Seren's Secret Marmalade From Seren's Kitchen
Published On Saturday 3 Mar 2018 by Sticky Beak
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I was lucky enough to stumble across an absolutely amazing lady by the name of Seren at the Fine Food North Show in Harrogate. What initially caught my eye was her wonderfully quirky stall with its wheelbarrow, turf and clothes line replete with bloomers hung out to dry! We struck up a conversation and she told me that as well as producing her jams, preserves, and pickled onions, she was a food historian - not someone you come across every day!
Whilst chewing the cud together Seren told me a bit about her product development and very kindly gave me a jar each of her Gin, Lemon and Cucumber zestless jelly and Seren’s secret marmalade. Apparently as well as being a sweet condiment, the jelly goes fantastically well when tossed with warm New Potatoes.
Normally The Man Bird and I stay at the nest for Valentine’s Day and cook a steak dinner, so I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to grab some New Potatoes and see if Seren was right about her jelly. Wowsers, what a wonderful surprise!
These humble spuds were transformed into something extraordinary; a light coating of the jelly made them glisten seductively, and we dug (no pun intended) straight in. The jelly was fresh on the palate with the citrus note coming through and you did actually get a hint of the Gin too; bringing up the rear was the refreshing, clean note of cucumber.
The sweetness of the jelly didn’t detract from the Potatoes at all, and it was something just a little different to having butter on them. In summer, this combination would be fantastic warm or cold as a BBQ side dish :)
One thing I love about weekends is lazy, unhurried breakfasts and the freshly baked croissants His Nibs brought back to the nest were just begging to be partnered with Seren’s Secret Marmalade. You can’t beat a bit of indulgence every now and then, so I felt no guilt at all as I tucked into this fine shred marmalade with flakes of 23 carat Gold in!
Seren’s profession as a food historian really does shine through in this recipe, I have to say. This gorgeous morsel contains ingredients such as Quinces, Ambergris, Rose Water, and Grains of Paradise (as well as vodka!). You do get that intense orange hit from the sweet and Seville Oranges, but the slightly tarter Quince and Lemon assuage this element, so it isn’t tooth-tinglingly sweet. What we both loved was the fact that you can taste the Rose Water in this marmalade, making it just a little different than mass produced varieties.
I normally opt for the thicker shred marmalades as I find the peels naturally bitter edge stops them being too sweet for my taste buds, but Seren’s secret marmalade isn’t as sweet anyhow so it doesn’t need any help from additional peel. Definite thumbs up were given from The Man Bird and I, so Hot Wings awarded to Seren’s Kitchen for these two products.
A certain Mr Paddington Bear would definitely approve of this marmalade! :)
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