We now have Seville Oranges in stock – the quintessential marmalade orange.

Making preserves is one of our favourite winter pastimes and the final product is always better for the labour of love we have made! So today we thought we could share some fantastic homemade marmalade recipes.

The best thing about making marmalade is that it’s hard to go too wrong and very easy to experiment until you find the perfect recipe for you.

What You’ll Need to Make Orange Marmalade 

Seville oranges

These are the best marmalade oranges thanks to their high pectin content (the ingredient that allows marmalade to set) and the beautiful sweet but bitter flavour the peel offers when added.

Lemons

A minimum of one but often two or more depending on which recipe you want to follow.

Sugar

At least 1kg of white granulated sugar. You can also use

Preserving Pan

If you don’t have access to a preserving pan any large non-aluminium pan will do just fine.

Muslin

A small piece of muslin is fine. (Not essential but useful).

Jars

Air tight jars for the marmalade.

Ingredients: 4 Seville Oranges, 1.7 litres of water and 1kg of white granulated sugar.

This is a simple recipe with a brilliant flavour and a great place to start if you’ve never made marmalade before.

Step 1:

Start by halving the Seville Oranges and squeezing the juice into your pan over a sieve. Squeeze out as much juice as possible and then add the remainder to your muslin. Shred the remaining pith and peel using a sharp knife. Add this to your muslin bag and tie it together. Leave this to soak overnight or for an afternoon if you can’t wait to get started!

Step 2:

Put your pan on a medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Leave with the lid of at this temperature for an hour and a half to two hours. To see if it’s ready check a larger piece of meal – if it’s soft and almost see through then its ready.

Step 3:

Remove the muslin bag (you will need to wear gloves as it will be VERY HOT). Squeeze the bag to remove liquid back into your pan. You will then need to remove the muslin and weigh the remaining peel. You want around 800 grams of peel. If there is less you will need to add a little extra water.

Step 4:

Add the sugar to the pan and put over a low heat. Make sure not to let the mixture boil and ensure the sugar dissolves thoroughly.

Step 5:

Bring to the boil without stirring. After a few minutes the mixture will start to rise. After 8 minutes you will want to test the marmalade for its setting point. To test for the setting point remove the pan from the heat. Take a spoon full of the mixture and add to a small plate. Place this into your freezer for 1 minute. After this time if the marmalade doesn’t run back to its original point when you run a finger through it you have reached the setting point. If it does run back then return the mixture to the heat and repeat the process after 5 more minutes.

Step 6:

Once you’ve reached the setting point leave the marmalade to thicken (off the heat). Pour the marmalade into sterilised jars.

Congratulations you’ve just made your first marmalade!

Marmalade Recipe Variations

If you want to experiment with your marmalade recipes there are lots of ways to try. Many people choose to add grapefruit for a sharper flavour or to add lemon to increase the pectin content. You can also add brown sugar to create a richer flavour or mix with other citrus fruits to make interesting and unusual flavours. Happy preserving.