Marmalade - Seville Orange Marmalade

I just love seeing the first Seville Oranges when they arrive in the shops in  January.  Marmalade making is very time consuming but well worth the effort, homemade marmalade is the bees knees!

There are various techniques for making marmalade.  For my first batch this year, I made a simple thin cut Seville Orange Marmalade.

One thing to note, if you have not previously made your own marmalade, is that it does takes time.  You don't have to be stirring the pot all day long, but you do need to be nearby to keep an eye on things.  One solution is to make marmalade over two days, you can do all the preparation and boiling of the peel one evening and then add the sugar and test for a set the next day.  I find it easier to do the whole thing in one day, but I do start as soon as I return from the morning school run, and I just have time to pot the marmalade before I return for the pick up.

To make about 5 jars of marmalade, I used

1 KG Seville Oranges
2 KG Preserving Sugar
1 Lemon
2 Litres Water

First I cut the oranges in half, I juiced the oranges and the lemon.  NB these are not juicy breakfast oranges, and do not produce a great amount of juice. I poured the juice into my preserving pot, which contained the 2 litres of water.


I threw out the remaining lemon, but kept all the oranges, and  scrapped out the pith and pips, putting it  all in a muslin cloth.   I then tied the muslin cloth and put it in to the juice and water.

The next step was to slice the orange peel, I tried to keep this as uniform as possible, and it was time consuming.

I added the peel to the preserving pot, and simmered for two hours, until the liquid had reduced by about a half.

Meanwhile I put some saucers into the freezer, so I could test for a set.

Once the mixture had simmered and the orange peel had softened, I turned off the heat.  I squeezed as much liquid as I could from the muslin bag, before I discarded it.

I added the sugar, and once it had dissolved I brought the pan to the boil.  I then boiled the marmalade for about 8 minutes, and tested for a set.  It took a further 3 minutes for setting point to reach.

Once I had removed the scum from the top of the marmalade I potted it up in clean and sterilised jars.


I'll be making a second batch this week using the whole fruit method, and should post that next week.  If you're not sure about time constraints, remember that Seville Oranges freeze well, and you could make your marmalade at a time that suits you.

I made a loaf of bread, to taste the marmalade

I love simple ingredients

Halving the oranges

Don't throw the pips

Into some muslin with the pith

A spoon will really scrape out the pith 

I popped the muslin over a sieve to retain any juice

And tied it up

The orange juice

I wore the gloves, as I find the citrus juice gets into any
tiny cuts or nicks in my hands

Cutting up the peel

Before

And after boiling

Stir

Add the sugar

Make sure it dissolves

Stir and bring to the boil

My sugar thermometer is not completely accurate,
so I prefer to do the saucer test

I use wax disks between the marmalade and the lid
to keep it well sealed

Completely......

Delicious