People have been making marmalade with oranges for centuries. And in all that time, not much has changed in the marmalade recipe. The Romans were some of the first people to make what we’d call marmalade today, with one recipe noted down in the first century. But it wasn’t until the 18th century that the orange marmalade recipe was fixed in its most familiar form. English cookbooks of this period are the first to mention the familiar ‘jelly’ that’s a central part of modern marmalade. From here, it wasn’t long until orange marmalade became the staple of the breakfast table that it is today.
How to Make Marmalade
Making marmalade with oranges requires very few ingredients and even less equipment. For this recipe you’ll want to have these ingredients to hand:
- 1kg of Oranges
- Juice from 2 Lemons
- 2kg of granulated sugar
- Firstly place the oranges and the lemon juice into a pan. Fill the pan with 2 litres of water, ensuring the oranges are fully submerged. Now bring the pan to boil, and leave it covered and simmering for a couple of hours. If you can easily pierce the orange peel with a fork, that’s a sign they’re ready.
- Next you will want to warm the sugar on a low oven setting. Then pour the cooking water from your pan into another jug, tipping the oranges into a different bowl. The cooking water can now go back into the pan, whilst the oranges cool in the bowl. Once the oranges are cooler, cut them in half and scoop out all the pith and pips, adding them into the pan.
- Simmer the pan for 6 minutes, before sieving the entire mixture into a bowl. Remember to press through the pulp. You can now dice up the orange peel. Then, take the mixture, the peel, and the warmed sugar and add them all together in the pan. Over a low heat, stir the complete mix for about 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Now bring the pan to boil for around 20 minutes, until the contents reach their setting point.
- Now you can take the pan off the heat. There may be scum on the surface, which you can easily skim off. You can also dissolve this scum by adding a small amount of butter and giving the mix a gentle stir. Allow the marmalade to cool in the pan for just over 15 minutes. And that’s our marmalade recipe done.
Storing Your Marmalade in Style
With the marmalade cooled, it’s ready to be eaten. But it’s unlikely you’ll want to tuck in straight away. Instead, you’ll want to store it, whether for breakfast or for sale. For this you’ll want sterilised jars, like our hexagonal jars from The Bottle Jar Store. We also provide lids for the jars.
If you’re a keen home-chef looking for all kinds of jars and bottles to preserve your creations, have a browse of The Bottle Jar Store. Or alternatively, contact us today!
About the author : Rob James
