Plenty of recipes on the 'net. BBC Food will provide more than enough instruction.Yeah but then what? I need guidance.
Plenty of recipes on the 'net. BBC Food will provide more than enough instruction.Yeah but then what? I need guidance.
They make the process control a bloody sight easier. Yes, you can get the set point using skill, experience and judgement instead of a thermometer, just like you can drive car at the speed limit without a speedo, but an accurate measure makes the job a damn sight easier.. Never could see the point of thermometers for preserving purposes.
Has peel been done? Most important part of DIY marmalade, i.m.o. I tend to freeze peel from various citrus fruit months in advance, just to add to the balance. Had I been a woman my name would be Emma.
Desir de Corse - 3 Agrumes.
It's the master of marmalades. All other marmalades live in its shadow.
You could be right, I thought he was asking more about brands.Never heard of it, but if it's commercially made, home-made marmalade can beat it. It's just a pity that unlike jam making, which is a doddle, marmalade making is at least 3 or 4 times more labour intensive. It's also longer, I find, to get that precise setting point which leaves you with stuff you can spoon out when cold rather than pour out or end up as marmalade concrete.
I used to add various spirits and liqueurs to mine (rum and whisky + cointreau etc. but if added afterwards it thins the mix and regardless, the resultant flavour, unless you like that sort of thing, tends to mask the pure marmalade piquancy.
And the rind is chopped, which I find is a better in-gob experience than stringy rind.
So far as pectin is concerned - you need enough to get a set, and I BELIEVE that oranges aren't as high as lemons - hence you add lemon juice (or pectin - can't remember the name, but in a bottle)…
I use to make my own very much like you describe. Shop bought just isn't the same.I make my own, it's easy, although Seville oranges are only available in the local greengrocer for a few weeks each year, usually around February, so I buy a few kilos and make enough to last a year.
Assuming a kilo of oranges, put them in enough boiling water to cover them and simmer in a large covered pan for a couple of hours. Remove the oranges and let them cool a bit, keep the liquid. Scoop all the pulp and seeds out of the oranges and force it all through a sieve into the liquid. Finely chop the peel and add that, all of it. Add a bit more water, and sugar to taste (I use less than most people because I like it bitter), and a bit of lemon juice for the pectin. Boil it up for 25 minutes or so and then pour it into warmed sterilised jars. Best marmalade ever.
Hmm, I'll have another go next Feb.
That's even more tempting Mike. I shall keep my eyes peeled (did you see what I did there?).Actually, Chilly, my ante-penultimate batch was made in November/December simply from common or garden oranges plus lemons, grapefruit and a couple of limes. Reason was that Sainsbury's were selling off surplus and soon to expire stocks at silly prices; as I can resist anything except temptation I came home with an inordinate amount. The marmalade turned out as good as any other batch. Sure, Sevilles are the right choice (more pips if less juice) but not an absolute requirement for waiting until everybody else is being creative. Maybe this should be a sticky?