UPDATE 7/26/12: I no longer use whey as a starter for my ferments (learn why here). I also no longer use Mason jars for my ferments (learn why here). I use Fidos and Pickl-Its exclusively and the improvement in the taste and texture of my ferments is unbelievable! I encourage everyone to take a look at the information regarding Mason jar ferments and come to a decision that best fits their family. I will be releasing updated versions of these recipes soon, as it applies to the Fido and Pickl-It jars.
Welcome to week 6 of my journey through 52 weeks of bad a** bacteria. How are you doing so far on your probiotic foods journey? Have you started eating more fermented and cultured foods? Have you noticed a difference in your health? I’ve been having so much fun experimenting with different recipes and I feel like my gut is healthier from the increase in eating more fermented and cultured foods! 
This week, I made some lacto-fermented orange marmalade, with a twist. Instead of the traditional Seville oranges that are most commonly used in marmalade, I used blood oranges and the marmalade is such a beautiful red color! This recipe was inspired by Sally Fallon’s recipe in Nourishing Traditions. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this recipe. Some people like it, others don’t. The most important thing to remember when making this is that it’s not going to be a thick, jelly-like marmalade like most people are used to. It’s pretty liquidy, but it’s tasty (I think), nonetheless.
Since I did a pretty in-depth look at the nutrition of oranges in week 2, when I made lacto-fermented orange juice, I’m not going to go into that in this post. How about just a few facts about blood oranges?
Blood Orange Facts
- Blood oranges are much smaller than your typical orange. The ones I used were about the same size as a mandarin.
- The dark red color of the flesh comes from high amounts of anthocyanins, which are a pigments common to flowers and fruit, but are typically uncommon in citrus.
- The flesh of blood oranges develop the beautiful red color whenever the fruit is allowed to grow with cool nighttime temperatures (think tropical regions during the fall and winter).
- Blood oranges originated as a mutation of the sweet orange, most likely in the 18th century in either the Orient or the Southern Mediterranean.
This is not the kind of marmalade that you want to spread on your toast in the morning. The best way that I found to eat it was in salad dressing. You can add it to any citrus vinaigrette recipe, but I used the citrus vinaigrette that I put on my roasted beet and feta salad. I just replaced the lemon juice with the oranges marmalade (recipe below).
Lacto-Fermented Blood Orange Marmalade
makes 1 quart
Ingredients:
10-12 organic blood oranges (depending on the size)
1 tbsp. sea salt
1/4 cup whey
1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
Instructions:
1. Wash the oranges well. Since you’re going to be using the skins, you want to make sure they’re organic and very clean.
2. Thinly slice the oranges. You can leave them in full slices, or you can halve or quarter them.
3. Place the sliced oranges in a wide-mouth quart Mason jar and press down firmly to remove air pockets and release the juice. I used my clean hands, but beware, the blood orange juice stains!
4. Mix the salt, water, whey, and sugar together and whisk until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
5. Pour the liquid over the oranges. If it doesn’t quite cover them, add some more filtered water. You want the oranges to be about an inch below the top of the liquid and the liquid about an inch below the top of the jar.
6. Cover tightly with a lid and leave out at room temperature for 4-7 days, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
7. Check the oranges daily to make sure they are still submerged below the liquid. If there are any spots of mold that appear, just gently skim off with a spoonn. The product is still fine.
8. By day 3, you should notice some fizzyness starting to appear. When I opened my jars on day 4, they were bubbling really good. I moved mine to the fridge on day 6.
Blood Orange Citrus Vinaigrette
makes 1/2 cup
Ingredients:
1/8 cup lacto-fermented blood orange marmalade
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
dash of salt and pepper
Instructions:
1. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until throuroughly combined.
So, tell me. Have you made lacto-fermented marmalade before? What’s your favorite way to incorporate it into your diet? Leave me a comment below!
Source: “Blood Orange“, Wikipedia
Delicious Obsessions was founded by Jessica Espinoza in 2010. Jessica is passionate about real food, natural living, and more. She helps people see how to eat nourishing food, without breaking the bank. Her motto is "baby steps" -- making small, lasting changes, one at a time, is the best way to ensure long-term success. This website contains "affiliate links" where appropriate, on which, I may earn a small commission or referral fee on your purchase. This has no effect on your price. The monies earned help maintain and support this website's hosting, maintenance, and the development of free content. The content shared on this site is for informational and educational purposes only. Statements/products discussed have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease or illness. Please consult your own health care practitioner before making changes to your current diet or before beginning any herbal or vitamin supplement regimen or exercise program.
Hi Jessica,
The link to the reason why you don’t use Mason jars states that the only safe way to lacto-ferment is in pickl-it jars. Is that what you are doing?
Thanks,
Sarah
Hi Sarah – Thank you for stopping by! From all the research I have done, I truly believe that the PI jars are the only way to get a safe, anaerobic ferment. While the Fido-style jars will give you an anaerobic ferment as well, they do not off-gas and the build up of gas inside the jar actually destroys the lactic acid bacteria that we are trying to cultivate. Since switching to the PI jars, my ferments not only taste better, but I don’t lose any batches to mold, slime, etc. I was to the point in my Mason jars where I was really unhappy because of the taste and texture of the ferment. Plus, it seemed to become moldy so much easier.
Does that help? Let me know if you want more detailed information and I’d be happy to compile some links for you!
Hi Jessie,
Thank you! Yes, that is helpful. So, in addition to being airtight, they need to be able to off-gas. Interesting. Can I store them in other jars in the fridge after the fermentation period?? And, do you happen to know if this process is related to soaking grains? I soak for instance wwf in buttermilk overnight to break it down. This doesn’t need to be airtight, right? Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate it!
Hi Sarah – What I do is make my ferments in the Pickl-It jar and then use one of the regular Fido jar lids for storage. I only have two PI jars, so I need to keep the lids free. The Fido jar lids fit the PI jars, so I just swap them out. I don’t think I’d recommend moving the ferment to a whole new jar. I think that would disrupt the flora for the ferment. It is best to keep it in the original jar it fermented in.
The process of soaking grains is different. For grains, nuts, and seeds, you are wanting to reduce the phytic acid. You’re not making a probiotic food. For this process, you’re simply wanting to reduce the anti-nutrients. Here’s a post I wrote on that, if it helps: http://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2010/11/soaking-your-grains-the-phytic-acid-connection/
Do you have an update for the recipe without whey?
Hi Sara – I do not have an updated version of this recipe yet. I am slowly working through all of my old whey-based recipes and updating them to be whey-free, but I have not gotten to this one yet.