Happiness comes in a jar.

I’ll also concede that it often comes in a corked bottle. And a salt-rimmed glass. But for today, it’s jarred.

Last Christmas, my Secret Santa Megan sent me a jar of her homemade Pink Grapefruit Marmalade in my squee-inducing box of goodies. And it was gone in no-time (as was the tomatillo jelly). Never underestimate the power of a tablespoon of citrusy marmalade when combined with a warm biscuit!

After scraping the jar so clean that I could have put it straight into the cabinet, I set out to make a batch of my own with my favorite Rio Star grapefruit. I found Nigella Lawson’s low-maintenance method on ChowHound and really liked the idea of being able to throw a bunch of fruit in the pot and catching up on DVRed Revenge and Supernatural. And Alcatraz.

And Big Bang Theory. We have a small-ish TV problem in this house.

The first batch I made was pretty bitter – even for a grapefruit addict like myself – so I only included the peel from half of the grapefruit in the second batch – it was much more balanced. I also didn’t have enough sugar the second time so I supplemented it by scraping the very last drop of honey out of that little plastic bear (lazy shopping week… they happen… a lot). Excellent decision. The marmalade is sweet, has the slight hint of honey, and finishes with that wonderful grapefruit bitterness.

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Ruby Red Grapefruit Marmalade

A beautifully balanced grapefruit marmalade with a slight hint of honey.

Ingredients

• 2 large ruby red grapefruit, about 1 1/2 lbs (Texas grapefruit, if possible)
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup honey (or more sugar)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1-2 drops red gel food coloring (optional)
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Wash and quarter the grapefruit, removing any large seeds.
2. Place in a 3-4 qt pot and cover with just enough water to make the grapefruit float.
3. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, adding additional water occasionally to keep the grapefruit from resting on the bottom of the pot.
4. Remove from heat, drain, and let the grapefruit wedges cool.
5. Transfer 1/2 of the grapefruit wedges to the bowl of a food processor.
6. Use a spoon to scrape the flesh from the remaining 4 wedges into the food processor bowl, leaving the membranes and pith behind. Discard unused grapefruit peels.
7. Process for 10-15 seconds, until there aren't any large pieces of grapefruit peel left (I tried to keep the chunks smaller than a dime).
8. Return the mixture to the pot and add the sugar, honey (if using), salt, and lemon juice.
9. Heat over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
10. Bring to a boil and let cook 15-20 minutes. The marmalade is done when a small teaspoonful is placed on the cold plate and it forms a skin within 1-2 minutes that wrinkles when you lightly tough it.
11. Stir in 1-2 drops of gel food coloring, if using.
12. Remove from heat and ladle into prepared jars.
13. You can either process the jars in a water bath or just store them in the fridge if you plan to use them as quickly as I do (that's why I made such a small batch).

Notes

Yields: 1 1/2 pints (48 1-Tbsp servings)

Adapted from How to Be a Domestic Goddess

Estimated time: 3 hours

Nutritional Information
Calories: 56.7 | Fat: 0g | Fiber .2g | Protein .1g | Carbs 14.8g
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 2