Homemade Orange Marmalade in 10 Steps

by Ethical Emily
A classic seasonal breakfast preserve.
This recipe uses high pectin citrus fruit to create a beautiful thick, sweet and tangy marmalade. Only four ingredients are used in this step by step cooking method to get the best set and perfect flavoured homemade marmalade. 

Homemade Orange Marmalade in 10 Steps

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Prep Time: Cooking Time:
Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat
Rating: 5.0/5
( 1 voted )

Ingredients

1 kilo of large sweet oranges (make sure they are juicing oranges)
2 lemons
1 kilo of granulated sugar
1.2 litres of water

You will also need:

Two jam jar sized pots or double the ingredients to obtain 4 or more jars of marmalade.
Large cooking pot
Muslin bag or cheese cloth
Colander
Utensils
Large bowl
Juicer
Cutting board
Round preserve covers or plastic film

Instructions

1. Sterilise your jars either by putting them in boiling water or in your dishwasher. It’s good to keep the jars in the dishwasher until you have finished making the jam to keep them sterilised. The dishwasher must be on a 65 degree or higher programme. If you are using boiling water you might want to sterilise them a little nearer the end of the cooking procedure. You can also sterilise the jars in the oven by placing them in a cold oven bringing the temperature up to 130 degrees for around 20 mins.

2. Halve the oranges and lemons and then squeeze them into a container. Leave the juice in the fridge until needed. Scrape out all the pith and seeds with a spoon. Don’t throw away the pith or pips, instead put them in the centre of the muslin cloth and tie it up with a piece of string. This will cook in the pan with the peel to get most of the flavour out of the fruit.

3. Put the citrus shells and the muslin bag in the pan and add the water. Bring to boil. Half cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 1 hour or until the peel is soft. Don’t overcook them.

4. Tip the ingredients into a large colander over a bowl to collect the liquid. Press the fruit gently to get any excess juice. With a spoon scoop out any leftover fruit from the shells and add it to the bowl.


5. Make sure your shells are free of any pith or leftover mush and then transfer them to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice the peel into thin evenly sliced strips. These strips are the pieces of fruit you find in the marmalade so cut them to the size you prefer. We used all the orange and lemon peel but you can add as much as you like.


6. Now add the liquid in the bowl to the cooking pan, the juice left in the fridge also gets added to the pan along with the peel strips.

7. Add the sugar and heat gently, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved.

8. Once the sugar has dissolved turn the heat to high and boil. Stir every now and again to stop it catching on the bottom of the pan.

Boil until a set is achieved. This can take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes depending on the oranges, grapefruit and lemons as some citrus fruit will be higher in acid and pectin than others. It’s easy to over boil so start testing early. Over boiling will affect both the set and the flavour.

Start testing by putting the spoon in the mixture, if it leaves a film on the spoon it’s ready. Another way of testing to make sure its set is by putting a few plates in the freezer (for various tests). When you think it's set, take a plate from the freezer and place a spoonful of marmalade on the plate and push your finger through it. If it wrinkles and stays apart, it’s ready.

9. Turn off the heat and skim off any scum, while leaving it to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

10. When the surface forms a skin and the peel stops rising to the top stir to redistribute the peel and spoon the marmalade into warm sterilised jars.

Notes

This recipe also had a few grapefruits in it. You can choose as to how many grapefruits and oranges you
add to your kilo of citrus fruit, then just add a few lemons.

This delicious citrus preserve will keep for up to 12 months. Keep in a cool fresh place and once open, store it in the fridge.

Did You Make This Recipe?
If you made this recipe, tag @ethicalemilyfromtheheart on Instagram and use the hashtag #ethicalemily

My Friend Jo – The Master Preserver

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