PAM'S NAVEL ORANGE, CLEMENTINE AND RHUBARB MARMALADE

Steps:

• 1. Prepare orange rind as follows: Wash navel oranges (about 4 or 5) and clementines (about 10-12 small ones). Using a sharp peeler, pare away only the zest of all the oranges and clementines. Reserve. Stacking several pieces of zest together, cut into very thin strips until you have 2 cups of finely sliced zest. Place the zest into a large saucepot or dutch oven. Add the water to the pot. (From this step, when I use the term oranges, I will mean both navel and clementine oranges.) NOTE: I have an OXO serrated peeler that was very effective at paring away only the rind/zest of both the orange types. I would suggest that you purchase one of these peelers as they are far superior to others and are razor sharp for ease of peeling any fruit or vegetable.
• 2. For the lemon, slice off a thin piece of the ends of the lemon to expose the pulp. Cut in half lengthwise and then slice as thinly as possible with a sharp knife. Deseed the slices as you go and place the deseeded thin slices in the pot with orange peel and water.
• 3. Cut the pith off of the "peeled" oranges completely. Remove any stringy inner parts (I find a pair of sharp kitchen scissors great for removing the stringy centers of the oranges) and chop oranges into about 1/2 inch chunks. Measure and add 4 cups to the pot.(it is ok if you have a little more or less)
• 4. Turn on the burner to medium high and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let set for 12 to 18 hours in a cool spot. Figure your gelling point by placing your candy thermometer in a pot of boiling water, noting the temperature and adding 8° to obtain your gelling point. This compensates for altitudes over 1000 ft.
• 5. Add cut up rhubarb to the pot and heat over medium high heat. Cook rapidly until the orange/lemon peel is tender. Remove from heat and measure the fruit and liquid into a pot large enough to hold the mixture plus sugar, that will not boil over when cooking.
• 6. For each cup of fruit/liquid add one cup of sugar to the pot and stir to dissolve. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.
• 7. Continue boiling and stirring until the candy thermometer shows that you have reached the gelling point established in Step #4. If you prefer, you can use the plate test to determine if the mixture will gel. Pour a small amount of the mixture onto a chilled plate and place it back into the freezer until cool (room temp) If you drag your finger through the sample and it leaves a clean mark with the gel slowly flowing back to its original form, it is ready to process.
• 8. Remove the marmalade from the heat and ladle into hot jars. Wipe rims and adjust two piece lids until finger tight.
• 9. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes or as per directions for your altitude. Remove jars from canner and place on towel lined countertop. When all jars have sealed, store in a cool dark place. Marmalades are sometimes slow to gel and may take up to 2 weeks to set up completely.