Seville Orange Marmalade
My Grandma's Seville orange marmalade is a must-make between December and February. Serve it with a lather of butter on crunchy, warm toast.
Ingredients
- 900 g Seville oranges
- 2 large lemons
- 1.8 kg granulated sugar or use half granulated, half jam sugar
- 2 pints water If you don't have a pressure cooker and are using a regular saucepan with lid, use 4 pints of water
Instructions
- Put the oranges and lemons into a pressure cooker with 1 pint of water (or 2 pints if you're using a regular saucepan). Make sure they all fit on the bottom by halving the lemons and fitting them in between the oranges.
- Bring to pressure and cook for 12 minutes. The end of a spoon should go through the oranges easily when cooked. If the skin of the oranges is still a bit tough, add a touch more water and cook for a few more minutes. If you're boiling them in a regular saucepan, boil for 30 minutes.
- Be careful when opening your pressure cooker or the lid of your saucepan, as the contents will be piping and steam can burn. When the oranges are cool enough to handle, quarter or halve the cooked fruit and remove all the pips.
- Scrape out all the flesh and throw it into the saucepan, making sure no pips have escaped into the leftover liquid that's still in there.N.B. Any surplus bits of flesh, pips, etc. can be put into a muslin cloth tied with an elastic band and added to your saucepan. Alternatively, strain well through a sieve to get all the "goo" into the water.
- Chop the skins as thinly or thickly as you like, and add everything else to the saucepan, plus another 1 pint of water (or 2 if using a saucepan).
- Warm your sugar on a sheet of baking parchment on a tray in the oven. Choose a low heat – around 140C for 5-10mins.
- Place your saucepan back over the heat and then add your warmed sugar gradually to the pan, stirring into your fruits and water. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved or it tends to crystallise later.
- Bring to a fast boil, skim if necessary and stir constantly to avoid the sugar burning. Boil until setting point is reached. This will usually take around 35 minutes.
- Let the marmalade stand and cool for a while until a skin starts to develop.
- Prepare your jars by boiling a kettle full of water and filling them and the lids to the brim. Let them stand for 10-15mins or so before pouring out the water and placing in your still-hot oven to dry off.
- Spoon the marmalade into your now dry jars and immediately place waxed discs on top before sealing with the lids whilst still hot. This creates suction and preserves your jam for longer.