Seville Orange Marmalade

Seville oranges will only be available until the end of February. They really do make the most wonderful marmalade. The process is time consuming, but you can’t beat the taste. I have only used a microwave recipe once. Quite honestly the resulting marmalade was not good and it seemed just as time consuming. So, here is a traditional recipe.

Equipment

Ingredients - Makes 6 x 1 lb (350ml) sterilised jars

Method

  1. Put 4 pints (2.2 litres) of water into the pan.
  2. Cut the lemon and oranges in half and squeeze the juice out of them. Add the juice to the water and place the pips and any bits of pith on the square of muslin which should be laid over a bowl.
  3. Cut the orange peel into quarters with a sharp knife, and then cut each quarter into thin shreds and add them to the water. Any pips or spare pith should go on to the muslin.
  4. Tie the pips and pith up loosely in the muslin to form a little bag, and suspend in the water. Secure this to the pan handle with a piece of string.
  5. Bring the liquid up to simmering point and simmer gently, uncovered, for 2 hours or until the peel is completely soft (test a piece carefully by pressing it between your finger and thumb).
  6. Meanwhile chill a saucer in the fridge.
  7. Remove the bag of pips and leave it to cool in a bowl.
  8. Pour the sugar into the pan and stir occasionally over a low heat until all the crystals have dissolved.
  9. Squeeze the bag of pips over the pan to extract all of the sticky, jelly-like substance that contains the pectin.
  10. Bring the mixture to the boil and continue to boil for 15 mins.
  11. Spoon a little of the marmalade on to the cooled saucer and put in the fridge for a few minutes to cool.
  12. Once cool push you finger through the mixture. If the skin crinkles up in front of your finger, setting point has been reached. If not, continue to boil the marmalade and give it the same test at about 5-10-minute intervals until it does set.
  13. Once setting point is reached, remove the pan from the heat.
  14. If there is scum on the surface, stir in half a teaspoon of butter.
  15. Leave the marmalade to settle for 20 minutes.
  16. In the meantime, the jars should be washed, dried and heated in a moderate oven for 5 minutes.
  17. Pour the marmalade, with the aid of a funnel or a ladle, into the jars, cover with waxed discs and seal while still hot. Label when cold and store in a dry, cool, dark place.

Personally I can’t wait long enough for it to cool off before trying it on some lovely fresh bread!

Images

Seville Oranges

SEVILLE ORANGES

granulated sugar
GRANULATED SUGAR
Lemon
LEMON