I do this most years, because I like home made marmalade much better than shop bought – although shop bought lime marmalade is good. Making it is a chore, though, but I tend to forget that between years…….
Seeing the Seville oranges in the shop I knew it was the time to get to work again – especially as I had started the last pot from last year. So I gathered the ingredients……..
……spent hours removing pith and putting it with the pips in a muslin square……
……and cutting up the peel, which goes in the jam pan with the orange’s juice and the juice from the lemons.
The pith and pips were soaked overnight…….
………and with the water needed, everything was boiled for hours.
The windows steam up and the whole house smells of cooking marmalade. (How does one put smells on a computer?)
When reduced to about half, the muslin was squeezed to remove any more pectin. Sugar was added; more boiling; testing for setting – not sure how good a set it is; left for a while – supposedly to stop the peel from rising in the pots; then potted up and covers put on.
All done in 2 half days……
Just under 11 lbs – not wonderful – should be nearer 12 – and I am not sure it has set very well and the peel has still risen in the pots.
So is it worth it? Probably, ‘cos I do like it. But I will have to spend another 2 days doing another batch……