Recipes: Philippa Cameron’s elderflower marmalade

Lemons leftover from making elderflower cordial can be used for elderflower marmalade. Photo / Philippa Cameron

Otematata Station’s cook and the woman behind What’s for Smoko shares one of her favourite recipes with The Country.

Use this sweet marmalade as a gift to accompany your elderflower cordial.

Or simply smear it on your own toast for a gorgeous sweet taste.

If you’ve made elderflower cordial - this is a great way to use up the leftover fruit.

What ingredients will I need?

• Lemons and oranges that were used to make the elderflower cordial
• Sugar
• Water.

What equipment will I need?

• A large pot or jam pan
• Clean sterilised jars with screw lids (you choose the size)
• I like to keep glass jars with screw lids from products such as peanut butter and chutneys – they are perfect for repurposing or for making gifts
• Otherwise, just use any jam jar with a screw lid.

How do I know when the marmalade is ready to bottle?

Once the sugar has dissolved bring it to a rolling boil, and check for a jam consistency.

Place the liquid on the saucer from the freezer.

Run your finger through the middle of the marmalade puddle.

If the liquid does not re-join – it is ready to place in sterilised jars – if it does join boil for another 2-3 minutes and try again.

How do I sterilise and fill the marmalade jars?

Simply wash your jars in clean soapy water and drain.

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Place the bottles into the oven and heat for 15 minutes or until completely dry.

Carefully remove the jars one at a time and pour the hot marmalade into the jars.

Because you are pouring hot marmalade into hot clean jars the screw lids should seal. This will mean they can be stored for many months.

What do I do if the jars don’t seal?

Simply eat that jar first. It also has enough sugar in it to preserve it for a few weeks without it spoiling.

Philippa Cameron’s elderflower marmalade

This elderflower marmalade has a gorgeous sweet taste. Photo / Philippa Cameron

Prep time - 30 minutes

Cook time - one day

Equipment

• 1 large pot
• 1 jam pan

Ingredients

• 1 cup elderflower-infused lemons and oranges
• 1 peel of one orange (thinly sliced and chopped)
• 1 cup cold water
• 4 cups additional water
• Sugar (see the method to see how much sugar you will need).

Instructions

Remove any pips and blitz the elderflower-infused fruit. Reserve 1 cup.

Place the thinly sliced orange peel in a pot with one cup of water and boil for 10 minutes. Strain and discard the water.

Place the fruit pulp and cooked orange peel into a clean pot with 4 cups of water. Boil for 10 minutes and place in the fridge for 12 hours or overnight.

For every cup of liquid add 1 cup of sugar.

Bring to a boil until all the sugar has dissolved. Stir constantly.

Place a saucer in the freezer.

Once the sugar has dissolved, bring it to a rolling boil, and check for a jam consistency. Place the liquid on the saucer from the freezer.

Run your finger through the middle of the marmalade puddle. If the liquid does not re-join – it is ready to place in sterilised jars. If it does join boil for another 2-3 minutes and try again.

Ladle hot marmalade into hot sterilised jars. Leave a 5mm gap (1/4 inch) from the top of the jar. Clean any sticky marmalade from the screw band and place on the lid.

Leave the filled jars on the bench to cool.

Listen for a pop to know when the jar seals itself.

This recipe was reproduced from Philippa Cameron’s What’s for Smoko? website with approval. You can find more of her recipes on her Instagram page as well.