My daughter Lisa came to visit for a bit and brought her juicer with her. While I had read about the nutritional value of juicing, my personal experience included only a few weeks of carrot juice back in the 1970s and occasionally enjoying the juice produced by Charleston’s Mission Savvy and sold by The Wild Ramp Market in Huntington.
Lisa quickly started keeping our produce drawer in the refrigerator well stocked, and then well used. Graham is our main cook in the family and he was told not to put the trimmings from veggies into the compost but into another container for juicing.
We have had interesting concoctions. For example, as happy as I was when I purchased brussels sprouts on their stalk, after using the whole stalk in one juice we learned it produces discomfort in the tummy caused by gas. Not to be repeated in that quantity.
Brussels sprouts
We like adding beets not only for sweetness but they color the juice a pretty purple. And carrots also add sweetness. Lisa uses the whole carrot, including the greens.
One morning we looked at the pile of pulp taken from the juicer and put into the compost and I started to wonder if there was any other possible use. I quickly found a recipe for carrot pulp-orange marmalade. As it needed 3 cups of carrot pulp, it took a few days to collect that and finally, with all the hoopla of the Thanksgiving weekend slowing down, I was able to process the batch.
I found an easy recipe on Mother Earth News from 1977 by Peter Ditzel. I needed to add a bit more water but I did not need to add any pectin. I was disappointed it didn’t turn out as bright orange as the photo on the Mother Earth News recipe, but it sure is yummy. This recipe yielded 6 pints of marmalade.
Carrot Pulp Marmalade Recipe
3 oranges
4 cups of water
3 cups of carrot pulp (only carrots, no greens)
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
3 cups of honey
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 package of store-bought dried pectin
Peel all three oranges and cut the rinds into very narrow slices. Cook the slices in four cups of water until they’re tender . . . then let ’em sit at least seven hours (or overnight).
Once the peelings have had a chance to stand for seven (or more) hours, add the carrot pulp to them and boil for 10 minutes. Next, chop the oranges into a bowl and remove all seeds. Then introduce the oranges, lemon juice, honey, and ginger to the pulp/peelings mixture and boil for 20 minutes more.
If — after 20 minutes — the marmalade has begun to jell on its own . . . terrific! Pour the mixture into hot, sterile canning jars and seal. Otherwise — if the jam hasn’t thickened-you should stir in the dried pectin at this point. (I don’t know why, but sometimes you’ll need the pectin and sometimes you won’t. All I can say is, when in doubt . . . use the pectin.) Boil the pectin-enriched marmalade for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, but continue to stir for an additional seven minutes. Finally, pour the marmalade into hot, sterile canning jars and seal.
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