Easy Homemade Marmalade

The season for making marmalade is short, from late December to March. Happily, this corresponds with the season for Seville oranges.  Grab them while you can, a jar of homemade marmalade on the breakfast table will please you year-round, so worth all this effort.

3 kilos Marmalade (Seville) oranges

2 large lemons, juiced

2 kilos sugar, warmed slightly in the oven on a baking tray

A pan large enough to hold all the liquid and oranges preferably, a preserving pan. A piece of muslin, and a range of sterilised glass jam jars and lids. 

1. Pour 6 litres of cold water into your pan. If the pan is already full from this, use a larger pan, you will need room for boiling.
2. Cut each orange in half and squeeze the juice into a jug, periodically, tip the pips and pith in the squeezer into a small bowl.
3. Add the juice to the cold water. Pop all the pips and pith onto the muslin and tie into a small bag leaving a long length of the string, this will be used to attach to the handle of the pan.  Shred the orange and lemon peel into thick strips. Don’t cut too thin or they will dissolve in the cooking process. I like them the thickness of a French fry.
4. Put the peel into the pan with the water and juice. Add the bag of pips and make sure it is immersed in the water,  tie the string onto the pan’s handle.  Bring to the boil then reduce to a steady simmer for 2 – 3 hours or until the peel is soft.
5. Remove the pips and cool slightly then squeeze as hard as you can over the marmalade pan to release a gooey liquid   Add the warmed sugar and stir to dissolve.
6. Pop a plate into the freezer.
7. Turn up the heat under the pan and bring the whole lot to a fast boil continuing for around 20 minutes. Do check that the bottom does not burn by carefully stirring from time to time.
8. Pop 1 spoonful of the marmalade onto the frozen plate and return to the freezer for a few minutes.  Once cooled, push the marmalade with your finger, if it wrinkles, then it has reached setting point.; if not repeat every ten minutes.
9. Once you have reached setting point, turn off the heat and leave to settle for 20 mins while you heat your jam jars in the oven to sterilise*** them. 
10. Handling the hot jars carefully, use a jug and a jam funnel to fill your jars. As soon as you are able, screw the tops on the jars and leave to cool
11. Store in a cool dark place. Will keep up to one year.

Notes on making marmalade:

You can vary the flavour of your marmalade by using a few lemons in place of oranges or likewise use limes. 

Cut the peel into chunkier pieces if you prefer, though note, at the opposite end of the scale, too thin and it will disappear.