Marmalade

An exciting few days - making marmalade for the first time, something I've always fancied doing but never got round to. I think as it was I probably left it a bit late, luckily the local supermarket had bags of Seville oranges.
I promptly bought several bags and left them in a bowl for a while.

Researching recipes threw up a quandary, whether to use the 'whole fruit method' as recommended by Mary Cadogan on the BBC Good Food website, or to go with the 'slice the peel before simmering' version from my trusted "Good Housekeeping" Cookery Book.
In the end the second won out, purely because it was late in the afternoon and I didn't want to hang around waiting for oranges to cool before slicing them.
See here for the recipe.

Recipe Costs

£3.90 2kg Seville oranges
£0.60 2 Lemons
£2.51 2.7kg sugar
£7.01 Total
£1.55 per kg of Marmalade

First task was to juice the oranges and remove the pips and membranes, I microwaved the fruit for 30 seconds first (a good trick when juicing lemons) then after juicing scooped out the pulp with a cheap metal spoon (the cheaper the spoon the sharper the edge). I found a few cuts on my hands which I'd forgotten were there.


The pips and membranes went in the muslin, and the sliced peel was added to the water and juice along with the juice of two lemons (I froze the lemon peel, I'm sure it'll come in useful).
I was concerned that the slicing would take a long time, so went for a medium shred, but in the end in only took 10 minutes, thanks to a lovely sharp new knife I'd got for Christmas.

After boiling for several hours, reducing the liquid by half, I left the pan on the top of the stove overnight. One of the recipes I'd read recommended this, as otherwise the whole process can take a whole day.
It was a glorious smell to come down to in the morning.

I'm always surprised at how much sugar you need to put in, but it's soon forgotten once it dissolves into a fragrant, deep coloured, sticky gloop.
Reaching setting point took about an hour, I fear I may have overcooked it slightly, I only reached 210 degrees C on the thermometer rather than the recommended 221, but didn't dare push it any further. The saucer test indicated I was ready to put it in jars, and the finished marmalade set fine. I feel I may need to rely less on the thermometer in the future.


As a treat I added a tablespoon of whisky to several of the small jars and stirred it in well. Opinion varies about when to add this, but as I only wanted it in a few jars it was easier to add at the end (although I can see it may affect the consistency) rather than while cooking. Also I couldn't see the point of losing the alcohol.

Recipe Timings

1.5 hrs Preparation
0.5 hr Potting

2 hr first cooking
1hr second cooking

Taste Test

As suspected the marmalade was slightly on the thick side, but still fine for spreading.
It's a lovely dark colour and less sweet (more tangy) than some you might get commercially.