How to Make Your Own Citrus Marmalade Before Winter Ends
We've talked a lot about preserving the summer and autumn bounty to enjoy during the long cold winter months… but it can go both ways! While slightly less inspiring to preserve certain winter veggies - and often unnecessary, given that many of our predominant winter greens actually grow year round - preserving things like citrus is a wonderful way to spend a rainy afternoon!
Marmalade isn't too complicated, it can store for ages, and if you're not the biggest fan of it's sweet yet zingy flavour, it makes a great gift!
Marmalade can be made with any citrus, but lemon and Seville oranges are the most popular:
Lemon Marmalade
Ingredients:
- 1kg lemons
- 2kg granulated sugar
Method:
Wash the lemons, remove the stalk, then pop them in a large saucepan with 2.5 litres of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2½ hours, until the lemon skins are super soft and can easily be pierced with a fork. Leave to cool and, once cool enough to handle, remove from the liquid - note that we want to keep this liquid, so don't throw it down the drain!! You'll need 1½ litres of liquid for the next step: if you're short, add in enough water to achieve the desired amount. If you have too much liquid, continue to simmer, boiling off the excess liquid.
Meanwhile, chop the lemons in half and remove the seeds - be sure to keep them though! Cut the lemon peel and flesh into thin strips and return to the pan, along with any juice that leaked out. Place the seeds in a muslin cloth and add to the pan too - these will help the marmalade to set by adding in pectin. Stir in the sugar and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Boil for about 20 mins, until setting point is reached (we can test this by placing a saucer in the fridge and letting it cool right down. Drop a teaspoon worth of marmalade onto the chilled saucer, leave it for a minute, then push with a spoon or your fingertip. If the marmalade crinkles, it's ready to go into jars - if not, keep boiling and testing until it does!).
Leave the marmalade to cool for 10-15 minutes (this will prevent the lemon pieces sinking to the bottom of the jars), stir it gently, then pour into hot sterilised jars (if the jars aren't hot, the temperature difference will cause the glass to crack, which is always highly disappointing!). Be sure to lable the jars with the date, then leave in a cool, dark spot until you're ready to enjoy it!
Seville Orange Marmalade
Ingredients:
- 1.3kg Seville oranges
- 2 lemons - juice only
- 2.6kg granulated sugar
Method:
Similar to the recipe above; wash the oranges, then place in a pot with lemon juice and 2 litres of water. Make sure the water covers the oranges (if it doesn't, use a smaller pot). Bring to a boil, then leave to simmer for 2 hours, until the orange skin is soft. Again, as in the recipe above, leave to cool, then remove the oranges from the cooking liquid - making sure to keep the liquid! Remove the seeds and place them in a muslin cloth, then put them back in the pot with the liquid, along with the flesh of the oranges. Bring to a boil and simmer for a further 6 minutes before straining the liquid through a sieve into a clean bowl. Press the pulp through the sieve with a wooden spoon (it has lots of pectin, which is key for helping the marmalade set).
Return the liquid back into the preserving pan. Thinly slice the orange peel and add to the pan along with the sugar. Heat gently, stirring to ensure the sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until setting point is reached (refer to recipe above). Leave to cool for 20 minutes, then pour into sterilised jars.
Adding thinly sliced ginger into the muslin bag containing the seeds will add a wonderful flavour to your marmalade!