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Dessert

Barberry Marmalade

A preserve made from barberries and sugar, boiled until soft.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Barberry Marmalade

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fruit

  1. Carefully strip barberries from the stalks and wash them in cold water.

  2. Drain the barberries and bruise them slightly, then place them in a clean jar.

  3. Let the jar stand for a short time.

Cook and set

  1. Place the jar in a pan of boiling water and steam until the barberries are soft.

  2. Remove the jar and press the contents through a sieve using a wooden spoon.

  3. Weigh the fruit and boil it rapidly for 6 to 7 minutes with 18 ounces of sugar for every pound of fruit.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Barberries
Provide the fruit pulp and tartness that give the marmalade its flavour and body.
Sugar
Sweetens the marmalade and, when boiled with the fruit, helps it thicken and set.

The step that matters

Boil rapidly with the sugar. Sugar must dissolve fully and the mixture must reach a hard rolling boil so pectin and acid can work together to set the marmalade. A weak boil can leave it runny.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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