You will pleased to know that I had my "Mrs. Sensible" hat on yesterday and we didn't attempt our trip to Cornwall. Mum is safe and warm in her house and I am safe and warm here. I did have an early morning trip to the supermarket though, to stock up before any snow arrived and on impulse bought some Seville oranges.
I don't make marmalade that often. Not that I don't like it... I do... very much. But I'm the only one in the house who likes it and even then I don't eat it that often.
So the thought of cutting up all that peel into tiny shreds isn't exactly my first choice of activity. Unless of course I have a unexpected free day that I thought I would be spending driving. The sort of day when it's cold outside and you don't want to be out and about doing anything else. Then the idea of spending a morning making marmalade seems like rather a pleasant activity.
I love the alchemy of jam making - turning all those shreds into a thick and sticky marmalade is strangely satisfying. The peel had released so much pectin that when I added the sugar it already started to form jelly like lumps before I even had a chance to bring it back up to the boil. As a result it required very little boiling.
Which meant a very high yield... seven jars of bright, tangy marmalade from 2kg of oranges.
Which is enough to keep me going for years!
Although I have rather got a hankering for a marmalade bread and butter pudding now... or perhaps a marmalade cake? Do you have a favourite marmalade recipe?
I also fancy making some lime marmalade... or perhaps pink grapefruit... and I'm wondering what these would be like in a marmalade cake too. The possibilities are endless!
you've been busy Gina! lovely colour.
ReplyDeleteI love marmalade but I have only made it once. It was like glue which is probably why I have only made it once !!!!!!
ReplyDeleteV xxx
Your seven jars would last me 14 years!
ReplyDeleteMmmm love good chunky marmalade. My mum used to buy a tin of 'Marmade' which was concentrated orange and made several jars of marmalade - still not the same as made with fresh oranges.
ReplyDeleteMmmm. That looks wonderful. I really like marmalade, but have only used it in one recipe that I can think of, which was a muffin recipe torn from a magazine.
ReplyDeleteQuick google and it's called Ma Made by Hartley's and still available.
ReplyDeleteI've never made marmalade and yours looks lovely. I've never made it because a: I don't eat enough of it to justify making it and b: my mum makes loads and is always offloading it onto me!
ReplyDeletewell done,it is, indeed satisfying to see those glowing pots.
ReplyDeleteI used to make a grapefruit marmalade with port!!
What a great way to spend a cold day, and delicious results. Your jars look so pretty with their floral caps. I love homemade marmalade but like you don't often eat it - thank goodness it keeps well.
ReplyDeleteMarmalade cake yum!
ReplyDeleteI love making a chocolate sponge pudding with marmalade in the bottom. Great winter stodge!
ReplyDeleteI've made marmalade from the prepared fruit beofre too but always been too lazy to prepare the fruit myself. I do eat it regularly though, for breakfast. I think I used to make a Farmhouse Tea Loaf that had marmalade in it and it was delicious! Very moist.
ReplyDeleteI do favour a darker marmalade Gina, 'Vintage Oxford'it's like dark chocolate compared to milk choc,a really intense taste. I often use it to brush over pork tenderloin,a big spoonful in a venison casserole, any sticky barbecue type sauce benefits from a dollop. A celebration trifle with the sponge spread with it makes for a really grown up taste. Of course all this is in my head these days, dieting and marmalade are not easy bed partners!
ReplyDeleteMust have been on the same wavelength this morning! I too bought Seville oranges today, but went sledging instead of making marmalade! I have a good recipe for marmalade cake. Just ask.
ReplyDeleteMy other half is the jam maker in this house and he was only saying a couple of days ago that he needed to be thinking about making some marmalade. I LOVE marmalade on bread and butter pudding.
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderful, I've made jam from time to time, but never marmalade, probably because I'm not a big fan, don't like the bitterness.
ReplyDeleteGina, I am no marmalade lover I'm afraid but my husband loves it. I occasionally make him a Frosted Marmalade Cake (Nigel Slater recipe) but it uses such a small amount of the stuff that it would take you years to use up all those jars you made! PS I see you're the lucky winner of a gift from Uganda. When I saw your name pop up on Bobby's newsletter I thought to myself 'that lucky Gina gets everywhere!!'
ReplyDeleteHave you tried the marmalade ice cream recipe in the Nigel Slater Diaries II? It's on my To Do list as I still have a cupboardful of the stuff from my last batch two years ago...
ReplyDeleteVery nice and the lime marmalade sounds delicious it's my favourite but the pink grapefruit sounds just as tasty.
ReplyDeleteI do like mamalade on hot buttered toast but have never made any, I now have a hankering so go and buy oranges - yours looks so good!
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