Yes, January is the time of year to make marmalade! The special Seville oranges you need to make this bitter sweet jam are only available this time of year. The Seville oranges are not fit for eating, they are very bitter and sour and contain very little juice. But a long time ago somebody found out they are perfect for marmalade. We tried several recipes but this one works perfect! You will be busy for two days, but that’s half of the fun. The kitchen smelling of citrus fruit while the jam slowly turns into this thick caramelized consistency. The thing we tuned down over the years is the amount of peel strips that go into the marmalade. This year we used the peel of approx. 3 oranges. The result: a beautiful dark amber marmalade with enough peel to satisfy the people who love it and easy to steer clear of if you are less of a fan.

Making the Marmalade

Day 1
Take 1,5 kilograms of Seville oranges (make sure they are clean or scrub them first) and two unwaxed lemons. Bring to a simmer in a large preserving pan, adding 3 liters of water. Cover the pan with aluminum so no steam can escape and let simmer for 3 hours. Let cool for a while and transfer the fruit from the pan into a colander over a bowl. Cut the oranges and lemons in half and scoop out the flesh and pips. Keep the peel of the oranges for later use. Put flesh and pips in a saucepan with half a liter of the poaching liquid. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

TIP! Before going to the next stage, grind the flesh and pips with a hand blender to make the straining much easier! Then strain through a sieve, lined with a muslin (very fine woven) cloth. Give it time to drip trough. In the meantime you can cut the orange peel in strips. Chunky or fine, a lot or a little, which ever you prefer. Put them back in the preserving pan.
Back to the (grinded) flesh and pips. Take the muslin cloth and twist it into a ball and squeeze all of the juices into the preserving pan. The pectin in this juice will make your marmalade thick so make sure you squeeze everything out. Cover the preserving pan with a tea towel and leave it alone till tomorrow!

Day 2
Warm the 2.2 kilograms of sugar in a roasting tray for 10 minutes in the oven at 170°C Gently heat the preserving pan and add the warm sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon, keeping the heat gentle, until you are sure all the sugar has dissolved. Now turn up the heat and let the marmalade bubble gently. This can take up to 3 hours or more, depending on the amount of pectin, your stove etc. When you think you are nearly there you can test the consistency by allowing a teaspoon of the marmalade to cool for a minute on a chilled plate in the fridge. The marmalade is ready if it crinkles when pushed back with your finger. Repeat the test every 10-15 minutes if necessary.
When you are sure it’s ready leave it to cool for 30 minutes before ladling the marmalade in sterilized jars and sealing them right away.

Step 1 -- Cooking the oranges for 3 hours and cutting the peel into small strips;

Step 2 -- Cooking the inside pulp of the oranges and extracting the pectine;

Step 3 -- Adding the sugar and cooking the marmalade for 3 hours until ready;

Surprisingly a lot of our friends and family (even the younger ones) are fond of marmalade, though it’s considered an acquired taste. It’s great on toast but also usable in lots of dishes, both sweet and savoury, from cookies and cakes to chicken, lam and ham. So, home made marmalade makes a great gift and it comes out a winner compared with any shop bought product. I wouldn’t be surprised if you found lots of undiscovered marmalade lovers in your family too!

N.B.: Sevilla oranges are hard to find here in Holland. We have found a steady supplier in our vegetable man Dirk Smits at the Kruisweg in Hoofddorp. Several other marmalade makers from different parts of the country have found their way to Dirk via our blog, so we heard. Nice!

Address:
Traiteur Smits
Kruisweg 945
2132 CD Hoofddorp
T + 31 (0) 23 561 64 55

Tip: The Aga Maslin Pan (Jam Pan / Preserving pan) with a capacity of 8 litres, is great for making larger quantities of jam.