Edible Gifts

Edible gifts are probably my favourite thing to create. So much love goes into them and I obviously adore food. So it's nice to gift someone something I am passionate about. I often make cookies for my neighbours and will always make my step dad and father in law some sort of chutney or jam. This year I have made marmalade and fudge. Good grief they are good! The clementine and ginger marmalade is just the right mixture of sweet and tangy. What a lovely feeling though, to think someone might be starting their day with an edible gift you have made? I will be giving this to college friends, my step dad and my aunt. Clementine and ginger is such a beautiful combination, you can also find it here in my bucks fizz. You will need a sugar thermometer for this recipe.

My top tip for making marmalade less bitter, is to boil the rind in batches of ten minutes. With fresh water for each batch.

Edible Gifts: Clementine and Ginger Marmalade

Serves: 4-5 300ml jarsPrep time: 30 minsCook time: 1 hour, 30 minsSetting time: 24-48 hours

Ingredients

• 1kg of clementines (around 14-15)
• 1kg of granulated sugar
• Juice of 3 lemons (including pips)
• 2 litres of water
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger juice

Directions

1. Prepare your fruit by cutting the clementines into quarters, this makes it easier to remove the skin without it breaking up into pieces. Remove the skin and set it aside. Remove as much pith (the white skin) as you can as this will make your marmalade less bitter. Chop your segments into half and pop them in a bowl as you work. You might want a towel or something to wipe your hands as the constant citrus can make them sore.
2. Once you have finished the segments, move onto your peel. Using a knife, scrape as much white pith off as you can. If you really like a bitter marmalade you can skip this part. Chop the peel into matchstick style pieces a few mm wide. Once you have done this pop all the peel into a pan of water and boil it in batches of ten minutes, for a total of 30 mins. So three batches. Draining and replacing the water between each one.
3. Once you have done this add your clementine segments and your peel to a large pan with 2 litres of water, the juice of the lemons and pop the pips either in a cloth bag or tea strainer.

 TIP: the clementine mixture can be put in a bowl, covered and popped in the fridge over night if you don't have time to make the marmalade in one day.

4. Cook for around 45 mins, drain, remove pips and then add back to the pan with 1kg of sugar. Bring it to a boil, the mixture must reach 105c, as this is the setting temperature for jam/marmalade.5. Once the marmalade reaches 105c, remove it from the heat and stir in the fresh ginger juice. Allow to cool slightly before ladling into sterelised jars. You don't want glass and hot marmalade shattering all over you.6. Pop on an a lid and make sure it is airtight, the marmalade will keep for up to 6 months.

Salted Fudge

So what is the second delight in these edible gifts I hear you say? Well, it is only the most delicious fudge ever. So many people have tried this now and they have all loved it and took some home. Turns out I need to make another batch before Christmas. This process is so easy, but let me tell you, it gets HOT. By no means are you to lick, taste or tip the pan in any way. You will get horrifically burnt and you do not want that. I'd advise you to make this out of the way of children if you can. Please, please be careful.

This fudge is calorific, but surely the whole point of Christmas is to indulge in the things that bring you joy? Fudge brings me joy alright. You could adapt this basic recipe no problem. Add three tbsp of whisky or a handful of chopped nuts maybe? You could even soak raisins in brandy and chuck them in. The possibilities are endless for edible gifts and you can adapt them to each person. This recipe makes a decent batch, you could gift at least 4-6 people with it depending on the quantity you want to split it into.

 

Edible Gifts: Salted Fudge

Serves: 4-6 portionsPrep time: 5 minsCook time: 10 minsCool time: 1-2 hours

Ingredients

• 2 x 397g tins condensed milk
• 250g brown sugar
• 150g butter
• Sea salt
• Lined tin around 9x7 inches

Remember, this is HOT! Please be careful.

Directions

1. Add everything accept for the salt to a medium size heavy saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil, mixing consistently so it doesn't catch on the bottom. Once boiling, insert a sugar thermometer and bring it up to 115c. Once it hits this, remove from the heat and pour it into a lined tin. Sprinkle generously and evenly with seas salt. Leave to cool on the side for half an hour. Then pop in the fridge for an hour to set.
2. When cutting into pieces, use a sharp knife warmed with hot water. Wiping and re-heating between each slice. This will help keep your edges sharp and stop the fudge from becoming ruined. Pop individual pieces in baking paper and twist to close.
3. The fudge will keep for 2 weeks in an air tight container or 4-6 weeks in the fridge.