This is another oldie but goodie from our archives. Both these recipes are perfect right now with the abundance of grapefruit around, these vibrant coloured fruit are rich in nutrients, antioxidants and fiber, making them one of the healthiest citrus fruits you can eat, and in my opinion, one of the most delicious. They’re also inexpensive to buy, grow easily throughout NZ, are low in sugar and have less toxic pesticides due to their hardy nature.

This tip is from one of our books, I haven’t tried it as yet but next time I have an abundance of fruit that I haven’t made into jam, marmalade, chutney or crumble, I’m going to give it a go. To store grapefruit without using up precious room in your fridge, place them in a wooden box and cover with clean, dry sand, don’t let the fruit touch each other and they should last for up to five months. This method can also be used for lemons, limes, oranges, mandarins and apples.

Best Ever Marmalade

2 Grapefruit, large

2 Lemons, large

1 3/4 Litre Water, filtered

Sugar, one cup per cup of pulp to taste

Grapefruit Marmalade Tea Loaf

120g Sultanas

12og Raisins

120g Sugar

120g Marmalade, preferably grapefruit

1 Egg

1 cup Earl Grey tea

2 tsp Baking powder

225g Flour

Directions

To make the Marmalade:

Chop up the grapefruit and lemon – skin and all – into little dice (about 1cm) collecting the juice as you go, then put in a bowl covered with the water. Leave overnight.

In the morning, boil for 45 minutes until it goes a bit pulpy and soft. Leave to cool a little, then pour back into the bowl.

For each cup of pulp, add a cup of sugar and put back into the pot and boil briskly until it reaches setting point. To tell it’s reached this point, take a spoonful out and put on a cold saucer. When you run your finger through the puddle, there should be a clear channel left which doesn’t fill up.

Pour into sterilised jars. You can do this by washing them well and putting them in the oven on 110C for 10 minutes. Boil lids in a pot of boiling water for the same time. This recipe makes enough for about six 250ml jars.

To make the Grapefruit Marmalade Tea Loaf:

Before you go to bed, soak the sultanas, raisins, sugar and marmalade in a bowl with the hot tea.

In the morning, beat in the egg and sift in the dry ingredients.

Grease and flour your loaf tin thoroughly and pour the mixture in. Cook at 170C for an hour, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Keep an eye on the top as it might burn. If it looks a bit dark, gently place a piece of tin foil on top until the rest of the loaf cooks.

This loaf will improve with age so leave it a day or two after cooking for maximum taste!

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