If you don’t make marmalade now, you’ll have missed your chance for another year, because the all-too-brief Seville orange season is almost over. Fortunately, it’s a surprisingly simple task for a lazy day at home, filling the house with a gorgeous, zesty scent, and the cook with smug satisfaction at the months of pleasure to come.
1kg Seville oranges
1 unwaxed lemon
1kg soft light brown sugar
1kg white sugar
1 piece clean muslin
8 x 450ml jars, or assorted jars of equivalent volume
1 Preparation
Set a sieve over a preserving pan or other tall, non-reactive saucepan (avoid aluminium, unlined copper or scratched enamelware): it’s important to have enough room in the pan to allow the marmalade to bubble up without boiling over the top. Cut the oranges and lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the pan, using the sieve to catch any pips.
2 The peel
Cut the peel of the oranges to your desired thickness, from thin strips to coarse chunks; discard any green stalks and add any pips to the sieve as you go. We will keep those because they’re full of pectin, which helps the marmalade to set. Put the cut peel into the pan, white pith and all – don’t worry, this will dissolve during cooking.
3 Simmer gently
Spoon the pips into a muslin bag and close it up around them to make a pouch. Tie a knot in the neck to keep them in there (or secure with string), then add to the pan with the peel. Pour over two and a half litres of cold water, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for two hours, until the peel is soft.
4 Get the jars ready
Remove the bag of pips from the pan and put it in a bowl to cool until it’s a comfortable temperature to handle (feel free to leave it overnight, if that’s more convenient). Meanwhile, wash the jam jars and lids in hot, soapy water, then put them upside down in a clean roasting tray and dry them in a 160C/325F/gas mark 3 oven for 15 minutes.
5 Add pectin
Bring the pan of marmalade back to a simmer, then, using your hands, squeeze the muslin bag hard into it, being careful not to let any pips escape into the pan as you do so – a good quantity of gloopy, pectin-rich juice should come out, which will help to set the marmalade.
6 Add sugar
Add both sugars to the pan and stir until dissolved. Even if you have a jam thermometer, which I’d recommend, put a few saucers into the freezer to chill, so you can double-check the set of the marmalade later: you’ll be eating this for months to come, so it’s worth using a belt-and-braces approach now.
7 Reboil
Turn up the heat and boil for 10-25 minutes (depending on the dimensions of your pan), skimming off any froth, until it reaches 105C. To check it’s at setting point, put a dab of the marmalade mix on one of the chilled saucers and return to the fridge for a minute. If it crinkles deeply when prodded, and a finger leaves a clear line, it’s ready; if not, keep boiling and repeat the cold plate test regularly.
8 Cool and seal
Leave the marmalade to cool for just a few minutes, then, while it’s still hot, carefully spoon it into the clean jars, leaving a 5mm gap at the top. Seal immediately with a lid (or a circle of cellophane and fabric secured with string or an elastic band).
9 Additions
If you fancy marmalade with a bit of a twist, try adding a splash of booze (whisky and Campari both work especially well) or a generous pinch of spice (ground cardamom seeds, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla or chilli seeds are all tried-and-tested combinations). Stir any addition into the marmalade mix before decanting it into the jars as above.
- Food styling: Iona Blackshaw
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