Traditional Orange Marmalade

I love making jams. I find it a satisfying gift to offer to friends, and it’s just the best feeling to put your own jam on toasts you’ve made from your own bread (for example these quick and easy baguettes).

After a little digging around I found this Seville orange marmalade by BBC Good Food and got excited, though reading through the recipe the proportions seemed all wrong; 2.6kg of sugar for 1.3kg of oranges, seriously? So I decided to change the proportions and give it a go, and the result was absolutely stunning: golden, soft and sweet but only just marmalade. Better than any you can get in the shop, I promise. My parents have always been big fans of orange marmalade, so I’m really looking forward to the next batch to see what they think of it!

So here is how I made my own traditional marmalade:

Ingredients

• 1kg of ORGANIC oranges or about 3 large ones
• 3dl of cane sugar
• the juice of one lemon
• about 1.5L of water, or enough to cover the oranges (depends on the depth of your pot)

Method

Start by washing your oranges thoroughly under running water. It is important to do this well as any pesticides or impurities on the peel will otherwise end up in your marmalade. Once they are clean, put them whole in your boiling pot and cover with water. Weigh the oranges down with a pan or another pot if necessary (they have to be fully covered). Bring up to a low boil and cook for about 1h or until the peel is easily pierced with a fork (the original recipe said 2h but it took me barely 45 min).

Once soft, take out the oranges but do not throw the fragrant boiling liquid away as it will constitute the base for your marmalade. Let the oranges cool enough to handle and cut them in half, empty all of the insides back into the pot with the liquid with a spoon. Reserve 4 half oranges worth of peel (so 2 empty oranges worth) and bring to the boil for 6 minutes. Do not worry about the pips or pith, it will be strained out later. Add the lemon juice.

Meanwile, cut the reserved peel into thin strips. Once the pot has boiled for 6 minutes, strain the mixture into a large bowl and press with a wooden spoon to get as much moisture out of the orange bits as possible, then discard them.

Pour the liquid back into the pot together with your sliced peel and the sugar, and boil for 1½ – 2h at medium heat until the marmalade has reduced enough for a spoon dragged across the bottom to produce a mark that stays for a few seconds.

Let the jam cool enough to handle and place into a sterilised jar. Re-sterilise the filled jar if you plan on keeping the marmalade for longer periods of time, or enjoy straight away!