Orange & Lime Marmalade with regular sweet oranges
Delicious marmalade recipe made with regular - sweet oranges and limes, which can be made any time of the year and uses the traditional method of marmalade making. Small batch & easy to make recipe.
Equipment
- large saucepan
- muslin bag
- 3 jam jars medium size (or 4 small ones)
Ingredients
- 300 grams Oranges (regular - sweet) about 2 medium sized oranges
- 200 grams Limes about 2 limes
- 1 kg sugar
- 1100 litre water
Instructions
The first step (at least 12-24 hrs before you want to make your marmalade)
- Wash your oranges and limes and scrub them to get rid of any wax or dirt.
- Cut all the fruit lengthways in quarters and using a spoon scoop up all the pith, juice and collect all the lime and orange pips.
- Keep any orange juice for later and separate the pips and pith (all the white bits) by using a sieve.
- Cut all the orange and lime peel in either thin slices or thick ones, depending on what you prefer.
- Tie all the collected pith and pips into a muslin bag (or a bit of clean white cotton fabric) and place to a non-iron or steel bowl (I use a large plastic bowl), with the water and the thinly shredded peel.
- Cover and leave for approximately 12- 24 hrs to make sure that the pectin is released and your marmalade sets well at the end of your marmalade making process.
Second step - the next day
- When you are ready to make your marmalade, transfer the marmalade mixture to a large saucepan and on a medium heat simmer gently until the orange peel is soft and the water content is reduced by about half. This could take 45-60 minutes, depending on the thickness of the oranges peel)
- Test (and taste) the peel to make sure it's soft and cooked through. The orange and lime peel will look see-through and more opaque than before.
- When the peel is soft, check that you have about 500ml of water/liquid left.
- Squeeze the muslin bag with orange & lime pips and pith and discard.
- Add the orange and lime juice saved from the first stage of your marmalade making and top it up to 500 ml. You can use water or other (shop bought) orange juice.
- Add sugar and let it dissolve properly. Check on the back of a soup spoon that all the sugar crystals have dissolved before you move to the next step.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the marmalade to boil and boil for about 10-15 minutes or until you reach the setting point.
- Check your setting point using a cold plate and a spoonful of the marmalade.
- Once you are satisfied that your marmalade will reach the setting point, take it from the heat and leave it to stand for about 5 minutes. This will help to distribute the orange peel more evenly once potted.
- Divide between 3-4 jam jars, seal and let to cool down properly before storing away in a dark, cold place. Use within 12 months (or two years maximum).