Marmalade

[annedonnelly]

One of our market fruit & veg traders posted on Facebook yesterday that they have them in, so they've made it to Newcastle.

I've not seen any blood oranges yet though

 

[roubaixtuesday]

I've not seen any blood oranges yet though

Another January favourite of mine too. I have to report our local posh deli had them a week ago.

 

[T4tomo]

Isn't that really early for Seville oranges? Usually it's end of January through to mid-February...

I use a pre-war (1930s) method for making marmalade. No need to worry about pectin or pips. Here is what I do:

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/recipe-reynards-easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy-marmalade.256471/

The only difference to this (since I originally posted this four years ago) is that I now soak the cut fruit overnight in the water (between steps 6 and 7) as it gives a softer result when cooked. With a 1-1 ratio of sugar to fruit, you get a lovely zingy flavour and a really good set without any messing around.

P.S. If you still have any cranberries left (fresh or frozen), cranberry & orange marmalade is lush. Use one part cranberry to one part sweet oranges or tangerines. Trust me on this one.

yes 1:1 sugar sounds better to me than double sugar to fruit. I dont have a really sweet tooth and like a bit of tang. Will look out for sevilles and blood oranges when they are in season

 

[Reynard]

yes 1:1 sugar sounds better to me than double sugar to fruit. I dont have a really sweet tooth and like a bit of tang. Will look out for sevilles and blood oranges when they are in season

I've won red rosettes for my marmalades in produce shows, so I think it kind of hits the spot.

P.S. I too, do not like overly sweet preserves. And with less sugar, you taste more of the fruit.

 

[Reynard]

Picked up 5lbs of Seville oranges on Ely market this morning at 75p / lb.

Kind of rather pleased with that.

 

[MidnightRider]

My greengrocer (who buys fresh at the fruit and veg market auction most mornings) says
Sevilles are available immediately after Boxing day and are only around for 2 or 3 weeks at most,
vanishing from the fruit auctions as fast as they first turned up.

She does not know why the timescale is so tight. Perhaps the jam companies have some kind of impact on supplies. Lots of orange varieties fruit for a longish period, often having both maturing fruit and new flowers on at the same time, but maybe Sevilles are not that kind and have a biologically tiny season. I suppose supermarkets may have a longer contract or supermarkets are just slower putting them on the shelves making the season seem longer? I also wonder if green grocers get first flush high value fruit in good condition and maybe at end of season the poorer cheaper fruit go to the jam companies.

 

[Reynard]

My greengrocer (who buys fresh at the fruit and veg market auction most mornings) says
Sevilles are available immediately after Boxing day and are only around for 2 or 3 weeks at most,
vanishing from the fruit auctions as fast as they first turned up.

Useful to know

She does not know why the timescale is so tight. Perhaps the jam companies have some kind of impact on supplies. Lots of orange varieties fruit for a longish period, often having both maturing fruit and new flowers on at the same time, but maybe Sevilles are not that kind and have a biologically tiny season. I suppose supermarkets may have a longer contract or supermarkets are just slower putting them on the shelves making the season seem longer? I also wonder if green grocers get first flush high value fruit in good condition and maybe at end of season the poorer cheaper fruit go to the jam companies.

Tradition, apparently. According to Mr Google, marmalade is (apparently*) traditionally made between Christmas and the end of the financial year, but that Seville oranges are usually harvested from November onwards.

*I make marmalade whenever I get my mitts on cheap (usually yellow sticker) citrus!

 

[Electric_Andy]

My mum always used Robertson's Ma Made. Basically tinned marmalade mix. It was always delicious even though it's cheating

 

[Emanresu]

Picked up 5lbs of Seville oranges on Ely market this morning at 75p / lb.

Hope they were not the sweepings...

Pic of Seville in late January 2022 before cycling north. Council staff knocking the oranges off the trees, sweeping up and carrying them away. You can help yourself, but they are quite bitter by then.

 

[T4tomo]

Isn't the bitterness part of why they make good marmalade?

 

[Gwylan]

Oh God it's that time of year.

Friends act like weird when they are pass on their gloop in a jar. Like it's a holy relic and must be venerated.

Go all weirder when you decline.

We had a shelf full of politely accepted jars of their concoctions.

Reduced to tipping it in the food waste after 5 years and secretly recycling the jars. Like hiding bodies.

My brother in law is an obsessive marmalade maker. Just keeps banging the stuff out.
Waxes lyrical about the crop, recipe mods, hints and tips,sort of declares vintages.
I still don't like it.

How do I tell him I really do not care?
But he likes bread sauce on Christmas lunch. Not much hope really.

 

[Emanresu]

A friend's father who is over 90 loves making marmalade. He goes to Sainsbury's on his mobility scooter to pick up the ingredients then heads home to his kitchen for a few hours of bliss. Next day the home care comes in to try to deep clean the mess left behind. They are angels as they never complain.

 

[mistyoptic]

Oh God it's that time of year.

Friends act like weird when they are pass on their gloop in a jar. Like it's a holy relic and must be venerated.

Go all weirder when you decline.

We had a shelf full of politely accepted jars of their concoctions.

Reduced to tipping it in the food waste after 5 years and secretly recycling the jars. Like hiding bodies.

My brother in law is an obsessive marmalade maker. Just keeps banging the stuff out.
Waxes lyrical about the crop, recipe mods, hints and tips,sort of declares vintages.
I still don't like it.

How do I tell him I really do not care?
But he likes bread sauce on Christmas lunch. Not much hope really.

But it’s so beautiful…

 

[Gwylan]

But it’s so beautiful…
View attachment 759566

There is not enough glitter in the world .....

 

[roubaixtuesday]

There is not enough glitter in the world .....

BURN THE HERETIC