Orange Marmalade

Preserves  

Ingredients

900 gm Oranges
1 Lemon(s), juice and zest
1.8 kg Granulated white sugar
2� l Water

Method

Put the water into a preserving pan. Add the orange and lemon juice. Put any pips and pith into a muslin square placed over a small bowl. Now remove any excess pith from the orange peel before cutting it into thin shreads and adding it to the pan. The excess pith should be added to the muslon square as it contains a lot of pectin. Tie the muslin square into a little bag and suspend it in the liquid. Bring the liquid up to simmering point and leave to simmer for about 2 hours or until the peel is soft.

At this point put 2 small plates into the fridge for use in testing whether the marmalade is set. Also put 6 1lb jam jars into the oven to heat - temperature 150�C.

Remove the muslin bag from the pan and leave to cool a little. Add the sugar to the pan and dissolve it completely. Once the bag is cool enough squeeze it to extract as much of the pectin as possible. You can do this by putting it between 2 small plates or saucers or using your hands. Bring the liquid to a fast boil. After about 15 minutes, test whether it is set by spooning a little onto a plate from the fridge and after a short while pushing it with a finger. If it forms a crinkly skin it is set. Otherwise boil for a few more minutes and then test again.

When it is set, remove the pan from the heat and leave the marmalade to settle for 20 minutes before pouring into the warmed jars and sealing.

Notes

The size of muslin square recommended is 23cm square. I always seem to need more than one muslin square to hold the amount of pith produced.

Variation

Use grapefruit instead of oranges.

Add stem ginger and a little ground ginger.

Acknowledgements

Delia Smith

24 Sep 2023
Shirl Seath