Cranberry Pomegranate Marmalade (with Cinnamon, Port and Ginger)

December is here and Christmas is just around the corner! I’ve decided to make a delightfully seasonal marmalade, inspired by a recipe I found in the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook, but with a twist.

It calls for 6 cups of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. I had never juiced a pomegranate before and this was a really fun, messy experience. There are several methods by which you can do this. The one I chose was to cut the pomegranates in half and then ream them the way that you would a lemon. Keep in mind that juice will splatter everywhere! And pomegranate juice is dark red and will stain your hands, your clothes and your cutting board. However, getting the juice out of the pomegranate is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world! It is akin to squeezing bubble wrap. 

This was a very effective and quick method. Don’t worry if pomegranate seeds fall into the bowl. I found an interesting solution to this problem. Using a slotted spoon, I removed all the pomegranate seeds from the juice, placed them in a zip-lock bag and then squeezed the bag. I managed to get several more spoonfuls of juice this way. I used a total of five pomegranates and yielded a bit over six cups of juice.

I then continued reaming lemons. I got about 8 ounces of juice from two lemons.

In a large bowl, I combined the pomegranate juice with the lemon, three cups of sugar and a tablespoonful of pectin. I mixed the ingredients together until they were well integrated.

I then transferred the mixture into a large stainless steel pot together and then added the cranberries. I added enough water to cover the cranberries. Then I turned on the stove to high heat until everything came to a boil. 

After about 20 minutes, the pot began boiling and a layer of foam gathered at the top. I removed the foam with a slotted spoon.

At this point, I tasted the marmalade and it seemed too tart and acidic to me. It needed a little something else. I immediately got in touch with Mike, who was in the library knee-deep in math, preparing for finals. He suggested some cinnamon, some lemon rind and an alcohol of some sort. I had Port on hand at home, that a friend had recently brought over from Portugal (thanks Luciana!). So I introduced a few tablespoons of ground cinnamon, some lemon rind and Port into the mixture. I also added three tablespoons of freshly minced ginger.

I tasted the marmalade and it was delicious! I turned the heat down to low and let the mixture cook down for another half hour. When the texture of the marmalade was thick but still liquidy, I bottled it. It yielded 5 half pint bottles.

The flavor of this marmalade is rich, with a little bit of spice and tartness. So delicious! I can’t wait to start eating this, as Christmas approaches.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice
• 8 ounces of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 pounds of cranberries
• a bit of pectin
• 3-5 pounds of sugar (it depends on how sweet you like your marmalade/jam – I used about 3 pounds)
• 4 ounces of Port
• 4 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
• freshly grated ginger to taste
• lemon zest to taste