Malagasy Spiced Marmalade

Makes 2 1/2 pints.

Madagascar is famous for its vanilla and wild pepper, voatsiperifery, both of which add balance and depth to this grapefruit marmalade. Use it to fill thumbprint cookies, serve it with roast chicken, or dollop it on buttered toast.

2 pink grapefruits
1 teaspoon voatsiperifery
1 vanilla bean
2 cups sugar

Peel both grapefruits. Save the peel of one grapefruit and scrape away its pith. (Discard the peel from the other fruit). Slice the scraped peel into thin strips. Cut the grapefruits’ flesh cross-wise into 1/2-inch thick rounds and pick out the seeds. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds, cut the bean’s husk in half.

Put the grapefruit flesh and peel strips, along with the vanilla seeds and husk into a large, heavy saucepan. Add the voatsiperifery and 4 cups of water. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring the contents to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the mixture is reduced to about half or three-quarters of its original volume.

Stir in the sugar and let the marmalade simmer until it’s thickened and syrupy, about

another 1 1/2 hours. Pour the marmalade into scalded jars and screw on the jar lids. Leave the jars on the counter until they’re completely cooled, then stow them in the fridge, where they’ll keep happily for a least a couple of months.