Seville Orange Marmalade
Years ago, when I first started making marmalade, I worried that the commercial crops of Seville oranges would disappear. So I found a tree at a good nursery, and planted it in the garden.
It yields astonishing amounts of fruit, year and after. I made marmalade, I preserve orange slices in syrup, I use the fruit whenever I can in cooking (wonderful to baste roasting lamb or chicken), and I give lots away.
In the last couple of years, I have modified my recipe, and I think the result is even better. Some people soak the fruit overnight, but for me, four to six hours is fine.
To tie the pips and coarse pulp, I use a Chux, which I boil for a minute. Muslin was the traditional cloth, but that’s too hard to find.
Very important: keep a wooden spoon only for marmalade. Any wooden spoon that has been used for stirring onions will taint the marmalade.
Sterilise the jars in good time.
Ingredients
1.5 kg Seville oranges (five or six)
4 litres water
3 kg sugar
Juice of a lemon
Dessertspoon treacle (optional)
Halve the oranges and squeeze the juice out. Keep the coarse pulp and pips to one side.
Slice the orange halves into strips, and then across into dice. You need a big and very sharp knife.
Put the pulp and pips on to a square of clean Clux, and tie into a little bundle.
Put the cut up peel, the juice, the bundle of pulp and pips and the water into a very large container. Leave for at least four hours.
Put everything into a preserving pan and cook over moderate heat until the peel is very soft (at least an hour, maybe longer). The liquid will reduce in that time.
When the orange peel is tender, gradually add the sugar, stirring well after every addition. Allow to boil until set. Add the lemon juice after 20 minutes or so, and the treacle, if you want a darker colour.
Never go far from the stove. The marmalade needs to be stirred every so often, and then frequently as it starts to thicken. The bubbles change, and there is more resistance when you stir across the pan.
Test for set by putting some on a sauce into the freezer. Give it a few minutes, then take it out. If it wrinkles when you run your finger through it, it’s about right. (You’ll be aware of the set anyway, if you put the spoon on a spoon rest. Any residue will start to set on the rest.)
Sometimes scum rises as the marmalade is cooking. Skim it occasionally. If there is still some left when the marmalade has reached setting point, add a little butter (no more than 15g) and stir it in. The scum disappears.
Once setting point has been reached, let the marmalade rest for five minutes. Then pour into sterilised jars – I ladle it into a jug, and pour from the jug. Much easier.
Seal when very hot, or quite cold. I use Fowlers preserving wax to seal the marmalade.
Uses for marmalade? Add a spoonful to cake batters – particularly orange or chocolate cakes. Add a spoonful to orange sauce for duck or salmon.