No "Food & Drink" board is complete without its Marmalade thread.
I've just jarred 11lb of best Seville Orange marmalade. Absolutely marvellous stuff. I've used old "Bonne Maman" jars because I think they are the easiest to scrape out. I'm also interested to see how many of the lids' "vacuum buttons" my marmalade will suck down. Last time we made some, the success rate was pretty high.
Marmalade.And all because we didn't know what to do with these strange fruits! Or so I've heard, but can't find a reference to it now, that when seville oranges were introduced to Britain, people found them too bitter to eat raw and didn't think to peel them before cooking.
Marvellous.
Lemon marmalade makes a nice change every now and then.
It's Jam, but with Oranges, Lemons or Limes.
What's not to like?
I wonder wtf they grew them in the first place then before we invented marmalade ?
Partner dislikes its bitterness.
6lbs sugar
Remember - Seville oranges are only available for a short time in January.
My last lot, with the seedless oranges, was not as good as usual, but wasn't as bad as I'd feared. I'm in the process of jarring up about 16lb of pure Seville orange stuff - apart from the two lemons. I've never tried the recipe without those. I wonder what they do?
Edit: approximately 30lb. That's enough to make ⅟20th of a ton of marmalade.Do you think you could express that in terms of metric shedloads? ;D
How can anyone not like marmalade?I've got a friend who only likes the pale orange shredless stuff. What's the point of that? Total waste of oranges.
How can anyone not like marmalade?I've got a friend who only likes the pale orange shredless stuff. What's the point of that? Total waste of oranges.
I like marmalade like I like my men - dark and bitter. With bits in. ???
Recipe here (https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=8902.msg161263#msg161263).
To caramelise it, just cook it for a bit too long.
Wow has competition!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-12444399 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-12444399)
Remember - Seville oranges are only available for a short time in January. they freeze well for user throughout the year.
Where the bloody hel do you buy Seville oranges? :-\ ??? :-[
Where the bloody hel do you buy Seville oranges? :-\ ??? :-[\
Sounds good but a relatively low sugar content might make this more likely to go mouldy. Refrigerate and eat fast!
Where the bloody hel do you buy Seville oranges? :-\ ??? :-[\
Waitrose had them, at a price, last week. The greengrocer in Rochford had them at a much more reasonable price the week before. I haven't bought any yet, but we've still got a load in the freezer from previous years.
Marmalade.And all because we didn't know what to do with these strange fruits! Or so I've heard, but can't find a reference to it now, that when seville oranges were introduced to Britain, people found them too bitter to eat raw and didn't think to peel them before cooking.
Marvellous.
I have a local lady who makes very good Seville marmalade for me, but if I wanted to do it myself, how could I do even better, ie stronger and perhaps a little more bitter? Any other ways other than using more peel and less sugar?
Whatever the truth about marmalade's origins, it's interesting how exotic ingredients get used in completely different ways from those in their native area and then become an essential part of their new home's cuisine - potatoes being the most obvious example.Marmalade.And all because we didn't know what to do with these strange fruits! Or so I've heard, but can't find a reference to it now, that when seville oranges were introduced to Britain, people found them too bitter to eat raw and didn't think to peel them before cooking.
Marvellous.
I am sure I have been told that orange marmalade was invented in dundee as a way of using something that turned up there on a boat that no one was sure what to do about.
"Popular folklore decrees that John Keiller, a retired merchant, was one day walking through the harbour area in Dundee and came across a Spanish ship which had arrived in the port to seek shelter from a storm. From this ship he is said to have bought a quantity of Seville oranges and taken them home to his wife, who used these unfamiliar ingredients to make an orange preserve – but somewhere in the process something went amiss and she ended up with what we know today as marmalade."
It seems to be a bit more complicated than that
http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/work/scotland/perth_tayside/article_2.shtml (http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/work/scotland/perth_tayside/article_2.shtml)
We've only got about a dozen jars of last year's marmalade left, so we're looking forward to the new Seville season.
In other news, our guests at the weekend came equipped with a bottle of Bombay Sapphire, a jar of marmalade, a lemon and a cocktail shaker. We provided ice and glasses. Wow! That's a speedy way to get through marmalade (and gin).
I doubt they'd make impressive marmalade. They have a high water content, thin skin and rather weak flavour.
They'd be OK in a fruit blend or for a mild teatime treat but it would be difficult to avoid an insipid result.
The marmalade didn't curdle? I've made marmaltinis in the past using the last few spoonfuls of fresh marmalade that don't fit in a jar, but adding ice just caused the marmalade to coagulate and form a lump in the bottom of the glass of gin.
The marmalade didn't curdle? I've made marmaltinis in the past using the last few spoonfuls of fresh marmalade that don't fit in a jar, but adding ice just caused the marmalade to coagulate and form a lump in the bottom of the glass of gin.
Not al all. Mark (for that is the name of the bartender who came to stay) did spend a long time shaking the mix, and it came out as a slightly cloudy drink with no lumps at all. I was impressed, not only by the delicious quaffability of it but also by the fact that, having mixed drinks for four of us, there was still some gin left over.
Yesterday Waitrose hadseville oranges at 99p a kilo, half the normal price, so I bought 3kg. I'll probably spend Saturday making a double batch, which should yield about 25 pots.I'll pop in tonight. If you left any for me!!!
Bloody Wowbagger had the last of 'em!! >:(
.... don't forget that you can freeze Seville oranges and then make (more!) marmalade later in the year.
Last year Mrs Rob froze about 4kg and then re-used the January manufacture jars for a new batch in July. Looks like we've got some in the freezer again this year
Rob
Bloody Wowbagger had the last of 'em!! >:(
Bloody Wowbagger had the last of 'em!! >:(
I left quite a few. Besides, Waitrose had them on display until late March last year.
Wowbagger's Brother's Vintage Shropshire Marmalade
Skim out the pips, which will rise to the surface.
In other news, our guests at the weekend came equipped with a bottle of Bombay Sapphire, a jar of marmalade, a lemon and a cocktail shaker. We provided ice and glasses. Wow! That's a speedy way to get through marmalade (and gin).
I noticed yesterday that the Seville oranges have appeared in Waitrose. The pretentious buggers have packaged them in an attractive (!?) cubic cardboard box, rather than leaving them loose like they do for most of their oranges. It seems to me that Seville oranges always look a lot scruffier than other varieties. £2.49 a kilo. Far too much. When the price comes down I shall buy some.
Fatters! I shall send you a text when I see them at a lower price.
Please remind us how you ensure a good set?
Thanks.
Please remind us how you ensure a good set?
Thanks.
Is that a problem? I am only familiar with jam and have never had a problem using jam sugar and boiling till jammy.
I would have thought there's enough pectin in peel to ensure setting.
Setting is assisted by
1) Acidic preserve - add lemon juice if needed
2) low water content & early caramelisation - 'boil till jammy'
2) pectin - peel has plenty but otherwise add pectin from jam sugar, Certo pectin or some Bramley apple flesh.
Presumably as the air in the jar cools it decreases in volume causing a vacuum which sucks the flexible bit of the lid down. However, if I'm right does that mean the lids not being sucked down are not sealed fully and therefore nasty bugs can get into my freshly sterilised jars? Should we open these ones first?Yes.
Perhaps this should go in the knowledge?
Given that I am currently experimenting with a refined-sugar-and-dairy-free diet, I decided to try making some marmalade with muscovado sugar instead. I don't think it's going to be a success. Firstly, my impression when boiling up the broth is that there are just too many very strong flavours in play. Secondly, it appears that muscovado has too much in the way of impurities in it and that they are molten at high temperatures. I think that there may be a problem getting this stuff to set.
Which reminds me I should go and see if the greengrocer's got any Sevilles in...Our local Waitrose has the boxes of 'marmalade oranges' back. Three, along with two bags of lemons (which were half price) are now sitting in my kitchen. I know what I will be doing in the morning.
If any of you don't make your own and happen to be there Castle Howard's Lime and Elderflower marmalade is a thing of wonder. Only sold at the shop in their stables so far as I know though.
I saw this in Lakeland the other week and was intrigued.....
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/15261/Home-Cook-Marmalade---Prepared-Seville-Oranges-Thick-Cut-850g
Now, to find the correct blade for the magimix....it should be in the garage _somewhere_
Cut it into cubes...See my post further up!
Just made mine, think it might be overcooked :(
Meh, I can't think any recipe, especially for jams, is going to be that sensitive to small variations in quantities.
Thread revival - it's that time of year.
When we cleared the former parental home I foundn, pinned up in the kitche, Dad's recipe for pressure cooked marmalade. I took it, along with the suspiciously domed bottom Prestige 75 pressure cooker and the Big Stoneware Jars he used to put a year's supply of marmalade into. The jars came from Smallfield hospital, where mum was a Crool Nurse. I try not to think what their original purpose was.
Anyway, this evening I had a crack of making my first batch of marmalade. The hardest part was translating the old man's hieroglyphics into English. It's now in jars, cooling. I used a jam thermometer so it should set ok. I'll find out in the morning.
I opened a new jar of the 2020 home-made this morning (plenty left, should last pretty much to December) - a little odd that it's a bit runnier than usual?
Grilling Mrs robgul (the manufacturer) on the matter she couldn't understand why . . . 4 batches were made (1 of Nigel Slater's recipe and 3 of another) so we'll monitor to try and fathom why.
Slight problem for next season is that a new jam pan will be required - in the past the aluminium pan has worked on a gas hob . . . we now have induction so a steel pan will be necessary (and before anyone suggests it, the "steel plate converters" don't work)
Rob
I opened a new jar of the 2020 home-made this morning (plenty left, should last pretty much to December) - a little odd that it's a bit runnier than usual?
Grilling Mrs robgul (the manufacturer) on the matter she couldn't understand why . . . 4 batches were made (1 of Nigel Slater's recipe and 3 of another) so we'll monitor to try and fathom why.
Slight problem for next season is that a new jam pan will be required - in the past the aluminium pan has worked on a gas hob . . . we now have induction so a steel pan will be necessary (and before anyone suggests it, the "steel plate converters" don't work)
Rob
My mother's aluminium preserving pan has gone to my daughter. She idolised "Grandma Beckie" and is always pleased to receive her heirlooms. We already had a stainless steel pan suitable for the induction hob which we bought probably about 18 years ago with a lot of other matching pans. It works perfectly well, but I'm a little suspicious of the welds on the handle. they look quite delicate and we had one break on on of the saucepan lids once. I hate to think what the result might be with the pan containing almost 12lb scalding marmalade, should one of the handles part company rom the body of the pan.
Have you managed to seal the jars?
I use "Bonne Maman" style jars as I find them the easiest to fill as their tops are wide. When the marmalade is hot, I make a point of tightening the lids as much as possible. You will need to wear rubber gloves as the jars are too hot to handle. Then the marmalade will vacuum-seal itself as it cools and moisture can't get in. As the jars are cooling you hear a series of satisfying "dink" noises as the vacuum button gets pushed down by air pressure. I reckon to get something like 80% success in the jars sealing themselves in this way.
I've noticed that the BM brand raspberry jam in our fridge tends to deliquesce quite rapidly - a jar of that stuff rarely lasts a week in our house and by the end of the week there's a little fluid around the jelly. I wonder whether there's something in the recipe which is causing it?
I would have thought there was a lot in citrus peel but need to check this.
Jam sugar contains added pectin but is quite pricy.
I never finished the Certo I bought.
Calling all marmalade makers.............
...... looks like Waitrose has this years Seville oranges in stock.....................
3 boxes arrived. Just over a kilo in each box. 2 boxes-worth in the freezer.........
Nice and fresh they are.
GC
I'm limited regarding the size of the pan we can use. I used to have an enormlus preserving pan but it won't work on our induction hob, so I gave it to my daughter. The stainless steel one I use now is about 5 litres, so 3lb oranges according to the recipe I posted years ago at the start of this thread are the limit. Also, slicing up more than 3lb is such a tedious job that it drives me nuts. I did a double quantity once. Never again.
If Paddington should be unavailable, may I offer myself as a stand-in?
I've seen the film, and I'm not going to argue with Knuckles :D
2kg of seville oranges, 4kg sugar, 4 lemons, 2.2l water. That assumes I've deciphered Dad's handwriting correctly. Doubling up the recipe was almost a mistake - it only just fitted in the pan.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/t0otyZOrAJaFS7jB5mMQrLehQmrlnu7X-ufSy9t1NiUNUKv4J0F_X8gUJdEZ7zK1CpCsiF_ECszar2uKUc0s1aZhXv4IBBKPHDYrh7ctvWaebcmf3hhpJ0naAICuLS3Noy9j5ZFSFOQ=w2400)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WzdMqWMNb1v0aTyrI4b-HvafqBEQcq7r_awepu78cY4s4ZLQvjcjg-UPjPg_KeFTPndPL156t8is7qi062N7og9jsmsL0Cj7EimnCgqu-3jCyAGCCTRYdcPhUlZtOPx4LiCwXGGd7lc=w2400)
I'm sure I've said before (though possibly not in this thread) I a) never re-use lids, it's wax paper, elastic bands and cellophane circles for me and b) I scrape off the mouldy bits and spread the rest.
The USDA says you shouldn't (https://www.insider.com/can-you-eat-moldy-jam-jelly-is-it-safe-2020-7) and Theresa May does (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47226427).
To be honest, the fact she does is inclined to make me stop.
I like marmalade (eventually) but wouldn't have a clue where to start making it.
Mrs Pcolbeck is making marmalade. Its her first time so I am awaiting the results with baited breath.
We have made jam and chilli jam before but never marmalade. I bought proper jam pan this week and she has invested in a jam funnel and a new orange squeezer (after remembering this morning that I dropped and smashed the old one last year - oops).
A friend of mine likes making marmalade and gave me a jar of whiskey marmalade from a recent batch. I hate to think how much of a bottle went into the saucepan, but just taking the lid off makes you light headed. Good job I only cycle to work rather than drive!
Bought two kilos of Seville oranges yesterday.
However other tasks ahead this weekend include: building up my fixer, freshly back from the powder coater and looking after the Gorgeous Grandchildren for the first time. Descisions, descisions...
True. Out to the SEECRIT bunker to fettle the trailer.Bought two kilos of Seville oranges yesterday.
However other tasks ahead this weekend include: building up my fixer, freshly back from the powder coater and looking after the Gorgeous Grandchildren for the first time. Descisions, descisions...
The bike won't change, it'll be there next week, next month. The time with the kids is precious and fleeting.
I use the trusty Delia Smith recipe from an old copy of her complete cookery course. Nothing fancy but works every time.
There's no need for anything fancy.
I use the trusty Delia Smith recipe from an old copy of her complete cookery course. Nothing fancy but works every time.
We have a copy of that (1983 edition) so I shall investigate. Ta!
ETA: just had a look - seems very familiar, suspect this is in fact the recipe I used when I made marmalade before.
Buttering a pan might be for anti-politician outcome [1,2], rather than preventing sticking.
[1] Prevention of scum - the real problem
[2] Thinking Boris, Braverwoman etc but other scum is available
There's no need for anything fancy.... but you can't beat pink grapefruit marmalade - heavenly! Never made it, mind.
Dont Buy
Incredibly sour and bitter and frankly inedible. Whole lot have ended up in the compost bin.
Worst oranges ever
Bitter, full of seeds, hardly any juice in them! Couldn't even eat a single slice. Will throw away!
My mum used the tinned Sevilles back in the ‘60’s when fresh were hard to find.
A 225ml jar will hold around 320g of marmalade as dissolved sugars in preserves make them MUCH more dense than plain water.
You might fillfewer jars than your first estimate, for this reason...
A 225ml jar will hold around 320g of marmalade
Yes, my parents used to use (possibly still do use) Mamade if Seville oranges are not available and more marmalade is required.My mum used the tinned Sevilles back in the ‘60’s when fresh were hard to find.
The one that I remember was called 'Ma made' - which seems kind of appropriate.
Success! 6.5 jars of marmalade* from just over a kilo of oranges. I have another kilo with which to make a second batch, which I shall do tomorrow.
I usually leave jarred marmalade for at least a couple of months before I open it.
The trick is never to deplete stock, patience not required
Here's the impact of cooking temperature on marmalade set:
marmalade cooked to the lower end of the range (217–218°F or 103ºC) has a bright citrus flavour like fresh citrus fruit, but it is more on the watery side of set. The peel is very tender. Marmalade cooked to this temperature dribbles off your toast and leaves a trail in your kitchen or on your keyboard, if you are like me, doing chores while eating marmalade on toast in the morning, without a plate to catch the drips. Delicious, but drippy.
marmalade cooked to the middle of the range (219°F or 104ºC) is not as drippy, but not overly set. The flavour is still bright and the peel is tender, but the preserve is just a touch thicker.
marmalade cooked to the upper end of the range (220–221°F or 105ºC) is set just right for me: 220°F is considered the setting point of jam, also known as the gelling point, and this is where things get really interesting. The marmalade is much thicker, but with a touch of dribble to it, the peel is firmer, and the flavour is completely different. The citrus flavour is still there, but it's not as bright. The caramel undertone is coming through and there's a bit of a bitter orange flavour that lingers.
marmalade cooked to the setting point, 222°F (105.5ºC), is chewy and very thick: this is the upper limit, in my opinion, as beyond this point, the peel gets really, really chewy. At 222°F, the peel is a "nice" chewy. Past 222°F (106ºC), the peel is bordering on tough, and not so pleasant.