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The Ultimate Cheese Board Accompaniment – Blood Orange Paste

After I’d made the marmalade, the cake, the jug of juice, the ice cubes and eaten my weight in segments, I had yet more of Redbelly Citrus’ gifted blood oranges to make the most of. I have quite a few fruit preserving and sweet making books that I’ve collected from my forays to the Lifeline Bookfest over the years so decided to leaf through them for inspiration. Surprisingly, there aren’t too many orange recipes other than marmalade but as I read, a plan formed. Why not make a Blood Orange Paste or cheese, similar to quince paste or damson cheese?

Fit For A King

Quince paste and other fruit pastes and cheeses go back hundreds of years as way of preserving fruit without refrigeration. In 1841, Ann Strickland wrote in ‘Lives of the Queens of England’ about Lady Lisle in the court of King Henry VIII offering a ‘gift consisted of quince-marmalade and damson-cheese… and proved to be acceptable to the royal epicure, that he craved for more’. There are quite a few mentions of damson cheese and marmalade in despatches about King Henry VIII so he was obviously mad for it. And it showed. In its simplest form, fruit cheese is a jam that has been further cooked and reduced to a thick paste ‘as hard as cheese’. It is usually set in a mould or potted in small jars and cut like a cheese, to accompany cold meat or (of course) cheese. In Spanish speaking countries it is known as membrillo and in Portuguese, it is known as marmelada. It is one of the original sweetmeats.

In recent years, quince paste has once again become fashionable in Australia thanks largely to the efforts of Maggie Beer. Maggie lives in South Australia, in the Barossa Valley and quinces grow wonderfully well there. What no doubt started as a way to preserve an excess of quinces turned into one of Maggie’s most popular products. It’s on cheese boards all across the land. I usually buy my quince paste from Pennisi’s ‘Continental Deli’ in Balaclava St at the Gabba. There, you can buy enormous flat tins of it, imported from the South American countries. Either quince or guava dulce de membrillo will set you back less than $10 for a 600g tin. Incredibly good value compared to those tiny little pots and you don’t need to be parsimonious when you’re including it on a platter for a party. But how about making some yourself?

Blood Orange Paste Cheese 3

Recipes, Recipes Everywhere…

I needed to adapt the recipes I had as damsons, plums, quinces and even pears have a higher ratio of pulp to juice whereas oranges are more juice than pulp. There’s scant information on the internet. I could find only two references to orange paste, one from the Montreal Gazette of 1939 and one of a group discussion board. You can imagine what the most popular return was when I typed ‘orange cheese’. That stuff they put on hamburgers in the USA. So, I freestyled it. The paste took a lot longer to reduce than traditional recipes. I put this down to the higher volume of liquid at the start of the cook. The resulting paste is consistent in texture with other fruit pastes or cheeses I’ve tried. It has an intense sweet orange flavour burst and a hint of bitterness from the pith and skin. I had hoped for a ruby paste as I was using blood oranges. However, whilst the juice was red, the inclusion of the skins muted the colour to a burnished orange.

This Blood Orange Paste is extremely easy to make. You do not need any special equipment other than a blender. All you need is time and the ability to keep on eye on proceedings as the paste starts to reduce and thicken up.

Blood Orange Paste

Blood Orange Paste Knife

Ingredients

  • 250g whole blood orange, skin scrubbed in hot water
  • 250g blood orange juice
  • 300g sugar
  • 500ml water

Method

  1. Heat the blood orange juice and whole orange chopped into rough pieces (skin, pith and seeds included) in a saucepan with 500ml of water.
  2. Simmer for approximately 1 hour until the orange skin is soft. When skin is soft, add sugar and stir to dissolve.
  3. Allow the mixture to cool slightly and process on high in blender in short bursts until the whole orange is pureed into the juice. (be careful when blending warm liquids as pressure can build and steam can escape)
  4. Return the puree to the saucepan and bring to the boil then reduce heat to a simmer.
  5. Simmer mixture on low heat for several hours until it has reduced and thickened, stirring on a regular basis.
  6. When the mixture has thickened to the consistency of thickened cream or tomato sauce, turn the heat off. The mixture will thicken further as it cools.
  7. Allow to cool slightly and then spoon into sterilised jars (tips here – at the bottom) or prepared mould or container.

Storing The Blood Orange Paste

I set the Blood Orange Paste in two different ways. The first was into small Ball Mason jars with a lovely quilted pattern that looks like cut crystal. With a swing tag, they will make attractive gifts. The paste was spoonable into the jars and thickened as it cooled. Over time, it will darken and firm up even more. It will keep almost indefinitely if preserved and sealed correctly in sterilised jars.

Blood Orange Paste trio

The second way was to pour it into a shallow container and to let it cool and air dry. I could have used a small tray or cake tin but I happened to have a thin ply cheese box from a recent soft cheese purchase, so I used that. I lined the box with some baking parchment, poured the paste in and loosely covered it. After a few days, I turned it out to take a look and could see it was already drying out and darkening. When it has firmed up a little more, I will put the whole box in a zip lock bag and store it in the fridge. The paste in the box makes an interesting addition to a cheese selection.

No matter which way you store the Blood Orange Paste, over time you may see some small sugar crystals on the edge of the paste. It is fine to eat. This is simply the paste crystallising as it is exposed to the air – you need to eat it faster!

Blood Orange Paste Cheese 1
24 comments… add one
  • Lizzy (Good Things) September 19, 2014, 8:21 pm

    Wow, I’m really impressed!

    • Fiona Ryan September 22, 2014, 10:53 am

      Thanks Liz – it worked out very well indeed so I was super happy with it.

  • Michelle September 20, 2014, 8:52 am

    A culinary addition to our Barossa trip I hope, Fiona.M

    • Fiona Ryan September 22, 2014, 10:54 am

      There will most certainly be a jar of this when we go to the Barossa. Or perhaps the Light’s Christmas gathering. Why wait?

  • Francesca September 20, 2014, 7:41 pm

    Like you, I have been eating more than my share of blood oranges and feel like a vampire. This paste looks fab. I now need to purchase a few more. this recipe is a must do.

    • Fiona Ryan September 22, 2014, 10:56 am

      I know how you feel Francesca. Last year I bought oranges to do recipes and then recived a case after the fact. LOTS of blood orange ice cubes as a result!

  • Shannan September 20, 2014, 8:54 pm

    Love!!

    • Fiona Ryan September 22, 2014, 10:57 am

      Very easy Shannan. Worth a go – even for non cooks.

  • The Life of Clare September 21, 2014, 8:22 am

    I love pastes with my cheese but I’d never thought of orange paste! Yum!

    • Fiona Ryan September 22, 2014, 10:58 am

      Necessity is the mother of invention Clare. Of course now I’m thinking ‘What else can I make?’. So much more economical than the commercial pastes. Right up your alley!

  • Glenda September 22, 2014, 2:57 am

    What a lovely idea, Fiona

    • Fiona Ryan September 22, 2014, 10:59 am

      Thanks Glenda. I’m always reading about the gluts you have in your own garden, so I know you can take this concept and make something with what you have. cheers xx

  • Jan Rhoades September 24, 2014, 1:41 am

    Well done. I hope I get to try some with some yummy cheese when you get back home.

    • Fiona Ryan September 27, 2014, 1:17 am

      Thanks. It was remarkably easy. I’ll definitely bring some over.

  • Janice July 5, 2015, 4:27 pm

    Thanks 🙂 have just modified this recipe for mandarin paste. I hope it works 😉 I blitzed it in my vitamix the consistency looks good. Was worried about all the pips but they blitzed up ok. They ground down to just a few brown specks. It tastes sweet and a little bitter. Can’t wait for it to set; perhaps months from now 😀 thanks again

    • Fiona Ryan July 7, 2015, 2:08 pm

      You’re very welcome. It’s easy isn’t it? Hopefully it won’t take too long to set and you can enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. cheers!

  • Rowena November 27, 2018, 1:15 pm

    This is exactly what I’m looking for. I can’t wait to try it.

  • Mary BYRNE September 17, 2019, 12:18 pm

    Hi Fiona
    Love your blogs, love this idea for Blood Oranges. Food in all its forms has such an interesting and ‘practicality-based’ history. Thanks for piquing our interest and enriching our experience of food with all your delightful background bits and pieces.
    buona cuciana!
    Maria the Little Cellar Rat @ HILL OF PROMISE WINERY AND CELLAR DOOR CHILDERS

    • Fiona Ryan September 18, 2019, 1:48 pm

      Mary – such kind words! I love the history and origins of food. There is so much to read and learn about and soon you start to realise that the world is very much connected by ancient trade routes, colonisations and voyages of discovery.

  • Claire falls September 17, 2019, 3:24 pm

    After processing the oranges, is it ok to put in a slow cooker? Just wondering. Thanks.

    • Fiona Ryan September 18, 2019, 1:58 pm

      I see no reason why not. Using a slow cooker certainly means it would be less likely to catch, though you will still need to stir it. If you are using the slow cooker, I’d suggest not having the lid on as you don’t want any excess moisture running back in when you are reducing the mixture. If you do decide to use the slow cooker, make sure you come back and leave a comment so we know how you go.

  • Elyssanda October 28, 2019, 12:52 pm

    would it speed up the process to only use say 250-300ml of water?

    • Fiona Ryan October 30, 2019, 3:40 pm

      Using less water means the mixture would not cook for as long. The pulp needs to be cooked very well, to remove any excess bitterness from the pith. You would also need to adjust the ratio of juice – too much and it will burn or become to sugary and crystalise. This recipe is about a slow evaporation. You can certainly try it with less water but I think it’s better to just allocate some ‘slow time’ in the kitchen, following the recipe.

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