Perfect Seville orange marmalade recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Jam Jelly and Preserves | 265 comments
As the topping for the best slice of toast of the day, good marmalade is a joy. We like it dark, chunky, hand cut and never in moderation.
Marmalade was the first preserve that we made. We were so proud of it that we could hardly bear to move it from the worktop to the larder, let alone eat it. Eventually we opened the first jar and lavished it on slice after slice of hot buttered toast.
We immediately christened it Intellectual Marmalade as so much ground work, research and care had gone into its manufacture. Visitors who spotted the label were wary of it at breakfast. Would it somehow have an effect on the brain? When they saw us slopping it onto our toast they happily did the same. No one ever mentioned the name.
We like dark old fashioned marmalade. We couldn’t find a recipe for this so we based our recipe on the classic Seville Orange Marmalade in Delia’s Complete Illustrated Cookery Course
Marmalade can be a bit of a palaver. It starts with hunting down and bagging the fruit. Despite many forays I couldn’t find any Seville oranges this year. Just as I was about to give up I saw them twinkling out in the Cambridge market on Monday. Investing my small change in three kilos of the fruit, I staggered back to the car park with just enough cash to release Jalopy from the gloomy depths.
Having made no notes on the timings of our Intellectual Marmalade recipe, I couldn’t face another day/night of babysitting the bubbling vats. I was determined to find the best old fashioned marmalade recipe, with proper timings. A couple of days ago I discovered a Dark Chunky Marmalade recipe on Delia Online. It’s made in two steps, so it’s great if you are working full time as you can spread the process over two evenings (I would recommend a spreading the task over a weekend unless your evening starts at 15.00 hours). Seville oranges will survive happily in the fridge for at least a week. They keep for months in the freezer and, if you have the room, you can stash them and make fresh marmalade throughout the year.
We have finally made Delia’s Dark Chunky Marmalade. We combined her recipe with our method and simmered ours for a good six hours before setting point was reached. It looks divine and tastes even better than my mum’s. I’m amazed that Paddington Bear hasn’t dropped by.
N.B. If you try this recipe, the poaching liquid is used in the final marmalade. The recipe isn’t very clear on this point and I found the answer in the DeliaOnline forum (press the Community button on her site to access this great resource). Also you need a very large pot! To stop all the peel rising to the top of the jars let the marmalade cool a little before bottling in sterlised jars.
Update January 14th 2011
We now have several new recipes for Seville orange marmalade to suit every taste:
A super three fruit marmalade. A best seller on our gateside stand.
Easy Seville orange marmalade. This fine shredded marmalade is a classic and gets the thumbs up from my mum and is really easy to make!
Seville orange and quince marmalade. Lots of deep flavours in this orange and quince mix.
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Where can you buy Seville oranges in South East London? The supermarkets don’t have them and the well run fruit and vegetable shop I used to buy from has closed. I drew a blank last year as well. Is this the beginning of the end of private marmalade production?!!
Hi Ed
Many apologies, I missed your comment in September. I can’t give you any advice re making marmalade in bulk as I only make one type of marmalade – a very dark bitter one that we can’t by in the shops. We love it but most people find it too bitter for their taste.
Good luck with your project.
Hi Rosie
Our marmalade isn’t too sweet as it is cooked for hours to bring out the bitterness. I’m not an experienced marmalade maker so can’t help you re reducing the sugar.
If you Google reduced sugar marmarlade I’m sure that you’ll find the answer.
Hi everyone what fascinating reading. I want to make some kind of marmalade but I don’t want it too sweet as we prefer reduced sugar jams and marmalades. Will reducing the amount of sugar still work and by how much do you think?
Hi all.
What a fasinating site and full of committed marmaloligists!
Briefly, myself and partner have been experimenting (with marmalade recipes, that is) cos we’re retiring to Seville next year.
With an abundant supply of fresh ingredients and lots of time on our hands, we thought it would be a good idea to start a cottage industry. Is this a good idea or best left to the big companies?
(We hope to export in bulkish back to England evenually.)
Any tips/suggestions out there? Looking forward to hearing your comments. Thanks.
Hi Paul
You can turn around an overset marmalade. See this post https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=514
It works for jelly, jam and chutney. Why not for marmalade?
If your marmalade/jelly/jam sets too hard you are boiling it for too long. The boiling process removes the water until you reach the setting stage. The final stages are the make or break point. I’m assuming that you know about testing for a set – ice cold plate and removing the pan from the heat when you are testing for a set as the final stages can be very quick. I’ve been caught be a quick setting point. With quinces it can be a matter of seconds. Pulling the saucepan off the heat is the key. The few minutes waiting for your sample to set can ruin your entire btach if it’s left to bubble away on the stove top.
If you are using preserving sugar it accelerates the setting process and gives the marmalade a nasty, scented taste. But it will generally set well.
I need a bit more information for a prognosis on your spevcific problem. I am not wildly experienced when it comes to marmalade making. But I™ll always have a go!
Interesting to read the trials of Bronwyn. I’ve just finished my Delia recipe, adapted at this time of the year (for the northern hemisphere) and containing, limes, grapefruit, orange, and other citrus fruits. Trouble is it is clearly about to set real hard. This happened a few years back, and is a bit depressing after the work and costs involved. I used the same adapted recipe earlier this year and the results were fine. Could someone advise me where I am going wrong “ most of the comments in this thread are about marmalade not setting, rather than it setting like boiled sugar, which I suspect is what is happening.
Paul
Hi Janet
Hoped that Bronwyn would get back to you as I only make our dark marmalade and have never made anything else.
Hi Bronwyn,
Thanks for helping out!
I was given the bag of homegrown seville oranges and yes they were very large. I only needed two and a half or three for a batch. I squeezed the halves and then scooped out all the membranes and seeds with a spoon before slicing the rind finely. Some of the photos on the internet had more seeds. I am enjoying my marmalade which is quite zingy.
It has been inspiring to read everyones marmalade journeys!
I have a large cross to bear, my mother is a marmaholic, consequently, I have never made marmalade before, as mine would never have stood up to her wonderful amber concoction,(however I have made other jams and jellies – and she approved!). But as I now live in Australia, (hello Bronwyn!), I have had to ‘bite the bullet’ and start myself.
I am using Mothers recipe, basically 2 lbs sevilles, 4 pts water, 4 lbs sugar. This is for a really ‘fresh tasting zingy,orangy amber marmalade’, not a dark one. Note, no lemon used, and the pith/peel slices plus muslin bag of pips are boiled in the water until reduced by at least 2/3rds, the fresh juice is added just before the sugar, not at the reducing stage.
But I do need help, Bronwyn, you may be able to advise! My Australian oranges were bought as Seville Oranges, however they are different to the Sevilles I know from the UK. They are large, each weighs 8oz!, very juicy, with not many pips, but with very tough membranes. I have made a very sucessful batch of marmalade with them, it has set lightly – which is what I am after, but its almost too ‘zingy’! But it tastes just great!
Any advice out there? Perhaps I am being impatient, give it time and my batch will mature?
All comments welcome
Has anyone made marmalade by slow cooking overnight in an electric oven using frozen sevilles? I was told to put them whole into a caserolle and slow cook at 60celcius.