Preserved Clementines

There is an old saying, which you probably all are familiar, which goes 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade'.

I'm thinking of starting a new one that says 'When life gives you 1.5kg of clementines, freak out, Google, and ask The Oracle, that is Twitter, what the hell you should do with them'.

One suggestion that really stood out (as well the idea of making a clementine sauce for desserts, which is next on my food hit list) was preserving slices of clementine in sweet sugar syrup (Thanks Susan!). The uses for them then looked endless from my clementine tunnel vision point of view.

Unlike some preserved fruit, theses arent heavy. Or too boozy. Instead they boast a cleansing, freshness that is often sought around this time of year. I love how they glisten, fat from sugar syrup.

You can also preserve them whole, Kavey from Kavey Eats posted a delicious looking photo of her whole ones on Twitter. I suggest you go and have a good look (and good dribble) over her blog.

Ingredients
7-9 small firm clementines
125ml honey
200gr caster sugar
5 cardamom pods
3 cloves
25ml triple sec (optional)

Method
1, Cut the tops and bottoms off the clementines and discard the ends. Cut each clementine into three or four thick slices and set aside.
2, Set a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat and add in the honey and sugar. Add in 250ml of water and stir to dissolve the sugar.
3, When the sugar has dissolved, gently slide in the clementines and increase the heat to a boil. Try not to poke around too much as they are quite fragile. Pop in the cardamom pods, cloves and triple sec.
4, Lower the heat a little and simmer for 10-15minutes.
5, Transfer the saucepan contents into a heatproof jug or bowl, cover tightly and leave to sit overnight
6, Fish out the cloves and cardamom and discard.
7, Decant into sterilised jars and use within three months.