Blood and Honey

The hardest part about today's canning project was evicting a purring Oolong from my lap so I could head out to Lisa's house. This week, Honey Blood Orange Slices and Grenadine.

Honey Blood Orange Slices based on a recipe from Happy Girl Kitchen Co.  

Ingredients:
5 1/2 cinnamon sticks
1 T of cloves
5 pounds blood oranges, cut into slices (The oranges I purchased were virtually seedless, but if they ave seeds, remove and discard)
water (to cover oranges in a pan)
2 1/2 cups of sugar
2 1/2 cups of honey
1/3 cup lemon juice

In a non-reactive pot, combine the oranges with water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and boil gently peel is tender, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile in a separate pot. combine the sugar, honey and lemon juice. Heat until sugar is dissolved and transfer oranges with a slotted spoon. Add the spices. Add 1 1/2 cups of your orange water.  Boil gently until orange slices are well glazed, about 40 minutes.
Prepare the canner. Using a slotted spoon, pack hot oranges into your jars, leaving slightly more than 1/ inch headspace. Ladle hot syrup into the jar to cover oranges. Wipe rim and put on lids. process 10 minutes.

4 pints and 2 quarts oranges,  plus 2 pints of the syrup.

Spiced Grenadine recipe from the SF Chronicle can be found here Do-it-yourself Cocktail Ingredients .
Because Lisa has a love of the Scofflaw cocktail, we were able to do a taste test with Stirrings, a commercial brand, the Small Hand artisan product and our homemade recipe. Stirrings was much milder and very sweet, probably perfect for a Shirley Temple. The Small Hand version was intensely pomegranate. Our homemade version was rather adult, wit a strong spiced flavor. Next time, we may cut down a bit on the star anise.