The Accidental Marmalist.

What are your measurements? Kind of a personal question, eh? But what I mean is, what measurements do you use? Kilos/pounds? Grams/ounces? Centimeters/inches? Celsius/Fahrenheit?

These measurements didn’t mean a lot to me until I started blogging. Until then, I had grown up with the American convention of pounds, ounces, inches, and Fahrenheit. They always worked for me just fine. But most of the world uses the other measurements. Sigh. Why can’t we all get together on this? (Meaning, why can’t the U.S. go metric?) Of course, we won’t. It’s just a dream.

I still use my American standards in the kitchen. And I get some guff occasionally as to why I don’t switch or do both. Some bloggers (both here and “there”) give both measurements, which is very kind of them. But honestly, it’s not that hard for a cook on either side to know both sets of measures and translate as one cooks.

But, on occasion, my head doesn’t work and I goof. For example, with today’s recipe for Tart Lemon Marmalade. The British recipe I was using called for 1 kilo lemons and 2 kilos sugar: a traditional 1-to-2 ratio for fruit to sugar. I thought I followed the recipe to a T, but well into the process discovered I’d used 1 kilo lemons and 2 pounds sugar: a 1-to-1 ratio. Happily, my error led to a flavorful and tart marmalade, which we prefer. Good accidents do happen.

~ David

33 Comments

  1. Ann Shoben

    March 25, 2023 at 7:16 am

    David, we met long ago at one of Diane BretHart’s delightful get-togethers, and I’ve been following your podcast ever since. It never ceases to amaze me. I don’t do much cooking these days, having celebrated my 90th birthday last October. What once was pure pleasure now has to be weighed in the scale of effort alongside other things I want to do. I’m not complaining, mind you, I still have my appetite for delicious food and every once in awhile I make one of your recipes. Your photography and your eye for composition make them irresistible. Loved loved loved the ravishingly beautiful photographs you shared with us from your trip to Spain. Regards to Markopedia,
    Ann Shoben

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      March 29, 2023 at 8:20 am

      Ann — I absolutely remember meeting you at Dianne’s, as does Mark. I, sorry you aren’t enjoying cooking any longer but it is very understandable. I’m thrilled, however, to be able to amuse you with my posts and photos. Stay well and perhaps our paths will cross again in the future.

      Reply
  2. Mad Dog

    March 25, 2023 at 7:49 am

    I’ve never heard of lemon marmalade befrore – it looks delicious!
    We (the British), went decimal in 1971, but in spite of all schools using centimeters and kilos, petrol was still sold in gallons until 1995 and the speed of cars is still officilally given and measured in mph. We are not fully metric and a lot of people still think in inches and pounds. Milk is still sold in pints, along with beer and eggs are sold by the dozen.
    In Paris fruit and vegetable shops still sell strawberries by the livre (pound).
    The Spanish also have some hidden measures relative to the Romans and Moors.
    European bottles of wine come in boxes of 12 too!

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      March 29, 2023 at 8:18 am

      Perhaps all these inconsistencies are good for us, Mad Dog? They keep our brains young.

      Hope you try the marmalade. Here, where citrus abounds, we make marmalade out of everything!

      Reply
  3. Colette

    March 25, 2023 at 9:17 am

    Oh mah leymons!

    I must try this and soon!

    Reply
  4. Jill W Becker

    March 25, 2023 at 10:09 am

    This looks wonderful. I so miss my Meyer lemon and pink grapefruit trees. Still unpacking……………..

    Reply
  5. Bob & Ursula

    March 25, 2023 at 1:02 pm

    In our multi-national household, to avoid battles between F and C (taking place so close to the kitchen knives) we’ve decided to use the Kelvin scale exclusively. Since almost nobody knows how that works, we’re free to pick-and-choose whatever quantities we want for the recipe. And like your recipe today, it just might work out quite well.

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      March 29, 2023 at 8:16 am

      You two crack me up. I would love to see how you retrofitted your stove for Kelvin!!!

      Reply
  6. Gerlinde de Broekert

    March 25, 2023 at 2:03 pm

    David, my husband picked some lemons today and I am going to make this marmalade as soon as possible. We just got our power back from our last storm.

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      March 29, 2023 at 8:16 am

      I’m so glad you have had your power restored — how long was it out? The storms have really wreaked havoc for you all. I hope you like the marmalade!

      Reply
  7. Eha

    March 25, 2023 at 3:17 pm

    Australia has been fully metric since my early married days . . . I must admit finding it difficult to understand why the whole world does not cook by the simple decimal system 🙂 ! An unreal true story – our local food princess Nabi Maehashi recently published her first cookery book ‘Dinner’. As she has a huge American following, she thought it worthwhile to rework some 160 recipes into Stateside measurements and ‘rewrote’ every recipe for American consumption – is there on a book tour at the moment methinks – truly a case of ‘If you can’t beat them, join them’ !!! Dollars and cents 🙂 ! Have never enjoyed lemon marmalade and love anything lemon . . . sugar and I are not particular pals tho’ !!! . . . thanks . . .

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      March 29, 2023 at 8:15 am

      I assume you meant Nagi in your post. Yes, her recipes are general in both. But as I said, for me she needn’t do that, as it isn’t hard to learn both. It’s good for our minds to make the translations! Amd, yes, I do remember you don’t like sugar which (as I said to Mimi) leaves more for me.

      Reply
      • Eha

        March 29, 2023 at 3:23 pm

        *smile* Apologies re incorrect spelling Milord! Broken glasses five years old and wretched sight seeing most print in its palest variation ! Hope the increasing activities over the next few months will fix! Strangely enough, according to Nagi, changing the book into pounds and ounces led to the rewriting of the whole tome . . . well, methinks the lady is on a book tour there now so we’ll hear! Oh watched Tom Kerridge’s ‘Tucson’ last night . . . loved examples of your restaurants, loved your scenery even more – see whether you can find it on YouTube !!

        Reply
  8. Pauline

    March 26, 2023 at 1:02 am

    David,I actually prefer marmalade that is more tangy than sweet so I often reduce the amount of sugar now anyway. I never thought of making lemon marmalade, but why not. I’m gearing up to making my cumquat marmalade before I jet away and might add this to the list. I love the word marmalist, never heard it before so there you go. Sounds a close relative to alarmist, which I often am when making marmalade and jam. Great post, thanks.

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      March 29, 2023 at 8:12 am

      We love cumquat (kumquat) marmalade — but all those little seeds drive me bonkers! And I have to admit that I made up the word marmalist… but what would one call a marmalade maker?

      Reply
  9. Ronit

    March 26, 2023 at 7:32 pm

    Using both systems of measuring, I could definitely identify with your story. However, as most jams/marmalade are much too sweet for my taste, I find this specific mistake definitely to my liking, especially as I’m very much into anything citrusy/lemony. So thank you for this reduced sugar recipe! 🙂

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      March 29, 2023 at 8:11 am

      It was the happiest accident—it simply needed a much longer boiling to reach the setting point. Worth if for a nice ], tart marmalade.

      Reply
  10. sherry

    March 26, 2023 at 7:46 pm

    Lemon marmalade sounds great, and I love the idea of less sugar. I wonder what the Kelvin scale is? as per the comment above… Some older people here still talk in feet and inches etc. You can take the boy out of the country … My fave marmalade is cumquat, I have to say. It just makes the best! but I’m sure lemon is good too.

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      March 29, 2023 at 8:10 am

      The Kelvin scale (I believe) is just a different measurement of heat/cold — absolute zero, and all that stuff. I think it is used in science and never for culinary exploits. The commenter is a neighbor and friend with a lovely sense of humor. Less sugar in preserves, jams, and jellies is a good thing, though you need enough to make it actually gel…

      Reply
  11. Mimi Rippee

    March 27, 2023 at 2:58 pm

    Oh boy. My mother ranted about the metric system for so long… and you’re right. We’ll never switch here in the US. You’re gonna fall over but I’m not a marmalade fan, nor am I a citrus fan. I’ve cooked with marmalade, and obviously I use lemons, but I have never made lemon bars or curd. There are just so many other flavors I prefer. And I don’t eat toast. I sound like a real downer! It’s just a carb thing! Great post!

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      March 29, 2023 at 8:07 am

      You always surprise me, Mimi – not so much that you don’t like marmalade or carbs, but that you don’t really like citrus! Well, more for us I say!

      Reply
  12. Velva

    March 28, 2023 at 2:21 pm

    I have often scratched my head about we Americans still have not joined the rest of world to the metric system. I think it had something to do with “New Math” back in the day. I get some ‘goff’ too from my European friends.

    Your marmalade looks delightful. A slice of toast, or even better a slice of pound cake that has been toasted with a slather of your lemon marmalade would be off the chain.

    As always, I enjoy your posts.

    Velva

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      March 29, 2023 at 8:06 am

      Thanks, Velva — I have never thought to try the marmalade on pound cake. What a great idea!

      Reply
  13. 2pots2cook

    March 31, 2023 at 5:23 am

    Agree to Velva; there are so many options to enjoy this one, wafels too…

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      April 5, 2023 at 6:33 am

      I would’ve never thought of waffles! I have some other ideas… You may see them on the blog soon!

      Reply
  14. Jeff the Chef

    April 5, 2023 at 8:32 pm

    of course my favorite thing about this post is “twiffler! ” But atop that, lemon is my favorite flavor and I do love a tart one! I know what you mean about measurements. When I cook, I tend to use Imperial measurements, mainly because I feel that you can adjust them as you go, so they don’t seem absolutely critical. . But w/ baking, I lean toward grams because they’re more precise and you can’t adjust to taste, except in the next go-round.

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      April 8, 2023 at 11:54 am

      I agree with you, Jeff. Lemon is my favorite dessert flavor (yes, above chocolate), closely followed by almond. I like lemon and savory and sweet dishes. I also agree with you about weighing ingredients in baking. It makes such a difference in the final results. And, seriously, who doesn’t love the word twiffler!?

      Reply
  15. Raymund

    April 11, 2023 at 8:10 pm

    I can relate to your frustration with the measurement system. As someone who grew up using the metric system, I sometimes struggle with converting recipes that use imperial measurements. However, I agree that it’s not too difficult to translate and it’s always helpful when bloggers include both. It’s great that your mistake led to a delicious marmalade – sometimes the best things happen by accident!

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      April 15, 2023 at 3:12 pm

      I sometimes think that if I keep trying to remember the conversions, it’s keeping my brain younger! Don’t know if it’s true, but it makes me feel better.

      Reply
  16. Pauline McNee

    April 20, 2023 at 6:36 pm

    David, I’ve replied to your query about the passionfruit curd. Just letting you know here, in case you don’t receive a notification. This is the last thing I am doing on my blog before I fly to France this afternoon. Exciting and a bit scary, all at the same time. I will still be reading posts hopefully while I am away and saving contributions for when I get back.

    Reply
    • Cocoa & Lavender

      May 3, 2023 at 3:44 pm

      Thank you so much, Pauline! I hope you’ve had a wonderful time in France

      Reply

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