Easy Organic Marmalade Recipe
This organic marmalade recipe has a bright and zingy taste to it, that will really help wake you up in the morning!
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Equipment
- 1 Large heavy-bottomed pan (use a cast-iron or a preserve pan if possible)
- 1 Measuring jug
- 2 Small bowls
- 1 Ladle
- 1 sieve (fine)
- 1 Sharp knife or kitchen scissors
- 8 - 10 Jars and lids
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)
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!
Servings: 8 jars