country.

Have you made this recipe? Any tricks you can share that you discovered?

 

[donna]

Sounds delicious. We usually have Apple Jelly or Apple Butter. Here is another to add to the Apple list.