Slow-Simmered Orange Marmalade with Seeded Whole-Grain Crackers

Info

• Active cooking: 20 minutes
• From start to finish: 3 hours
• Yield: 8 to 10 portions

Ingredients

• 4 medium navel oranges, rinsed, cut into very thin rounds, then roughly chopped
• 2 1/2 pounds granulated sugar
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• Hand-Rolled Whole-Grain Crackers (recipe below)

For the Hand-Rolled Whole-Grain Crackers

• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Combine the chopped oranges, sugar, 5 cups of water, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a saucepan.
2. Set the pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring now and then, until the mixture thickens into a gel and a candy thermometer placed in the marmalade registers 222 degrees F — roughly 2 hours 30 minutes.
3. Using a ladle, fill 4 hot half-pint canning jars with the marmalade, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims, center the lids, and screw on the bands firmly. Submerge the jars in a canner of boiling water, ensuring the water covers them by 1 to 2 inches. Process for 10 minutes, then lift out and let cool.
4. Accompany the marmalade with the Hand-Rolled Whole-Grain Crackers.
5. Hand-Rolled Whole-Grain Crackers:
6. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F with a rack in the middle. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
7. In a food processor, pulse the almonds until they are finely ground. Add the flour, salt, nutmeg, and cloves, and pulse briefly. With the machine running, pour in 1/3 cup water and the oil; process until the mixture looks crumbly and combined. Turn the dough out, shape it into a ball, and set it on a sheet of plastic wrap.
8. Roll the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Use a rolling crinkle cutter to cut out any shapes you like, then move the crackers to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart. Lightly brush the tops with oil and scatter sesame seeds over them. Prick each cracker with a fork to prevent puffing. Bake until golden and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Slide onto a wire rack to cool. Makes about 24 crackers.

Notes

When sterilized equipment is handled correctly, canned foods can stay in good condition for years. Sterilizing jars is the first step in preserving. Use glass jars that are free of chips and cracks. Canning jars come with glass, plastic, or metal lids that have a rubber seal; two-piece lids are best for canning because they create a vacuum seal during processing. To sterilize jars before filling them with jam, pickles, or preserves, wash the jars and lids in hot, soapy water. Rinse thoroughly and place them open-side up on a tray without touching each other. Boil the jars and lids in a large saucepan of water for 15 minutes. Use tongs to move the hot sterilized jars from the boiling water; sterilize the tongs as well by dipping their ends in boiling water for a few minutes. As a rule, hot preserves go into hot jars and cold preserves go into cold jars. Everything used when making jams, jellies, and preserves must be clean — including towels and especially your hands. Once the jars are sterilized, you can preserve the food. Follow the canning and processing instructions in the recipe, and consult USDA guidelines for sterilizing canned products.