Seville Orange Marmalade
A slice of toast and marmalade was my Grandma and mum’s go to breakfast. Growing up, I remember them slathering it onto granary toast, always with a cup of PG to accompany it of course…
Although I swerved it as a kid (jam and marmite always won), I’ve grown to love its sweet, tart, tangy and bitter flavour - especially on a hot piece of buttery, crusty sourdough toast.
I used 1kg of seasonal Seville oranges to make this batch, with a large lemon (and quite the hefty sum of sugar). It’s chunkier than shop bought, darker, a little less sweet and so simple to make. Just three ingredients and a little time to let everything cook down to a sticky, jammy consistency. Seville oranges are in season until mid-February here in the UK and lend themselves so well to marmalade. Grab them whilst you can!
INGREDIENTS (Makes 5 large jars)
1kg Seville oranges, or oranges of choice
1 large lemon
2kg granulated sugar
2.5 litres of water
METHOD:
Cut the oranges and lemons into quarters and remove any visible pips (keeping them aside in a bowl). Place the water in a jug and squeeze the fruit juice into it as you cut the slices. Once you’ve quartered everything, work on slicing the quarters into thin marmalade-esque shards.
Place all the fruit in a large, deep saucepan and cover with the fruit-infused water. If you find the water doesn’t quite cover the top of the fruit, cover with parchment and a plate on top to weigh it down.
Place all of the pips and pithy bits into a muslin cloth and secure together (you can also use parchment, bundled up and secured with an elastic band and prodded with a skewer on the base). The pith contains pectic which helps the marmalade gain it’s texture so it’s important not to discard it! Once secured in a neat package, pop it into the water with the fruit and pop the lid on. Leave to infuse overnight.
The next morning, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer gently for around 2 hours (the peel should be very soft by this point)
Remove the bag of pips and pith and leave aside.
Keeping the heat gentle and low, pour the sugar into the pan, stirring now and again until fully dissolved. Squeeze the bag of pips over the liquid to ensure all of that liquid pectin goes into the pan. Increase the heat and boil for around 15-20 minutes until the marmalade turns to a jammy consistency (the temperature should read around 105C). This might take longer - just keep your eye on it and remove from the heat as soon as you hit that sweet jammy spot!
A good test is to get a plate nice and cold in the freezer, then place a spoonful of marmalade on top. Push it with your finger. If the marmalade crinkles, it’s a sure sign it’s ready to come off the heat.
Whilst the marmalade is in it’s final stages, prepare your jars - wash them in soapy water, then leave to stand in a warm oven for a few minutes.
Once ready, tip the marmalade into the jars, pop on the lids and label with the date. They should keep for up to a year and make wonderful gifts for marmalade on toast enthusiasts.
