Seville Orange Marmalade

I think one of my favourite things to do on a cold January day is to make marmalade.  It's become a bit of a yearly tradition.  I personally like Seville Orange because of the slight bitterness combined with the sweet sugar.  Last year I felt mine had a bit too much peel in it - every time I put a dollop on my toast, I seemed to have more peel than jam, so this year I tweaked my recipe and made it with less peel and a bit more water.

Here it is....

I used 8 Seville oranges (just over 1kg in weight), 2 lemons, 2 kg sugar and 4 1/2 pints of water. You will also need a large heavy weight pan.  I use a maslin or jam kettle because I make jam and chutney through the year so it was worth me buying one and I've had mine for years now.

I cut each orange into quarters but only enough to go through the skin, rather than cut through the whole orange.  I then peeled each quarter away.  This was a new method for me.  I normally half each orange and the squeeze out the juice before cutting into shreds.  Got to say, this was a lot easier and cleaner.

I then cut each quarter into shreds, as fine or thick as you like.  Personally I prefer mine thin.  These were then added to the maslin or jam kettle.

I then squeezed the juice from each orange.  The best way was in my hands over a bowl and let the juice and pips fall into the bowl.  Additionally cut up the lemons and squeeze out all the juice from these.  The lemons provide extra pectin that helps the jam to set.  You could also cut the lemon peel up and use in your marmalade but I didn't for mine.

I then strained the juice through a sieve into the jam kettle and placed all the pith and pips (including from the lemons) into a muslin cloth that was then tied up and placed in the jam kettle along with the juice and shredded peel.

Add the water ( I used a little extra than the 4 pints my recipe specified) and bring everything to the boil.  Simmer for about one and half hours to two hours until the peel is soft and easily breaks in half with a spoon (yours could be less time so keep checking).  Once the peel is soft, remove the muslin cloth full of pith and place in a bowl.  What you need to do now is squeeze as much of the valuable pectin out of this as possible into the jam kettle.  I put on rubber gloves and did this as it is quite hot.  Some recipes suggest squeezing between two tea plates..  When you think you've got out all of the jelly like substance, it's time for the sugar.

Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.  To check it's dissolved coat the back of a wooden spoon.  If it's clear then the sugar has dissolved, if it's grainy then stir again and wait until it is.  If the sugar isn't dissolved properly then the marmalade will taste grainy.

NB: I used 2 kg of sugar.  My marmalade is quite sweet.  If you want it less sweet then I suggest you don't use quite the whole 2kg.

Once the sugar has dissolved then you need to bring the marmalade to a rolling boil.  At the same time, pop some small saucers or plates into the freezer to cool right down.  You will need these to test if your marmalade is set.  Boil the marmalade for at least 15 mins then start testing the set.  Bring a plate out of the freezer and pop a teaspoonful of marmalade on to it and put in the fridge for a few minutes.  Bring it out and push the marmalade with your finger or a spoon.  If you get a defined crinkle or rippling as if a skin has formed then it's set.  If not then boil the marmalade for another 10 minutes and keep checking until you have the consistency you want.  Be careful not to over boil otherwise your marmalade will cool in the jars and be more like toffee!  It's hard to be precise as it depends how much pectin is in your marmalade to begin with.  Mine took 25 mins in total, but it is quite a soft set.  I like it like that but it's not every one's taste!

Once your marmalade is ready, turn the heat off and put your ready washed jars into a low oven for about 10 mins to sterilise.  If your marmalade has developed a bit of scum (which is quite normal), then a teaspoon of butter stirred into the pan will disperse it.  Once your jars are ready, then it's time to fill them.  I've got a handy funnel, but you can just spoon directly into the jars.  Fill the jars, place a waxed disc directly on top of the hot jam (it helps seal it) and pop the lids on (I do this whilst hot).

The finished result!  Mine made about 10 jars but they were of varying sizes.  I then created these sweet little marmalade labels.  You can find them in my Etsy shop.

Now for the toast..... :)