Thursday, January 5, 2012

Making Marmalade

Stewing up Seville oranges, available now at the Wedge coop for 99 cents/lb.
These wintertime Spanish oranges are too bitter and sour to eat, but that's why they make the best, tangiest marmalade.
The recipe takes some time but is super easy: basically, just boil oranges up with sugar.
Orange pith, peel, and pips (seeds) contain pectin, so you don't have to add a thickener.

Seville Orange Marmalade Recipe

1. Place whole oranges in pan and cover with water. Boil for 2 hours.

2. Cut cooled oranges in half. Scoop out the innards, and return the pulp and pips (seeds) to cooking water. Simmer another 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, thinly slice orange peels.

4. Strain pulp and pips from orange water/juice. (Seville oranges are full of pips!)
Squeeze as much pulp as possible through the strainer back into the water, to become marmalade.

5. Add orange peel and sugar (to taste---it takes quite a lot of sugar!--almost equal parts orange/water and sugar) to water/juice.
Simmer gently another 30 minutes or so, until marmalade starts to thicken. (Will thicken a little more in fridge.)

6. Cool, and pour into jars. Store in fridge.