What’s NEW in kitchen gadgets that every home cook needs to have in the kitchen?  Crisp™ “Tools for Healthy Eating”.  I received several of their new hand tools to try and since it was January, one of the best times to make homemade marmalade I opened up the Crisp™ Citrus Tool first. The first thing I loved was the ergonomic handle with rubber soft grip, which fits perfect in your hand.  I made a double batch of orange marmalade and zested a dozen pieces of citrus so I gave this tool a real workout.  Another great feature is it’s a  4 in 1 tool, it has a scoring blade, channel knife, and two zesting blades.  I wanted larger pieces of zest, about 1-inch long, for my marmalade so I used the top zester on my oranges and lemons.  If you wanted a finer zest this tool has a second fold out zester blade  built right into the handle.  It has premium stainless steel blades and is dish washer safe.  This multi-use Crisp™ Citrus Tool will become one of your favorite tools in the kitchen.  So bring out the Zest in your Kitchen!  Check out some of their other tools: Herb Mincer, Wavy Knife, Corn Stripper and so much more!

Orange Marmalade
4 medium oranges
2 medium lemons
2 1/2 cups water
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 box powdered pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter
5 1/2 cups sugar

Remove the colored part of the peel from oranges and lemons using the Crisp™ Citrus Tool.  Place the orange and lemon peels, water and baking soda in a large saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the inside fruit of the orange and lemon and cut into small pieces and save any juice.  Add to the peels after it has simmered 20 minutes. Cover and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Stir pectin into prepared fruit and add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Carefully ladle hot marmalade immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids and screw bands on. Process jar in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.  Remove and cool.

Marmalade is perfect on your morning toast, bagels or English muffin.  Add some marmalade to cream cheese and it’s perfect for stuffed french toast!

The recipe above is perfect to make Blood Orange Marmalade, just substitute 6 blood oranges for the regular oranges and lemons.