Marmalade

Mr B has a client that likes marmalade; not just any marmalade but the marmalade that F makes out of a combination of the sour oranges that grow on our streets, and some fruits called Bergamot.

Bergamot here look like a cross between a lemon, an orange, and a toad (warty orange lemon shaped things, with a particular kind of smell).

So F has gathered up all the odd-shaped jars for which we have lids, and a bag full of the pilfered sour oranges (which turned out to be enough for three batches), and instructed Mr B to buy sugar.

The first batch made 11 jars.

With the smell of marmalade permeating everything, I fear I am taking on features of Paddington Bear.

Mr B's client, when sent a picture of the collection of jars (before production began), advised that there can never be too much marmalade.  Only the day before he had introduced his elderly and diabetic father-in-law to Tigger's Marmalade, and Oleg (for that is his name) wanted to know how he had managed to live beyond 7 decades without ever having tasted such deliciousness. 

With all the sugar that goes into marmalade Oleg might not be long for this world if he gets a taste for this stuff, so Valery's request to double production might just be an excuse to make sure Valery's own cupboards are well stocked before we leave Greece and he loses his supplier of sour orange marmalade. 


Mr B drives back to England again in March and will have on board an industrial quantity of marmalade. We haven't investigated what quantity will qualify as 'for personal use' and at what point Her Majesty's Customs officers might become interested in the potential revenue that could be generated by taxing the stuff.   

The oddball collection of jars should be enough to convince anyone it's homemade.  Failing that a "Tigger's  Marmalade" label with my scowling face (in a Paddington hat) will be certain to charm them.


Comments

  1. Uh oh. Suspicious marmalade trafficking alert!
    You look good in that rather fetching hat Mr T.

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  2. I bought the sugar, I've got the jars but two weeks later I still haven't got the marmelade. I usually prefer my marmelade a little sweeter but Oleg's enthusiasm has made me consider going down and picking a few of those sour oranges. You really can't have too much of the stuff 😅

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  3. I vote for the cat in the hat to be on those jars. and I would love to taste it. there is much I have not tasted and i am well past 7 decades and coming close to 8 decades. yikes. you look super cool in your hat. about leaving Greece, is that coming any time in the near future?

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    Replies
    1. It is never too late to try marmalade. In English marmalade is tart and even bitter along with the sweetness and always citrus fruit. Some cultures use the word to describe what we would call jam (non-citrus fruit and suger which, although great, tends to lack the tastebud attack quality of good marmalade.)

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  4. Hari Om
    Oh yes, a Tigger label will seal the deal!!! Hugs and whiskerie,s YAM-aunty xxx (who is totes jelly green with envy of Valery and Oleg...)

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    1. We would send you some but it might not survive the journey. From UK experience (where oranges are not falling off trees in the street) we found red grapefrujt marmalade to be an extremely satisfying alternative. We will send you the recipe if you want - 2 large red grapefruit (about 800grams) are all you need of fruit. Strangely red grapefruit aren't grown here, and any grapefruit are hard to find in the outdoor markets.

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  5. Oh yes, Tigger, you will definitely have to masquerade as Paddington Bear to get all that marmalade back into the country :)

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  6. Funnily enough when I was younger I hated the tart taste of it but now I don't actually mind it, weird how your tastes change as you get older.

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    Replies
    1. We call them sour oranges but there is bitterness as well. You humans eat weird stuff.

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