Calling all marmalade experts

[thetraveller]

Every time I try to make marmalade it burns and the peel goes hard and chewy. Any ideas on how to prevent this? I follow a supposedly fail-safe Nigella recipe which recommends boiling the oranges for 2 hours, scopping out the pips, then boiling the chopped peel/flesh with sugar for 15 minutes. Is 15 minutes too long, or should I just turn down the heat?

Essentially you have to ensure the peel etc is soft before any sugar goes into the pan: nothing will soften after sugar has been added.

Simmer slowly until all is as soft as you like it, then add sugar and boil hard until reach setting point - but not too hard or it will burn!

Maybe the base of your pan is too thin = burns too easily?

Thanks meltedmarsbars. The base of the pan is pretty thick, so I think I must just be boiling it too hard. Will turn down the heat a bit next time!

I add the sugar to the peel when the water is cold...then heat gently, stirring till all the sugar is dissolved, then turn up the heat a bit, get it to a rolling boil and wait for setting point.

Burning will happe if: you have the pan lop sided on the cooker and a lot of heat is in one place at the base, you boil too hard, or you don't stir!

I ALWAYS stir my marmalade as the peel sinks to the bottom.

If your sugar is not toally dissolved before you hit boil point, it will burn.

Some people say warm the sugar before putting it in the pan, I do not do this, but I do bring it up to heat slowly and stir a lot to make sure all the sugar dissolved.

I made 15 jars yeaterday!

I used to follow Nigella's but it doesn't add any water. This means it doesn't make much and although it has lots of lovely peel in, it also burns easily.

I now use the River Cottage preserves recipe which boils whole fruit which I then whizz in processor as I'm lazy and then top up water depending on how much has boiled away. Let me know if you want more info and will look it up for exact details.

omg! just found a nigel slater marmalade recipe here

Delia Smith's recipe is good. You don't want to be boiling the peel, you want to simmer it slowly. No good trying to soften the peel AFTER sugar has been added- it will harden it (the peel) if you do.
Delia Smith's recipe gives a dark, bittersweet "Oxford" type marmalade; a bit like marmite in the sense that you either love it or hate it!