It seems that all I’ve been doing since the beginning of this year is making marmalade. In all honesty, I’ve probably got enough in the pantry to last me at least another year & a half (I may have issues). My problem is that I just can get enough of that sticky, glistening, citrus preserve & I enjoy making it just as much as I do eating it. With a name like ‘The Marmalade Teapot’ though it’s to be expected right? I feel no shame whatsoever in making even more & brining you yet another marmalade recipe for the season.
Whilst the precious Sevilles have long disappeared for their short lived season, still knocking about are the beautiful blood oranges. I’ll be honest, at the start of the year, with all thing’s Brexit still up in the air & a pandemic threatening transit, I worried that we may not see any of my imported citrus favourites this year. Throw in the fact that I live in the back end of nowhere, I desperately clung onto the very last jars of the previous years marmalade, you know, just incase. It appears that quite the opposite happened & I’ve found so many blood oranges available in the markets & shops that I quite honestly haven’t stopped baking with them for weeks (as you no doubt will have noticed!).
I know that when they do eventually disappear though, it’ll leave an air of loss in my kitchen. That’s how I’m justifying. cracking out the preserving pan & filling even more jars for those rainy days. Whilst time consuming, there’s something so mindful about making marmalade (it’s almost therapeutic). It’s a simple & very rewarding process that I believe, you get out of it what you put into it. Taking extra care & attention not to accidentally add any orange flesh to the main pan, shredding your peel to the perfect length & thickness, keeping a keen eye & stir on the pan to make sure nothing catches, all of this leads to the perfect marmalade.
The process for making blood orange marmalade is exactly the same as your regular old marmalade, just a little bit quicker as they’re not quite as thick skinned as the oranges normally used in preserving. The obvious different though is clearly in the colour, it’s much more vivid & bright as those deep, red tones shine through. Try some on your toast in the morning to set your day of to a bright & cheery start, it’s why I’m always smiling!
BLOOD ORANGE MARMALADE
(makes approximately 6 regular jars)
Ingredients:
- 1kg blood oranges oranges
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 litres of water
- 2 kg granulated sugar
Method:
- Before beginning, place a small saucer into the freezer to chill
- Start by juicing the oranges & lemons
- Place the orange juice & lemon juice, along with all of the water into a maslin pan or a large heavy bottomed saucepan
- Next, slice each orange in half & use a spoon to scoop the flesh, pith & pips out, leaving behind the skins
- Place all of the scooped out flesh, pith & pips into the centre of a piece of maslin cloth (or you can use a clean dishcloth) & secure them inside by tying a knot using the corners
- Place the muslin cloth into the pan & secure it to the handle of the pan so that you can easily remove it later
- Next, take the peel of the oranges & slice into either thick or thin strips, depending on how you like your shred, & add it to the pan
- Bring the pan to a boil over a high heat before reducing it to a simmer (medium heat) & leave it to simmer away for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the strips of peel have all softened
- Once the peel has softened, take the pan off of the heat & remove the muslin cloth before setting it aside to cool
- Once it has cooled enough to handle, use your hands to squeeze the orange flesh inside of the maslin & extract as much of the gooey pectin that seeps through as you can, adding it all back into the pan
- Now, add the sugar to the pan & stir over a low heat until all of the sugar has dissolved
- Bring the mixture up to a fast boil & continue to boil for 20-30 minutes
- After 20 minutes, test the marmalade to see if it’s reached setting point by placing a small drop onto the chilled saucer from the freezer
- Push your finger through the marmalade & if the surface wrinkles then it’s done, if it doesn’t give it another 10 minutes & test again
- When it’s ready, take the marmalade off the heat & leave it to stand for 20 minutes
- After 20 minutes, pot up your blood orange marmalade into clean, sterilised jars
- Turn the jars upside down & leave them to cool for 1 hour before turning them upright & leave to fully cool
