Saturday 19 January 2013

Marmalade

 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!

20 comments:

  1. you've been busy Gina! lovely colour.

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  2. I love marmalade but I have only made it once. It was like glue which is probably why I have only made it once !!!!!!
    V xxx

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  3. Your seven jars would last me 14 years!

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  4. Mmmm 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.

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  5. Mmmm. 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.

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  6. Quick google and it's called Ma Made by Hartley's and still available.

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  7. I'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!

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  8. well done,it is, indeed satisfying to see those glowing pots.
    I used to make a grapefruit marmalade with port!!

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  9. 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.

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  10. I love making a chocolate sponge pudding with marmalade in the bottom. Great winter stodge!

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  11. I'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.

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  12. I 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!

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  13. Must 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.

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  14. My 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.

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  15. Looks 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.

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  16. Gina, 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!!'

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  17. Have 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...

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  18. Very nice and the lime marmalade sounds delicious it's my favourite but the pink grapefruit sounds just as tasty.

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  19. I 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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