Seville Orange Marmalade - Easy step by step

Greetings Friends,
Hope everyone is staying warm & remaining as lergy-free as possible. No plagues have yet breached the walls of  'Hagstones'  but it may only be a matter of time the way people are spluttering evil germs around on the outside!

Had hoped to spend yesterday clearing garden borders if dry, but did not manage to see the weather forecast as Albert Whiskers chose that exact moment to position himself on the TV unit, smack in front of the screen, meaning that while I acquired a pretty good idea of the weather situation in Scotland, England was unfortunately almost completely obscured by cat! Decided to make my annual Seville orange marmalade instead. I am posting the recipe & instructions because someone usually asks me, & by the time I've written it out or emailed it, the Seville orange season is all but over. It is VERY short, so if you are intending to make some, you need to get your oranges this week or next to be sure of supplies. Don't think 'Oh I'll just watch another old episode of 'Bottom' or get sucked into an extra half hour of 'Pyramid Solitaire'..........or those special bitter little oranges will all be gone!!  

This recipe is easy & reliable. If you have never made marmalade before, worry not, it should turn out fine if you follow my instructions. You don't need to buy jars.......just use old recycled ones, & you can usually find Seville oranges on local markets or in the supermarket  - they are not expensive.

Seville Orange Marmalade  

1kg Seville oranges 
4lbs white granulated sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
4 pints water

Selection of jam jars (about 10)
Pack of jam pot covers (the wax discs & cellophane circles/labels with rubber bands)
Square of muslin & piece of string to tie up the pips
Long-handled wooden spoon
Ladle
Jam funnel (useful but not essential) 
Sugar thermometer (not essential)

Instructions

Cut the oranges in half. Squeeze out the juice into a large non-metallic bowl. Put the square of muslin on a plate & use it to collect all the pips & any tough pieces of white pith..

This makes it easier to gather up into a bag later. No need to buy special muslin. I use a square of old muslin curtain from a well-known Swedish purveyor of goods.....just sterilize it first by scalding it in the sink with a kettle of boiling water. I've also been known to use a square of old cotton tea-towel. Now't wasted in this house!
Next, take a sharp knife & cut the orange peels in half & then into thin strips. Big 'can't be a*sed' chunks will take longer to cook & won't give as good a product as thinner strips, but prepare them however you like your marmalade. It takes a little while, so do leave enough time for this stage.
Put the peel strips into the bowl with the juice.
Squeeze the lemons & add just the juice to the bowl too.

Now take a length of string, gather up the edges of the muslin square & tie tightly at the top to make a little bag of pips.

Remember to use heat-proof non-coloured string - remember Bridget Jones' blue soup? Put the bag in the bowl & add 4 pints of water. If your bowl won't hold that much, it won't matter if you add just 3 pints as long as you remember to add the rest the next day before you cook the peel.

That's it for the prep stage. Just cover the bowl & leave it overnight to soak.

Next day is for Jammin'...........

First the peel needs to be cooked. Transfer contents of bowl to a preserving pan, (including the muslin bag which can be tied to the handle) & bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, cover & cook for about 2 hours until the peel is cooked. You don't need to watch over it so can be getting on with something else. N.B To test if the peel is ready, fish a piece out, cool it slightly, then rub it between your finger & thumb. It should just break down into mush.

If it doesn't, give it a bit longer. I usually leave the lid off for the last 20 mins or so as you want the liquid level to have reduced by about half. If you don't get the peel sufficiently soft during this stage of cooking, it won't soften any further during jamming, so it's worth getting it right now.

Turn the oven on low - about Gas 2 & put your clean washed jam jars on an oven tray into the oven to sterilize. Leave them in there until the marmalade is ready.

Remove the muslin bag, squeezing it so that all the liquid goes back into the pan.
Tip the sugar into the pan & stir thoroughly until dissolved. Now bring the pan to the boil & boil it hard for about 15-20 mins until setting point is reached.

Stir it just occasionally to check it's not sticking on the bottom, but it should be fine. After 10 mins, start testing for setting point. If you have a sugar thermometer, this will be reached on or just before the 'jam' marking on the guage. If not, use the:

Wrinkle Test. Drop a few blobs of marmalade on a clean cold plate, leave for a minute then push with your finger tip to see if a wrinkle forms. You're looking for a definite wrinkle, showing that the marmalade is wanting to 'gel'. You can also try the Flake Test by letting a small run of marmalade fall off the wooden spoon & the final drip will set before it falls if setting point has been reached.

It's usually necessary to do the wrinkle test several times before setting point is reached & there is no definitive rule as to how long it will take. This is normal & doesn't mean that your marmalade has gone wrong or is going to be rubbish!

When you are confident that setting point has been reached, Turn off the heat & using a slotted spoon, skim off any white foam which has formed. This is normal, but you need to remove it before potting up the marmalade. If you are adding liqueur, do it now. I put 2tbsp of orange liqueur in mine this time, but it's just as good a recipe without. 

Stir the pan well & leave it for a couple of minutes before bottling, which prevents the peel floating to the top.
Use this time to take your hot jars out of the oven & put them on a heatproof surface ready to fill.
Fill carefully using ladle & jam funnel.....& even more carefully if you are using a ladle & small jug.

Wipe jars clean with a hot cloth, then quickly apply the wax discs (waxed side down!) & cellophane circles, using rubber bands to secure. If you haven't done this before, you need to dampen the tops of the cellophane circles so that they contract & make an airtight seal. That's it - done! All you need to do now is label your jars,feel the pride & get the toaster on!

Hope this is helpful.......if you have no interest in preserving, then hopefully you stopped reading after the first paragraph, or this post will have felt like a patent insomnia-cure. I've tried to give plenty of detail because if people have never made jam or marmalade before, I know it can seem like the magic of the Wookey Hole Witch......an impenetrable alchemy involving cauldrons, ancient tests, etc. I know that there are people who would like to have a go, but feel intimidated. So, this is how I make my orange marmalade every year & it has never failed. If sealed correctly, it easily stores for a year, & makes a nice gift too.

Everything else at The People & Cats Republic is ticking over as usual. Some are working harder than others.........

.......but what's new?
Next time, I'll be telling you about our A-Z Film Challenge & how the 'As' have not been kind to me!
C x