"Those confitures which are composed of the firmer fruits, as pineapples, or the rinds of oranges." Mrs Beeton.
Try not to confuse marmalade with jam (especially if you are German). It can come as a nasty surprise, when you think you're getting a nice sweet jam, to end up with a bitter/sweet orange or lemon marmalade. The method of making marmalade is very similar to jam making, but the ingredients are citrus fruit, esp. Seville oranges and so the taste is very different.
Ingredients (Makes about 5 small jars)
6 oranges (Seville oranges are the best)
2 lbs caster sugar
Method
- Sterilize 5 small jars with tight fitting lids.
- Wash the whole fruit, and then grate the rind (coarsely or finely depending on your personal preference).
- Squeeze the juice from the oranges.
- Remove the seeds, and then place the remainder of the fruit, pulp and skin, into a food processor and chop (coarsely or finely depending on your personal preference).
- Add the sugar to the extracted juice and bring to the boil.
- Add the chopped orange mixture and zest and boil all together for 20 minutes; stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. (Be careful.)
- The mixture should reach a gel consistency (to test use a small teaspoon remove a bit of the mixture, if it cools to a gel, it's ready, but if it is runny when cool, it needs more time cooking.)
- Let the mixture cool down, and transfer it into the jars.
- Refrigerate to store (should keep unopened for about 6 months.
- As soon as it is cool it is ready to eat. (Preferably on buttered toast.)
Definitions
To boil: To cook a liquid at a temperature of at least 100°C.
To chop: To cut food into small even-sized pieces using a knife or food processor.
To grate: To rub food downwards on a grater to produce shreds or slices of varying thicknesses.
To squeeze: To apply pressure to fruit or vegetables to obtain their juice.
!Note - instead of oranges you can use lemons, lime, grapefruit or any mixture thereof, but you might want to add more sugar to taste.
For Barbara