Sustainable Living: Homemade goodness with tropical fruits.
Summer in Mauritius calls for tropical fruits everywhere; and we mean, everywhere! Mangoes, litchis, passion fruit, pineapples, watermelon. Not only in the markets and with the eye-catching fruit sellers on the streets; a stroll around the neighbourhood of your host home might surprise you with dozens of mangoes on the ground, waiting as a compliment for you.
A delicious way to enjoy our abundance of fruits is to prepare a homemade conserve. It’s a simple way to save those ripe fruits from disposal, prolonging their life properly sealed in your fridge. This year we went crazy over early breakfasts with toast and mango marmalade. We share the recipe with you hoping you will love it as much as we did.
It goes the Mauritian way: no precise quantities, just your palate and love.
- Ripe mangoes, peeled and cut in pieces
- The juice of 1 lemon
- Brown sugar
You will need:
- A blender
- A deep pot
- A well-sealed glass container or mason jar
Instructions:
- Peel your mangoes, you will need at least 3 or 4 pieces but the more, the better! They do not forcibly need to be ripe but we recommend it so you don’t need to add much sugar.
- Bring your mango flesh into the blender and add the juice of the 1 lemon, to aid the blending process. Give short pulses, trying to maintain some pieces of mango to give a rustic feeling to your marmalade.
- Bring the blended mango to a deep pot into medium fire and stir. Add the desired amount of brown sugar here. We normally use ripe mangoes, so just 2 table spoons of sugar will be enough to enhance the flavour and balance the lemon.
- When the jam starts to bubble (boil) lower the fire and continue stirring. It will take some 10-15 minutes from here for your jam to acquire a darker colour and be ready.
- Serve your jam into a glass recipient and let cool down completely before sealing and putting into the fridge. It will acquire a thicker texture after it cools down.
Serve the next morning over a toast of brown bread et bon appétit!
