marmalade recipes
Here's our simple and easy marmalade recipe. If you'd like more recipes then please have a look at our recipe index!
Seville Orange Marmalade
15-minute Honey Marmalade
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The simplest and best-flavoured marmalade!
- 1 kg oranges
- a lemon or two if you have them
- 2 kg granulated sugar (don't worry, you won't be eating it all at once!)
- 2 ½ litres water
- muslin square and some string
Preparation:
Cut the oranges and lemon in half, then squeeze out all the juice into a jug and set it aside. Next you need to get what's left of the oranges and scrape out all the pips and the pith (the white stuff on the inside of the skin) and put it onto the square of muslin cloth. This may sound like a fiddly job, but the pith and pips contain a lot of pectin, and pectin is what allows the marmalade to set, so the more of the orange you can use the better; you don't have to get every last shred of the pith though! Using a long piece of string, tie up the cloth to make a bag containing the pips and pith. You should just be left with the skin, which needs chopping finely.
How to cook it:
Put the water in a big pan, and add the juice from the oranges and lemons. Tie the muslin bag to the handle of the pan and allow it to bob in the water. Add the orange peel to the water and simmer for two hours until the peel is totally soft. Remove the little muslin bag and pour the sugar into the pan. Allow the sugar to dissolve completely (it needs to dissolve properly over a low heat so it doesn’t burn later).
Turn up the hob temperature to a high heat, then squeeze the muslin bag out into the pan and stir in the liquid (ie the pectin) that comes out. Cook the marmalade at this temperature for 10-15 minutes, then check whether it sets by putting a small blob on a cold surface like a chilled plate or even an ice cube! You'll know it's set if it goes wrinkly when you push it with your finger. If it doesn’t then keep cooking it for a few more minutes, checking it again every so often.
Once it's done, leave the marmalade to settle for quarter of an hour. While you're waiting you can sterilise some jars by putting them in a big pan of boiling water for a few minutes. Dry the jars, but before they cool, spoon in the marmalade and seal them straight away! Keep the marmalade in a cool dark place once you’ve finished, then invite some people over for brunch to show it off!
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So simple! This is a quick route to marmalade heaven. Enough for 6-8 pieces of toast
- 1 blood orange, navel or Seville orange
- 4 tbsp clear honey
Halve the orange and extract the juice. Collect 4 tbsp of juice and place in a sauce pan.
Cut the juiced halves into three pieces each. Make a cut down under the white pithy bit, starting at one of the pointy ends and shimmy the knife right down, parallel to the board to remove the white pith. What you want is a fairly neat looking piece of peel on the board.
Slice the peel into very thin slivers (about 1/8cm thick and about 4cm long). You need 2 tbsp of peel. Once done, add to the pot with the orange juice. Place this over a medium heat until it starts to bubble up. As soon as it does, stir in the honey with a wooden spoon. Let this bubble up a bit, reduce the heat slightly and let it gently bubble away, stirring the whole time, for 7 minutes.
Once the time is up, the mixture should look thickened up but still pourable. Decant into a little pot (you'll have 1/3 to half a normal-sized jam jar). Use straight away or keep at room temperature for up to three days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!
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