My first poncirus marmalade tastes good.

[Citradia]

My trifoliata trees finally produced enough fruit for me to try making marmalade and it turned out to be surprisingly good! I basically followed the sure-jell recipe but pored off the boiled water from the chopped peels and just added the peels to the fruit pulp/ juice. It ended up being 2.75 cups of pulp/juice and 1.25 cups of water, sure-jell, 5.5 cups of sugar. The final product tastes like a strong yet sweet orange marmalade with no bitterness. There was no resin sticking to my teeth after eating the marmalade either. I just used standard poncirus trifoliata fruit for this batch, not the flying dragon.

[SoCal2warm]

If you want to be more natural than sure-jell, you can use Quince fruit, preferably Cydonia oblonga, but others can work too. The fruits are very high in pectin so it doesn't take that much.

[Citradia]

Evidently, oranges and apples, Rowan all have pectin and can be jellied without adding pectin by processing the jelly longer and by cooking the fruit with the orange seeds in a cloth bag to get pectin out of the seeds. I’m not afraid to eat sure-jell pectin as I doubt it’s plastic or something poisonous. I can process the fruit in 10 minutes with pectin versus 40 plus minutes without it, and After 5 hours of work I know it will set. But thanks for the tips, Socal2warm.

[Bomand]

I have tried to make marmalade from poncirus. Using several recipes from others and online. No matter what I do I get the poncirus aftertaste. The most edible recipe came from a friend....you take the poncirus fruit and put it in a brown paper bag. Toss the bag under the seat of your pick up truck for two months. After several months empty the fruit out and eat the bag........😁😁😁😁😁

[hardyvermont]

I basically followed the sure-jell recipe but pored off the boiled water from the chopped peels and just added the peels to the fruit pulp/ juice. It ended up being 2.75 cups of pulp/juice and 1.25 cups of water, sure-jell, 5.5 cups of sugar. The final product tastes like a strong yet sweet orange marmalade with no bitterness. There was no resin sticking to my teeth after eating the marmalade either. I just used standard poncirus trifoliata fruit for this batch, not the flying dragon.

I made this a few years ago and poured the water off several times as recommended by the recipe.  Is that what you did?  Never kept the pulp.  How did you separate the pulp from the seeds?

In final product different kinds of citrus skin were added to tone down bitterness and for more flavor.

[usirius]

@Citradia: Wow, that's amazing! I believe that the large proportion of sugar overrides the poncirus taste. I also made a jam with Poncirus fruits about 10 years ago. I only used the pulp, admittedly it was a bit difficult to remove the pulp from the shells and separate the seeds from the pulp. But with some time I succeeded. I had deliberately omitted shells and also tried not to cut through the fruit, but only to cut open the shell in order not to let anything of the unpleasant taste of the shells get into the flesh. I used half pulp and half sugar for the jam. The result: an edible sour jam, but it wasn't really a pleasure.

[will2358]

Eat the weeds has a recipe.
http://www.eattheweeds.com/?s=Sour+orange

[Citradia]

I peeled only part of each fruit using a potato peeler, only stripping off pretty yellow parts of peel and leaving the dark spotted portion. I used a pearing knife to filet the white pith from the strips of peel, then finely chopped peels. I only ended up with about half a cup of finely chopped peel. I boiled the chopped peel for 20 minutes with 1/8 teaspoon baking soda in 2.5 cups water, then pored off two cups of the water which ended up being all of the water since half cup of water evaporated. Poncirus does have a different taste than other citrus but I like the smell of the fruit and honestly don’t find the distinctive taste offensive, but I don’t like the resin that sticks to my teeth if I try to eat it out of hand. Removing seeds is easily done by cutting the fruit in half and just using the knife to pop the seeds out of the half fruit and put them in a bowl to discard in trash. Then I used a citrus reamer to extract the juice and pulp from each halved fruit. As the reamer filled with pulp, I scoop the pulp into a measuring cup and dumped the juice into a jar. I meant to let the juice sit in the refrigerator for a day to let the poncirus oil to rise to the top so I could discard the oil and have sweeter juice; however, I decided I didn’t have time to wait , do I just added the juice to pulp and boiled and simmered it for 10 minutes, added pectin, then sugar, boiled for a minute, removed from heat, and canned it like any other jam. The marmalade does have what I consider a rosy-like poncirus flavor but not bitter and really is just a strong orange flavor with a subtle rose-like quality, is the best I can describe it.  I’m glad I can actually use the poncirus fruit, and don’t have to strive to keep citranges alive to try to make decent marmalade.

[Millet]

Cindy & Citradia, very interesting post. Thanks

[usirius]

Can only agree with Millet,, thanks to will2358 and Citradia for such interesting recipe postings!
If you are interested, I will post an article from the 30's (written in German language) as a scan for the candying of the poncirus shells from the 30's, which used to be common in northern Europe, it may take some time.

[Citradia]

Cindy, I researched several different recipes and didn’t feel right about any one particular recipe, but I ended up taking elements of what I wanted from that eat the weeds one you mentioned, but ultimately used the Sure-jell recipe as the foundational guide. I liked the idea of 5.5 cups sugar to 4 cups fruit better than 4 cups sugar to 4 cups fruit.

[lebmung]

Can only agree with Millet,, thanks to will2358 and Citradia for such interesting recipe postings!
If you are interested, I will post an article from the 30's (written in German language) as a scan for the candying of the poncirus shells from the 30's, which used to be common in northern Europe, it may take some time.

Please do!

[usirius]

lehmung, will2358 and Citradia and all who would like more about the usability of fruits of Poncirus trifoliata (former botanical name: Citrus trifoliata) - here you are:

I was able to find the article I found years ago during my much more active citrus research period. At that time, there were no files, let alone scans and the like, everything was only available as hardware, often only via libraries that were mostly far away, i.e. via interlibrary loan. This is how I came to the following scientific paper about the usability of poncirus fruits.

"Über die Verwertbarkeit der Früchte von Citrus trifoliata. "
Von Dr. Alfred Mehlitz. (Eingegangen am 16. Juli 193), Mitteilung aus der Wissenschaftlichen Abteilung der Versuchsstation fur Obst- und Gemüseverwertug, Geisenheim a. Rh.,
, Seiten 568 - 573)


translated into English language:

"About the usability of fruits of Citrus trifoliata. "
From Dr. Alfred Mehlitz. (Received on 16 July 1931.) Communication from the Scientific Department of the Experimental Station for the Utilization of Fruits and Vegetables, Geisenheim a. Rh., pages 568-573


On the next six postings I will reproduce one of the six pages as a photo (scan) and a more bad than right translation, is certainly better than no translation at all - if you find any mistakes, please let me know (or keep it ;-) )

The page-by-page reproduction helps to make the reference to the original possible, in particular the tables, which are difficult to translate and to which reference is made, can then be understood to some extent even without translation.

[usirius]

Translation into the English language:

(Communication from the Scientific Department of the Experimental Station for the Utilization of Fruits and Vegetables, Geisenheim a. Rh.)

About the usability of fruits of Citrus trifoliata.

From Dr. Alfred Mehlitz. (Received on 16 July 1931.)

The ornamental shrub Citrus trifoliata, which is cultivated because of its rich and beautiful blossom, develops well in climatically favoured regions of South and South-West Germany. At the end of October and beginning of November, the shrub bears a lot of fruits in the shape of small Citrons. Since it is to be expected that in the future the ornamental shrub will acquire more friends who like to plant it, I have carried out studies on the usability of the large number of fruits.
My experiments were based on whole, ripe fruits, which I examined in a similar way to an examination of lemons for the usability of peel, juice and albedo. At first I could observe that the freshly harvested fruits from Citrus trifoliata deliver only very little juice when pressed. If, on the other hand, the fruits were stored for about 14 days, it was possible to obtain about 20 9'6 juice by pressing them on an ordinary household press.

If we now compare the composition of the juice obtained in this way with the composition of the juice of commercial lemons (Citrus [medica] Limonum), we get the following result:

Table 1.

[usirius]

Translated into the English language:

A. Mehlitz: About the usability of the fruits of Citrus trifoliata.    569

From the above comparison, we can see that the juice of the
fruits to the Citrus trifoliata is not as sour as that of the usual

Lemons. On the other hand, the total extract, the minerals and that the
Pectin content higher than in lemon juice. A very essential under-
However, the difference lies in the smell and taste of the two types of juice.

The juice of Citrus trifoliata fruits is very bitter and exceeds
In of this property even the bitter orange (Citrus [Aurantium] vulgaris).

The juice of the Citrus trifoliata fruits was used for several applications in the
I've been hired to do this. It was established that this would result in a
suitable for a wide variety of food preparations, according to bitter taste
with 65 % sugar.

The skins of the fruits can be used much better.
1 kg = 33 1/3 % shells were obtained from 3 kg of fruit, which were then

and then carefully squeezed out from the inside of the product.
Fruit pulpe, housing of the seeds and the largest part of the albedo
have been liberated. The shells prepared in this way, which had become considerably thinner

were thoroughly washed in cold water and finally washed into a

3 percent saline solution. In this condition, the shell stayed long. After a short time they took --- since they were gradually losing saline solution-- have been 'permeated' with 'light' -' and got a transparent appearance.
At the same time, they are used to absorb the sugar during the later
further treatment made particularly suitable -. Now, the processing of the
the pre-treated shells into a cake spice, which is then
of the type of the famous "citronate", "orangeate" or the one from cedar citrons
prepared to steal "Sukkade". For this purpose the shells has been watered so long under repeated changing of the water, until in the waste water there is no more cooking salt in the taste was perceived.

Then the shells were blanched. They were in a kettle completely covered with water and boiled. After a short time
the water that contained the last traces of the cooking salt,
the kettle again filled with water, and the shells were
again cooked bubbly for about half an hour to 1 hour. As soon as they are

the cooking was interrupted. Meanwhile, an approximately
30proz sugar solution prepared, with which the blanched shells in
were watered with earthen pots. Since the next day the sugar solution
had become weaker in concentration, she was pulled off,
boiling up to 33% sugar content and put back to the shells.
The sugar content was adjusted to the same way each
day by about 6%, until it finally reaches about
was 70 %. In this solution, the shells are probably endless storable.
The shells of citrus trifoliata fruits which have been stored in Sugar.
could be candied in the same way as citronate or candied orange peel
or glaze. The finished products were very aromatic, and had

[usirius]

Translated into the English language:

570     A. Mehlitz

delivered -- to small dice chopped up -- an exquisite cake spice,
Another, very appealing cake spice of strong aroma of sour orange could also be further developed according to the type of the well-known "lemon-shell-grated” to produce. The whole fruit was rubbed with a cloth.
carefully wiped off and rubbed on an ordinary kitchen grater.
abundant amounts of the finest crystallised sugar have been rubbed off.
With respect to the well-known, excellent gelling properties
of common citrus fruits, one could assume that also in the
fruits of Citrus trifoliata is present.
In order to clarify this, the following experiments were carried out:
From 3 kg of whole fruits, after pressing and de-pressing, the
1300 g, which is obtained from the kernel of the fruit.
the housing, the flesh and the albedo, which was used for the thorough
The shells were gutted. According to this, about 40,96 of the
are examined for their gelling value.
450 g fruit residue was first sharply squeezed out and then mixed with 4,51
of an n/50 tartaric acid solution. The extraction mixture has been
cooked in a covered pot for 1 hour. They were
2380 ccm extract, which was very viscous and turbid. To
the extracted extraction juice was used for a better further processing.
separated on a centrifuge. The juice from the first extraction had a
a specific gravity of 1,012, a pH of 4,30 and a pectin content of
of 0,62 g in 100 ccm. The pectin content was calculated according to
Ca-pectate determination method (1) according to Carre' and Haynes, which has been modified by me.
It turned out that it was not possible to convert the starting material into
of one or two extractions. From this the reason was the fruit residue of a three-fold fractionated hot
extraction. The examination results are showed in Table 23.

[usirius]

Translated into the English language:

About the usability of the fruits of Citrus trifoliata.                          571

A 4. qualitative extraction experiment with the same initial
material still resulted in a pectin-containing extraction juice. It
but was to assume that the pectin individuals of this extract were very?
was far behind the quality of those of the first 3 fractions.
so that I decided only to look at the exploitative relationships
of the first 3 extractions. The total pectin-
yield in the first 3 extracts was as follows:
The 1st fraction contained a total of 14.76 g pectin calculated as Ca pectate,
the 2nd fraction contained a total of 8,00 g pectin calculated as Ca pectate,
the 3rd fraction contained a total of 3,10 g pectin calculated as Ca pectate.

All 3 extraction juices contained a total of 25.86 g pectin, which was
have been removed from 450 g of extraction material, i.e. the
Fruit residue supplied 5.75 % whole pectin substances as calcium pectate.
and the calculations.
Very important was the analysis of the individual extracts for the
the gelling value of their pectin individuals, which, according to our present knowledge
depends on their methoxyl content. For this purpose a
series of gelling trials, in which the individual, under certain conditions
jellies produced under certain conditions in accordance with uniform facial
in terms of appearance, odour, taste and firmness.
have been characterized. In the 3 extracts, the substances required for the
pH conditions1 through the addition of tartaric acid
so arranged that the jellies produced therefrom always have a pH of
about 3.00 was present. Then, under consideration of the
Pectin content in the 3 extracts jellies according to the method of Lüers
and Lochmüller (2), in which the strength is determined by the measurement of their
tensile strength (tensile force) was determined.
A jelly is cooked under precisely defined conditions,
whose strength is measured by means of a tearing device. After
the cooking is finished, the hot gelatinized material is immediately put into a
filled into a ribbed cup, in which a so-called tearing figure is placed.
and then cooled in a cooling bath for 1 hour. The
Jelly solid and the tearing figure "gelled" in. After 1 hour the
cup is clamped in a so-called pectinometer3 and attached to the tearing figure.
a chain suspended, which runs over 22 rollers and at the other end a
a weight cup. The weight cup is included: shot or better
still loaded with mercury (4) which can be removed from a burette with narrow
let the tap opening run evenly in small droplets until


1 Mehlitz, A., The canning industry l2, 467-470 (1925).
2 Lüers, H. and Lochmüller. Colloid-Z. 42. 154ff. (1927).
3 To be obtained from the company F. & M. Lautenschläger. Munich.
4 Mehlitz, A., The canning industry l7, 624-626, (340-645, 654-657, 671—673 (1930).

[usirius]

Translated into the English language:

572    A. Mehlitz

the pointer of the apparatus which indicates the beginning of the rupture, see
slowly, but evenly. As soon as the tearing occurs
the load on the weight cup has stopped and the cup is filled with the
Contents weighed. The determined weight is an approximate yardstick.
For the tensile strength of the jelly and thus also for the gelling power.
of the pectin individuals in the extracts.
Concerning the jelly cooking I refer to my earlier
Work on the determination methodology of gelling powerful pectic substances 1.
The cooking process was now carried out in such a way that in the finished jellies
always 0.5 % Ca pectate and 60 % sugar at a pH of about 3.00
were included. The following results were achieved:
Table 3.


In terms of taste, all 3 jellies have the character of the
English "jam", that is those characteristically bitter
tasting orange jam, which is available in England in very large quantities,
but also in Germany in ever-increasing dimensions as a spread on bread
is enjoyed.
Very interesting are the gelling results, which give us a glimpse into the
the gelling value of the individual pectin pectins of the individual extraction
juices are graded. The tensile force values first teach us that the
The pectin substances are already isolated during the first extraction.
are isolated. The pectins of the 2nd extraction gelify much worse and the
of the 3rd Extaktion still somewhat less than those of the 2nd. By these results
the fruit already made with other fruits containing pectin
the new test drives.
Pure lemon pectin from the trade in powder form is supplied by the
Jelly cooking according to the above recipe and the described
cooking method has a tensile force value of about 500 g, apple pectin has a
those of about 300 g. Let us calculate the 3 extract fractions as follows


1 Mehlitz, A, The canning industry 17, 624-626, 640-645, 654-657, 671-673 (1930).

[usirius]

Translated into the Emglish language:

About the usability of the fruits of Citrus trifoliata.                                                      573


reason for the individual results with an average tractive force value
of about 430 g, we can see that this is present in relatively large quantities in the
fruits of Citrus trifoliata, the pectin has a high gelling
worth possesses. Which, in spite of multiple exploitation of the initial
material is higher than that of apple pectin. This results in the
possibility and suggestion to increase the pectin content of Citrus trifoliata fruits.
to use it in a variety of ways for gelling purposes.
value. The technology of today's pectin production offers a whole range of
a series of methods which make pectins in a more or less pure state
to win.

Summary.

The result of the above investigations is as follows:

1. Shells. Flesh, Housimg of the Seeds and Albedo of the fruit
of Citrus trifoliata can be used.

2. From the peel a very aromatic, bitter bitter orange can be obtained.
Reminiscent, durable cake spice in the style of the well-known "Citro-
nats" or "Orangeats". A cake spice of a similar kind,
in particular aromatic properties can be achieved by rubbing off the
peels can be obtained on the finest granulated sugar ("lemon-
grater").

3. Albedo. Fruit flesh and Housing of the Seeds contain
a lot of highly gelling pectin, which is easy to extract and can be added to the
can be used for a wide range of gelling applications.

[Citradia]

Wow, usirius! You put so much effort into translating this long post! Thank you so much. Such a lot of information. A lot of recipes we can try.

[usirius]

Hello Citradia, thank you for your compliment. But you gave the impulse, so thank you again!

It is astonishing that people have been working intensively on this topic "before our time" as well as on many other topics, which are lying dormant somewhere in archives. That is a pity. Such old works are often not to be found on the Internet.

I think it is also in the sense of such a scientist and author as A. Mehltz, when his work does not get further into oblivion, but finds again interest and attention, and thus once again comes to honour.

Perhaps our scientists, and perhaps also those who read along with us, will be able, with the support of this work, to find further astonishing research on the usability of citrus fruits and make it accessible to those with an interest in it.

[Ilya11]

Very interesting reading, thank you very much.
I was also inspired by the post of Citradia and tried to prepare poncirus jam.
I found that it is very difficult to extract pectin from albedo and get rid of its bitter taste.
So, I used quince fruit as a source of pectin.
I posted  a short report of it on French forum.
Google translation
Funny, Google was not sure how to translate poncirus and used a word pest as  approximation

[Bomand]

A good article that I enjoyed reading. Thanks for posting it. I have dilligently tried to use poncirus fruit for many years...... I give.....I can not bear the slightest poncirin in jelly, jam, peel or other.....I am doomed to know that there is no good use for poncirus fruit......except as a seed reservoir for more poncirus.

[lebmung]

lehmung, will2358 and Citradia and all who would like more about the usability of fruits of Poncirus trifoliata (former botanical name: Citrus trifoliata) - here you are:

Thanks for posting this, very valuable!

[Citradia]

Thanks Ilya11 for posting again about letting the oil settle out of juice in refrigerator over night. It’s been a while since I saw your other post about that,  and I thought the oil rose to the top, but I guess I remembered wrong. I tried letting it settle in refrigerator last year but didn’t notice the dramatic separation that your juice showed. I’ll try again next year if I get fruit.