February is traditionally marmalade making month. I´m a little behind this year, and hope this recipe doesn´t reach those of you, who want to give it a try, too late.
First of all though, I´d like to say a big thank you to two fellow bloggers who very kindly nominated me for awards. Waterfalls and Caribous chronicles the adventures of a young couple travelling the world. They´re currently in South Korea, and if, like me, you have never been to a Love Motel (it´s not rude, I promise!), click here. Thanks guys for the Versatile Blogger Award, and here´s my previous post on that if you want to check it out.
The lovely Alli over at Pease Pudding very kindly awarded me the Liebster Blog Award. If you haven´t visited this great blog yet, do pop over, it´s written by a lass from Northern England now living in beautiful New Zealand. Thanks Alli, and if you missed it, here´s where I share the love.
Last year I posted a more traditional way of making it, this year I´m using a slightly quicker method (no hand chopping and a quicker set), although marmalade making from scratch is a fairly lengthy, but rewarding process.
For the other method, click here.
Ingredients
- For every kilo (or just over) of oranges, two kilos of sugar and 1.25 litres of water and one lemon
- The biggest, heavy based, saucepan you have
- A wooden spoon
- A couple of large jugs or bowls and a fine sieve
- About 6 regular sized jams jars and lids per kilo of oranges
Start by washing and drying the oranges, and lemons and putting them in the biggest saucepan you have and covering them with water. You will now bring to the boil and cook gently until softened. Unless they are tightly packed they will probably float, so just turn them around in the water every so often. This will take about an hour and they are ready when you can easily pierce them with a skewer.
Remove the oranges from the liquid (don´t discard it) and when they are cool enough to handle, cut them in half and scoop out the flesh, pips and pith and place into the reserved liquid. You will also probably need to cuts the skins into quarters and with a knife or spoon, scrape off as much of the white pith which still clings to it. This is important as it will give you that precious pectin which will make your jam set. Put the two halves of each lemon in with the pulp.
Now bring the liquid with all the pulp and pith to a boil and using a potato masher, press down on the pulp as it boils. Leave it boiling gently for about 10 minutes and press the pulp a couple of times during this period.
As this is boiling you can process the skin – either by hand into fine shreds, or in a food processor into tiny chunks.
Now strain the liquid from the pulp and keep pressing as you pass it through the sieve to get any last drops of pectin out.
Put the liquid back into the pot, add the sugar and the chopped orange skin and cook gently until the sugar has dissolved. Now bring up to a quicker boil until it reaches setting point. You´ll find this happens quite quickly with this method, and if you like a thicker set marmalade, cook for a few minutes longer. Personally I like a softer texture – the choice is yours.
Once it is ready, leave to cool slightly for about 10-15 minutes and to allow the shreds to settle, then pour into sterilised jars, seal and wait for them to cool before labeling (if you do this). Now enjoy the wonderful smells of oranges which will still fill your house and cut yourself a lovely slice of bread to enjoy the fruits of your labours.
Spree has also made the most of the lovely oranges around at this time of year. Check out her beautiful rhubarb and orange jam.
Chica Andaluza 
I’m mad for marmalade in cakes at the moment, and your marmalade sounds delicious.
Oh yes, orange marmalade cake is gorgeous!
I’ve always liked marmalade with toast.
And plenty of unsalted butter for me too – what a treat!
Excellent recipe – mind the step ladder (or is that just for medlars) 😉
Well, now that you mention it, I did have to get the step ladder out to put the jars away and I was very, very careful as I was alone in the house!
I’m glad to hear it 😉
I have just bought pectin to make marmalades with, thanks for this recipe 🙂
With luck, you won´t even need to use it if you make this version, although I guess you´ll be using sucrose, so not sure if that means you need to include pectin?
No pots of molten sugar and fruit around here until Angel learns better not to get underfoot in the kitchen – we should be good in time for strawberry season. 🙂
(But, I’d love a slice of fresh bread with a bit of your Bottled Sunshine, if you’ve a bite to spare!)
A wise decision I think – and you´d never get it all done during nap time! Would love to send you some bottled sunshine if I could 🙂
This looks delicious, Tanya. Serving it, as you do, atop freshly baked buttered bread must taste too good for words. I mustn’t linger here too long. I simply do not wish to break out the canning supplies so early. I’m just not ready! 🙂
Ah but John – the early bird catches the worm…or the early canner fills the pantry!
if you like waterfallsandcaribous check out this blog of my daughter and son-in-law who live in India http://bethraham.wordpress.com/author/bethraham/
Oh I will, thank you!
I’ve made jam but not marmalade before and can’t wait to try this. I’m wondering if I can avoid sterilizing my jars and just put them in the freezer instead? And which citrus fruit have you tried? Will all citrus make a marmalade with this method? xo Smidge
I always sterilise my jars but if you´re going to freeze the marmalade I guess you wouldn´t need to do this. You can always just stick them in the microwave or hot oven for a while – that works too. This recipe works with any citrus fruit, I´ve made lovely lemon marmalade in the same way and if they´re thick skinned they have loads of pectin and it sets very, very easily! Not sure if you´d need to add pectin if you used mandarins or grapefruit, but maybe try a very small batch to see how it reacts. And do let me know!
This is an interesting way to make marmalade and I like that it’s quicker, and hopefully doesn’t need pectin. I’ve just made marmalade once, and it probably needed pectin. I just want to dip a spoon into yours, it looks so good in the picture with that lovely bread!
Thank you- and it is just a little easier than the way I did it before and no messing around with muslin bags and string, which is better!
Can’t wait to try it at your place! LOL! No seriously will be making my own. Thanks for posting.
Wouldn´t that be fun! Hope you enjoy it when you make it.
I’m sure it will be fabulous with your recipe.
Let me know!
Sure will! Thanks!
The first thing I loved about this was the title – I don’t get far past the mention of “orange marmalade” without salivating. The second thing I loved about it was the descriptions of ingredients, so “familiar” and homey sounding – I felt like I was in your kitchen, looking over your shoulder, hearing you say, “For every kilo (or just over) of oranges, you’ll want two kilos of sugar and 1.25 litres of water and one lemon just picked from the tree out back. You’ll need a couple large jugs too, and a good wooden spoon. And here, you can put on this apron I just made you. Would you like some wine, luv?” 😉
Am laughing so much as that sounds just like me! It reminds me though that all my pals have lovely new aprons and mine is looking distinctly sad 😦 Need to make one for myself soon!
This is a call-out to all sewers out there! Chica needs an apron – colorful, kind-of-sassy, chic! And vintage would be perfect!
Vintage would be absolutely perfect! XL please 😉
I was just in Andalucia marveling at all the trees heavy with oranges. Perfect time to make jam!
It is – we are enjoying our orange season!
Ooo I’ve never seen marmalade made like this before, i.e. cooking the whole fruit first. and this reminds me I need to replace my ol Jam Pan 🙂
I was so pleased with the results, really one of my best marmalades ever!
Its the scent of cooking marmalade that just sends me into some kind of ecstasy, let alone the finished item!
Do you use any particular type of Orange? When I lived in California I would have known exactly which type to use. Up here in Washington State I have to rely on whatever the grocery carries and to me their oranges are suspect. Dry is my suspicion. I love citrus! Thanks for this recipe.
Ideally the bitter Seville oranges are the best, but they all get sent to the UK! So I just use the ones that all our friends and neighbours grow locally – the distinguish them between those for eating and those for juicing. They´re all pretty sweet but I just try to pick the ones that feel heaviest as they are more juicy and with more pith.
Making this marmalade would have been much better than the slow cooked orange beef that I experimented with over the weekend with our huge supply of citrus. Oh well. 🙂
That sounds interesting – sounds though as if you are not entirely happy with the results of your experiment?!
Plainly put, the experiment sucked. But that happens sometimes. 🙂
I’ve never tried making marmalade nor jams before because it is easy to just buy them from the shop but there is something about making it yourself, putting it in those jars and labeling them with your own signature. Hmmm…I guess now is the time to do that with your amazing recipe, Tanya. 😉
Well, I guess if you can get hold of it easily and it´s good…and you´re looking after a family…this is one kitchen activity which can be put to one side! I guess you could always do a small batch of something quicker in the summer like a fruit jam, just to start yourself off.
So funny. A couple of weekends ago we actually had Seville oranges in our grocery. Grown in the U.S. somewhere, to my great surprise. I made 2 different marmalades—much like yours, one involved cutting up the peel raw, and the other cooking the oranges whole. (The former turned out better for me than the latter, but it may have been a question of overcooking the latter.) I thought of you all the while and wondered if you were doing the same thing in Spain!
And there we were both making marmalade! I wish we could get Seville oranges but the irony is they all get exported 😦
Tanya, I’m tired of begging you for your food. Can I just come live with you and Big Man? Pretty Pretty Please? I’m a hard worker and I’m easy to get along with. Just say yes and I’ll be all packed by the morning!
This marmalade looks great and if you say it’s made from oranges you grew, I would just die! I want to live up the mountain too!
Am making up the spare bed and will make sure top put a fridge and larder in the spare room too!
*grins*
Looks wonderful, curious about that bread too!
That´s just my everyday bread recipe – 540g flour, 280ml water, two tablespoons of olive oil, pinch of salt and a sachet of quick yeast. Two rises and into a medium oven…! It makes a large loaf but it keeps well for a couple of days.
Your marmalade must be delicious. I can’t eat a flaky croissant without orange marmalade on it. It goes so well with the buttery taste.
I´m just having my first coffee of the day and now I am craving a decent croissant which I can´t get here 😦
Hi Chica – you reminded me that I totally meant to make marmalade this year and completely forgot about it. I wanted to make the type my mother makes – really dark and bitter, with finely shredded peel in it. Oh well – I won’t have time this weekend – I’ll just admire yours instead for now 🙂 Great job – I have to say, I’d have to take it with toast though – I’ve always found marmalade with untoasted bread very strange for some reason!
I´d normally agree but it was out of the oven that morning so it was very good! Toast, butter and marmalade is the best though…
I love marmalade and there’s nothing better than homemade marmalade. I love to start the day with marmalade on toast.
Wish I could mail you a jar 😉
Chica, I feel like a cavewoman wanting to do nothing but the traditional… I think it runs in my blood… I guess the era wasn’t that long ago since my grandparents in Syria did everything by hand like how I want to… they did all the preserving one can do… marmalade, jams, tomato paste, pickles, olives, yoghurt… the lot. I wish I had the knowledge, time and resources to do all that sort of stuff… Thanks for this recipe, I’ve saved it so one day when I’m feeling extra challenged but ready, I can try it! 🙂
I bet you´re a very young and gorgeous cavewoman! But I do know what you mean – I am very lucky to have the time to do things the “old way”. I guess our lives are improved vastly by technology (well, we wouldn´t be able to blog and talk to each other for a start!) but we spend so much time living life in the fast lane that some of the old ways are being forgotten, or we just don´t have time for them anymore.
After so long away and eating everyone elses food I am desperate to get back in the kitchen. This looks like the perfect recipe to start me off. Unbelievably I have never made marmalade, I always make mandarin jam because the marmalade recipes have seemed so complicated. This one doesn’t scare me as much!! Thanks so much for following me in South Africa, travelling is great but it is lovely to back in sunny Spain!!
Welcome home – I agree, it´s good to travel but it´s also good to be home again. If this is your first venture into marmalade making, this is a good recipe to start with as you don´t have to mess around with muslin bags etc and you can make smaller quantities successfully too.
Oh yum, I love marmalade! (Okay, let’s face it, I love everything you post up)! I had no idea it was the season for making marmalade – your orange marmalade looks soooo good. Soon it’ll be membrilla with queso fresco season, too! 😉
You´ve gotta move quickly here with the fruit – one blink and you´re in strawberry season!
Mmmm, does that mean strawberry jam soon? 🙂
I have been planning to make orange jam for weeks, I hope I can still make it in time. I would love to make a little marmalade following your recipe too
It can be made with any types of oranges – I just prefer the bitter ones which are harder to get hold of – so really you could make a batch any time you have some nice oranges. I hope it goes well!
One of my favorites, orange marmalade! Beautiful photo! We ate the last of our marmalade at Christmas, need to make some more….
I ran out long before mainly because visitors kept pinching it! This year I´ve made loads!
Now I can make a homemade orange marmalade. Everything seems to taste good when spread with a delicious home cooked jam. Thank you for the recipe…beautiful pictures. Have a great day.
Can highly recommend this method, it was quicker than usual and set really well. Hope you do get to make a little batch!
I found Seville oranges in my local ethnic grocery! They are certainly bitter when fresh but they made amazing marmalade. I just love that bitter and sweet taste. I blogged about it here if you want to see. http://wp.me/p1YBE8-8E
Thank you so much! That’s at least two of your recipes that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. Oh, I guess I should say we’ve enjoyed since Jason has benefitted as well. 😉
Your ‘no chop’ version is very Spanish, that’s where my family acquired the recipe and it’s been successful for years. I’ve never seen it written down and I thought I’d never see a version again. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Do hope you get the chance to give it a go – it´s a good (and slightly quicker) way to process large quantities of oranges!
Delicious cakes accompanied with warm coffee definitely more settling, 🙂
toast is not complete without a marmalade