Easy Organic Marmalade Recipe

Looking for an easy organic marmalade recipe? Try my very favourite recipe, that’s tried and tested and downright delicious.

Did you know that oranges are one of the most pesticide-contaminated foods in the UK? I used to never bother buying organic oranges – on the assumption that the peel was probably too thick for pesticides to get through. Then I learned otherwise, and I was shocked. Now I always try to buy my oranges organically when I can afford it.

The other month, I really fancied some marmalade and looked for a jar of organic stuff in the shops. The cheapest I could find in my local shop for a jar of organic marmalade was £8, which felt a bit extravagant to me. As we weren’t too far off from marmalade season, I thought I would bide my time and make my own organic marmalade to make my money go further.

And here we are – marmalade season! I picked up some organic oranges and managed to make 9 jars of organic marmalade for £8. That’s less than 89p a jar! Take that fancy shop-bought marmalade!

To help you make your money go furthe,r too, I thought I’d share my organic marmalade recipe with you today. It’s loosely adapted from this BBC Good Food recipe, and I’ve found it to be the easiest and best way of making marmalade.

There is no peeling, adding things to muslin bags, or fretting with a knife whilst trying to remove pith from the peel. I come back to this recipe year after year, and it hasn’t let me down yet.

It is rather time-consuming making marmalade, though – it takes 3 hours. However, it is a great way to while away a wet Saturday morning in winter. Plus, you’ll have enough jars of amber goodness to keep you smiling in the morning for quite some time to come, which makes it all worthwhile.

How To Make Organic Marmalade

Here are the full steps to make your own marmalade:

Ingredients

• 1 kg of organic Seville oranges
• 2 kg of granulated sugar (if you want organic sugar, then I’d recommend Billington’s)
• The juice of one and a half lemons (organic, if possible)

Equipment Needed

• A large heavy-bottomed pan (use a cast-iron or a preserve pan if possible)
• Measuring jug
• Two small bowls
• A ladle
• A fine sieve
• Sharp knife or kitchen scissors
• Several jars and lids (roughly 8-10 jars)

Instructions

• Wash your oranges, then place them whole in your large pan. Add 4 pints of water and the lemon juice.

• Make sure the oranges are fully submerged (I used a Pyrex casserole dish lid to weigh them down – see above!), and bring it all to a boil.
• Once boiling, let it all simmer for 2 hours, until the peel is soft and easily pierced with a fork. I found a lot of water boiled off at this stage, so I kept topping it up to keep a consistent level of water.
• After two hours, carefully remove your oranges from the water (I used a spaghetti spoon), then leave to cool. Do not discard the water. At this point, you should also warm up your oven to 140°C to sterilise your jars (if you’re using the oven method).

• Once the oranges are cool enough to handle, cut them in half (as above). Then, using a spoon, scoop out as much of the pith and stones from each of the orange halves as you can. As the oranges have boiled for so long, the pith should scoop out really easily. Place the pith and stones in a bowl and keep them to the side.

• Using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, cut all of the orange skins into very fine strips (as above). You should find this to be a quick and easy job, as the orange skin is so soft and thin.
• At this point, you will need to sterilise your jars and lids (see my handy guide on how to sterilise jars in case you need any pointers).
• After you’ve sterilised your jars, put all of the pith and stones in to the water, and boil for six minutes.
• Once boiled, sieve the liquid into a bowl using a fine sieve. Using a spoon, press down on the pith so that as much liquid as possible is squeezed out into the bowl. Once done, discard the pith, and return the liquid to the pan.
• Add the sugar to the liquid, and stir over a low heat until it’s all dissolved. This can take up to ten minutes.
• Once dissolved, add your orange peel, stir well and bring to the boil.
• Let it boil (a rolling boil with lots of bubbles) for 15 minutes. I found I had to stir my mixture to stop the orange peel from burning to the bottom of the pan. The mixture will spit at you when you do this. Do take extreme care and stand as far back as you can!
• Once 15 minutes is up, remove the pot from the heat and test to see if the marmalade has set. To do this, place a teaspoon of marmalade on a plate, and then place it in the fridge for a minute or two. If the marmalade is still runny after being in the fridge, then return the pot to the heat and boil for another ten minutes, and repeat the test. Keep doing this – boiling for ten minutes, then removing from the heat and testing – until it sets on the plate.
• Once set, you may need to skim any scum from the surface using a spoon. Leave your marmalade to settle for 20 minutes (not on the heat), and pop a ladle in a bowl of boiled water to sterilise it.
• Then remove your jars from the oven, and, whilst the marmalade is still warm, ladle it into the warm jars. This is messy business, and the marmalade and jars can be very hot, so do take care.
• Before sealing your jars with the sterilised lids, make sure you clean the rims of the jars with a clean cloth. Otherwise, they might not seal properly.
• Stand back and admire your handiwork before enjoying a well-deserved slice of marmalade on toast!

Storage Guide

Unopened jars of marmalade, when the jars have been properly sterilised, should last for around 12 months in a cool, dark spot. Meanwhile, an opened jar of marmalade should be good for around 1 month in the fridge.

Discard your jar/jars if you see any mould growing – this is a surefire sign your marmalade is off.

More Orange Recipes

If you are big on oranges, then do try my cranberry and orange-infused gin recipe. It’s a good one!

Printable Organic Marmalade Recipe

Want a printable version for easy reference? Here you go: