Fran's Pink Navel Marmalade
Seville oranges favoured for their sour flavour are a traditional choice. They’re also packed with pips which contain pectin to aid setting. As they have a short season, other citrus fruits can make a great substitute. We love Sicilian pink navel oranges, supplied by our friends at Natoora, for a fresh-flavoured & quick marmalade as they contain very few pips, if any.
Ingredients
- 1 kg pink navel oranges or other citrus fruit
- 1 lemon
- 1 litre water
- 900g preserving sugar
Additional: Muslin cloth and cooking twine
Makes approximately 2kg
Cooking time - 2 hours
Method:
- Cut the oranges and lemon into quarters and slice finely; remove all pips from the fruit
- Cut a square of muslin, place pips in the middle, gather edges together and tie securely
- Place fruit, pips in muslin and water in a medium to large thick-bottom pan; bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour stirring frequently; if the water evaporates too quickly, you may add more water (200 ml max); the fruit should soften and break down
- Remove the pips bag and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze all juice back into pan and discard
- Add the sugar, mix well; select a medium heat to create a gentle rolling boil for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring constantly and checking that the fruit is not sticking to bottom of pan; the marmalade will thicken and reach a setting point temperature; N.B. at no point leave the marmalade unattended, it will need constant stirring
- Test for setting point; place a small spoonful of the marmalade onto a saucer and place in bottom of fridge for 7 minutes; it should form a skin and have a set consistency; if not, continue to carefully simmer; a thermometer may also be inserted into centre of the pan until a temperature of 105°C is reached
- Carefully transfer the marmalade to sterilised jars; allow to cool, then seal and label; store in a cool dark place for up to 4 months
BK Tips
- Combine a variety of citrus fruits — oranges, clementines, mandarins, grapefruits, etc — to make your very own house marmalade
- Preserving sugar contains pectin to help setting; once you gain confidence, try using brown sugar to achieve a beautiful dark marmalade
- Ratio of fruit to sugar is 1 kg fruit : 900g sugar to adjust quantity
