Even marmalade

With citrus in abundance I wanted to make marmalade with the small oranges available in Mexico, called “naranjita.” I called my friend Linda Poverman who I know makes all kinds of marmalades with the citrus from the trees that line the streets in front of her house in Tucson,Arizona. She emailed me the recipe below – Linda’s recipe for grapefruit marmalade since naranjitas are not found everywhere) and then a second email that said “and of course a pinch of SaldelMar."

It occurred to me that adding salt to a marmalade isn’t what you might expect. In fact, it seems magical to discover how salt works with different flavor profiles – such as a citrus marmalade. Salt is a flavor amplifier so it does make sense that you would add it to even a marmalade. And while Sal del Mar does have a distinctive flavor of its own, it shouldn’t really be tasted in the food being served. Instead, you should add just enough to bring out the flavor of the food you are preparing. This revelation about using salt has inspired me on to write more about salt in the coming year. Let me know how you like it!

Here’s the recipe from our friend Linda Poverman using grapefruit:

1. With a vegetable peeler, peel only the outer yellow layer from the grapefruit and finely chop.

2. Juice the grapefruit or separate the wedges and remove the seeds.

3. Try to include as much of the pulp as possible and have a little extra grapefruit juice ready on the side if the mixture seems too thicken as it cooks.

4. Put the peel and the pulp in a pot and let it boil for 20 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn't get dry and adding more juice if necessary. Measure the peel/pulp after the 20 minutes of cooking and add the same amount of sugar to the pot.

5. Add a pinch or two of Sal del Mar 6. Cook at a rolling boil for another 20 minutes, keeping an eye on the mixture and stirring now and then. 7. Have jars ready to fill while the mixture is still hot.