Marmalade
January 11, 2009
A well-stocked larder is a thing to delight in. I love to see my shelves jam-packed with row after row of preserves. I’ve always been a bit of a hoarder so I guess it stems from that. However, due to giving away lots of preserves as Christmas gifts, my stash has been a bit depleted of late – something I was keen to remedy. Winter isn’t the obvious season for a bout of preserving but there are a few yummy things you can make which utilise seasonal fruit and veg. Today, it was the turn of the seville oranges: time to make marmalade!
The recipe I used came from Pam Corbin’s wonderful book Preserves. It uses demerara sugar which produces a wonderfully dark, amber marmalade. It tastes wonderful too, with the seville oranges holding their own against the sugar. The flavour is intensely orangey and bittersweet, so definitely a grown-up preserve. There are also lots of good marmalade recipes available online and, if you fancy making some, its worth taking a peek at the following:
Delia’s Seville Orange Marmalade
Dark Musovado and Whisky Marmalade
A few marmalade-making tips:
Make sure the peel is completely tender before you add the sugar. Once the sugar is added it won’t soften any more.
To stop the peel from floating to the top when you pour into jars, allow the marmalade to cool for about 10 minutes before potting.
Don’t be afraid to make a large batch – marmalade keeps really well – apparently up to 2 years, but I must admit, in this house it’s normally been scoffed long before that!
Entry Filed under: Food, Preserves, Winter. Tags: Food, how to, marmalade, pam corbin, Preserves, preserving, recipe, seville orange, tips.
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1. Jane aka: aromatic | January 11, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Well done… it looks and sounds delicious!!
Jane xxx
2. wil | January 11, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Hmm…I’ve never been a big fan of marmalade myself, but maybe I’ve just never tried the right recipe. Your dark amber marmalade looks quite intriguing…
3. kittyboo | January 11, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Thanks both!
Wil – am I right in thinking that American marmalade is different to British? Wikipedia tells me US marmalade is very sweet. Have you tried British-style marmalade? It’s much more bitter than jam – in a good way though!
4. wil | January 11, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Hmm…I can’t say for sure…the marmalade I’ve had is sweet-and-bitter. You can definitely taste the bitter orange rind, but it’s quite sweet as well. It’s as sweet as jam, but with a bitter note.
5. dowhatyoulove | January 12, 2009 at 12:20 am
Yum Yum! You inspired me to look up orange curd recipes. The next step is motivating myself to do it! It sounds good, but I have to admit I have never had orange curd. So it will be an adventure for me! Enjoy your marmalade!
6. kittyboo | January 12, 2009 at 9:04 am
wil – sounds the same as over here then.
dowhatyoulove – thanks very much. Enjoy your curd – I’m hoping to make some soon too. I made Bramley and Lemon Curd as Christmas gifts and it was delicious – I only made a few jars as it doesn’t keep very long but I wish I’d made more – it went so quickly!
7. Just Gai | January 12, 2009 at 2:10 pm
This is my first visit but I’ll be back again. Our last delivery from Riverford included their marmalade kit which will be keeping me busy on Wednesday afternoon. There’s nothing to beat homemade. The batch I made last year kept us going right through the year, including a fair few of Nigel Slater’s gorgeous Marmalade Cakes. I’ve made Lemon Curd before now but never it’s orange equivalent. Perhaps I’ll have a go this season.
8. kittyboo | January 12, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Hi Gai – thanks very much. I think it’s marvelous that Riverford do a marmalade kit – what a great idea! I’ve got a couple of jars lined up for baking too – marmalade cake is just too delicious not to make! Hope you have fun making your marmalade!
9. Rowan | January 12, 2009 at 10:15 pm
It’s some years since I last made marmalade but DH likes it and so do I so I might just make a batch this year inspired by those delicious looking jars of yours.
10. thegardensmallholder | January 13, 2009 at 10:08 am
Yum they look wonderful all stacked up, thanks for the linkies too. I must put some time aside to give this a try!
11. kittyboo | January 13, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Thanks Rowan and GSH – just got another batch of sevilles so I can make orange curd….
12. Mara | January 14, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Cooooo! That looks yummy, and I love the presentation! Hopefully I’ll be making some more this wekend if the jars come through in time.
13. kittyboo | January 14, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Thank you Mara – I noticed we have the same jar lids. Ah, what would I do without lakeland….