orange marmelade

In January we get Seville Oranges in the UK and so it is time for orange marmalade! It is the best time of the year to get that orangey smell in the house and just the colour and the smell transport to the sunny place of Seville.

I am going to be honest, it is not a recipe for somebody that is in a rush. It will take you half a day at least, but as a reward you are going to get orange marmalade all year round.

Seville oranges are bitter, inedible in their raw state, full of pits and with a very thick skin, that makes them ideal for making marmalade, as the white bit of the skin and the pits are full of pectin that will get the marmalade to set.

I have followed Delia Smith recipe, as I find her recipes reliable and thorough. I have adapted it to my tastes as I don’t like a lot of peel in my jam and I don’t like it thick. So without further ado, here is the recipe

COOKING & PREPARATION TIME: 3-4 HOURS

INGREDIENTS for 11 x 400gr jars

1.5kg Seville oranges

2 kg granulated sugar

2 lemons

2.2 ltr water

• Start with cutting the oranges and lemons in half and getting the juice out of them
• Place the orange and lemon halves and any pulp with the pits that doesnt go through the juicer into a muslin cloth
• Measure the water and put in a big pot, and place the muslin cloth inside it, make sure you tie it at the end, so all the contents dont go into the water and juice
• Bring the pot to boil, then turn to a simmer for 2 hours, so that the peels become soft
• After 2 hours, place the muslin in a bowl and allow the contents to cool down
• Set aside 8-10 half oranges, remove as much as the white skin as you can with a spoon and place the white bits in the muslin again
• Cut the orange skin into very thin slices and put in the water left from boiling
• Add the granulated sugar into the pot as well and stir.
• Start sterilising the jars, by pouring boiling water in it and then place them upside down in the oven at 200 C/ 375F until they are dry and set aside
• When the content of the muslin cloth are cool, you need to squeeze the life out of it!
• You want to get as much pulp as possible, so you squeeze the muslin, collect the pulp that comes out of the cloth and add to the pot
• Once you are done with that, bring the pot to boil, dissolving the sugar
• Once it boils, stir well and turn down to a simmer and start timing to 15 mins
• Now put a 2 little plates or ramekins in the freezer
• Once the 15 mins are over, start testing if the jam is set
• Take one plate out of freezer, place half teaspoon of the jam on it and place the plate in the fridge
• Keep simmering the marmelade
• After 2 mins take the plate out of the fridge and with your finger push the mixture: if it has a crinkly skin, it is set
• If not, keep on simmering and retest after 3-4 mins, until it looks set as described above
• There is also a video on my YouTube channel, In2 Health, that shows the process
• Once ready, place in the cleaned and sterilised jars
• The jam will keep for 1-2 years

NUTRITIONAL VALUE PER 100gr
energy kcal	174.7
fat	0.0
of which saturated	0.0
carbohydrates	45.7
of which sugars	44.6
fibre	1.0
protein	0.3
salt	0.0