UKC

Since we're in Seville orange season and I like marmalade, I thought I'd have a go at making my own.

Anyone have any hints, tips, secrets or favourite recipes they'd like to share? I've made jam often enough but this will be my first crack at bittersweet orangey goodness...

T.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:

I've done it for the last few years using the Delia Seville Orange Marmalade recipe. It's all a bit messy, but to be honest the only really faffy bits are squeezing the pith and the bit where you have to put a dollop on a cold plate and see if it 'curtains'.

I've made her 'normal' one and her 'dark' one - I prefer the normal one.

Homemade marmalade - yum! And you can then make fully homemade marmalade cake - hurrah!

In reply to Tall Clare:
I shall seek guidance from her holiness as I'm sure there's a recipe in one of the books of hers I have.

Marmalade cake is on the agenda thanks to a Peyton and Byrne book you once recommended on here, and which I've since bought and used; there's a recipe for marmalade in there somewhere. I have been making marmalade parkin-style cake for many years and that's a damn fine morsel too.

T.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:

http://www.dalemainmarmaladeawards.co.uk/

These people would be happy to assist you.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:

I know it's cheating, but Lakeland do a tin of marmalade/ ( and jam) fruits, add water and sugar, boil, bottle, voila!
Tastes better if you add crystallised ginger and whisky
- in moderate amounts- its a breakfast conserve, not a gooey cocktail ;-0

In reply to Pursued by a bear:
Put the juice and zest of two lemons (for 3lb of oranges),the orange and lemon pips, central pith and lemon skins into a small pan with a pint of water and boil for 30mins. Strain the liquid into the orange mix whilst cooking. Adjust the water to allow for the additional pint. It extracts the pectin and so far has made very set marmalade. Recipe from elderly neighbour, had three years of supervision before flying solo.

In reply to iskra2000:

I agree the lemons are key for the pectin Chemistry - plus they taste goood!

I'm on my 3rd batch this year, now sans alcohol of course, which I managed to overcome with a few special ingredients.

My Grandad taught me how to make Marmalade when I was 4 and I was wide eyed astounded by how much sugar we put in his huge iron pot. ...I'm still uber impressed these days with those little fine white waterfalls lovingly stirred into the pot! ;0)

In reply to Simon:

Just picked several dozen peaches off our tree, will be making peach vodka and peach marmalade.

In reply to all: I had two 1.5 kg bags of oranges and the first of them has now been dealt with according to St Delia's Dark Chunky Marmalade recipe.

Stage one of this featured orange wrestling and an explosion of kitchen stickiness before producing a beautifully scented and witheringly bitter liquor. Stage two, completed yesterday, included much boiling foaming orangeness, even more considerable and well-distributed stickyness and some cursing of St Delia.

As a result of these labours I now have a baker's dozen jars of utterly delicious grown-up tawny marmalade. Sweet and bitter with a taste that lingers in the mouth long after it has gone. Marvellous stuff.

Heaven is a piece of toast...

T.