Making your own marmalade this year?

[Dumbledoresgirl]

Can you please nudge me when Seville oranges are in the shops? I know you can make marmalade with any oranges, but I like to use the proper ones and for the last 2 years I seem to have missed the very short Seville orange season (or perhaps my local supermarket does not stock them). Anyway, I would appreciate a shout if you see them for sale!

Should be now.

Have you asked in the supermarket?

Now? Really? I was thinking later in January. Perhaps that is why I have been missing them! I will ask tomorrow, thank you.

Markets are usually a better shot than supermarkets. The pile-em-high stalls will have seville oranges.

I fancy making grapefruit or lemon marmalade. Have you tried that? Is it worth it? Are the non-seville marmalades a waste of time?

I actually do not like marmalade but dh does so I make it.

Can we talk recipes?

Happy to talk recipes! I have only previously made seville orange marmalade and like you, don't really eat it and only make it for dh. But since my supply of homemade stuff ran out, he has been buying Rose's Lemon and Lime marmalade which is bright green in colour and smells like lime jelly (!) so I thought I might give that a go once the Seville orange season is over.

I swear by my Marguerite Patten's "Jams, Chutneys, Preserves, Vinegars and Oils" book. It is the one recipe book I would rescue from a fire if need be. She has recipes for everything you can think of (within this category) including my idea of lemon and lime marmalade and your idea of grapefruit and lemon. Do you want a recipe or do you already have one? I am happy to copy it if you like...

Now markets... well, it took me a moment or two to realise my town does have a market. I have only been living here nearly 5 years! I think it is only Saturdays though... Will check out Tesco this afternoon first.

Can I make marmalade with the million clementines/ satsumas that we have bought for Christmas?

According to Marguerite yes you can. But she says because they are sweeter, they contain less pectin so you have to add more lemon juice to achieve a set.

Sorry, read that to fast. It is not the sweetness that makes them lacking in pectin but the lack of pips.

For 1 lb (450g) of tangerine of similar fruit, you need 1.5 pints of water, 1.5 lbs of sugar and 5 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Urgh at typos in last post. Hope it makes sense anyway.

I LOVE home made marmalade. The darker and chunkier the better. Yum.

If you like really dark marmalade, I recommend adding a tbs of treacle to the mix, and using some dark muscovado in place of your normal sugar.

Last year, I did the initial orange cooking in a slow cooker with some success. Saved a bit of the faff. I just threw them whole in with the water and cooked it all for a few hours . You lose a certain amount of water (not a huge amount), so you might have to top it up in order to get your proportions right for the final boil.

Thanks.

We have a gallon bucket full of them and have eaten loads already so I'll try your recipe.
We have loads of lemons and limes too.

that sounds interesting midnight - was it easier to remove the pith after? Followed riverfords recipe last year and it took forever! (and I melted dhs wine straining bag. oops)

DDG, I would love Marguerite's recipe for marmalade if you don't mind

I've washed the fruit and what do I do now? Do I chop it or juice them and cut the peel into slivers? Sorry, I've only ever made Mamade before...

I don't remember actually removing the pith oybbk. AFAIR, I just chopped them up and removed the seeds and anything that didn't look like it ought to go in.

By the way, marmaladers, according to the River Cottage preserves handbook, the pectin lies mostly in the pith rather than the pips, so you actually don't need to be doing with the muslin bags of pips and all that malarkey. I never use them (though I do occasionally use high pectin sugar, not so much for marmalade as for jam).

I'm thinking of doing seville orange and ginger this year, as I still have a fair amount of plain seville left from last year.

My other piece of advice is that you can freeze seville oranges (whole - just bung them in a bag). The reason I have marmalade left is that I froze half the oranges and made another batch later in the year.

now that sounds much easier!!! I had to squeeze out pips and juice, remove pith and flesh with a sharp knife, shred the skin, put the rest in a muslin bag etc.

Oh no, I couldn't be doing with all that: chop the cooked oranges in half, flick out the pips, squeeze the juice out into the cooking water then chop up the rest and fling it in. I don't suppose it makes the clearest marmalade you've ever seen, but if you like it dark I don't suppose it matters too much.

Seville oranges generally reach my local shops from the end of this week. Our local greengrocers usually has much better seville oranges than the supermarkets and at half the price.
I make a lovely marmalade using my pressure cooker to soften the oranges before they are cut up (you can do this without a pressure cooker, but it takes much longer). As the peel is then soft, I'm able to cut off the pith and end up with a very clear jelly and I can cut the orange peel as thin or thick as I want.
I can post the recipe which is a little complicated. My friends all say that it is the best marmalade they have ever had (and some of them make their own marmalade).

I too have the Margueritte Patten book - its my jam staple book.

I sometimes cut the oranges up then leave to steep overnight and boil up the next day. It makes it soften up easier.

My mother has in the past processed the pulp - yeuch! A slimy paste!

Montifer, this is Marguerite's recipe for sweet seville orange marmalade (it is not sweet btw, just .... sweeter than it might be ) You will see it involves all the faff with the pips and cutting the peel etc and that does take a long time, but my top tip is to cut the peel with kitchen scissors rather than a knife - it is easier and just as effective.

1lb Seville oranges
3 pints of water
3 lbs of sugar
4 tbsp lemon juice

Halve the oranges and remove the pips - tie these in muslin. Squeeze out the orange juice and put this on one side. Cut the peel and pith as finely as desired and soak in the water for several hours or overnight, together with the bag of pips. Simmer the peel in the water with the bag of pips until tender, then remove the pips. Add the sugar, orange and lemon juice and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Raise the heat and boil rapidly until the setting point is reached. (IME the boiling takes about 20-25 mins). Allow the marmalade to cool for a short time in the pan until it begins to stiffen then stir to distribute the peel. Spoon into hot jars and seal down.

Oh, I forgot to say, there were no Seville oranges in Tesco today. I have bought loads of lemons and limes instead and I am going to have a go at dh's preferred lemon and lime marmalade. I also bought some ordinary oranges and might give them a go too if I can't get Sevilles.

Does anyone like the sound of Marguerite Patten's banana marmalade?

none on riverford site yet either.

banana marmalade? bleugh!

Thanks very much DDG

Think I'm ok for banana marmalade, thanks all the same

Finally got peace to start the marmalade today and it is stewing slowly. The smell is divine.

I'm fancying a Victoria sponge cake with marmalade and cream filling.

Or have your tried marmalade with sausages as a relish?

Or marmalade in apple pie?

Or marmalade below a creme brulee? (have to admit haven't actually tried that one)

I made Mandarin Marmelade before Christmas and that worked out very well, sets OK too.