ORANGE MARMALADE

    This gorgeous brightly hued Orange Marmalade is loaded with fresh citrusy flavour and a wonderful texture.  This Jam is quite easy to make and has no preservatives or artificial pectin in it. This recipe is for a small batch prepared with just a few Oranges.  The best thing about this preparation is that it yields you with a Fresh & Sweet Orange Marmalade full of texture and do not forget, your kitchen would be overwhelmed with a wonderfully addictive citrusy aroma.

     Marmalade, though similar to Jam or a Jelly, when prepared with Citrusy fruits comes to be called as Marmalade.  Well, In the Old French language, an orange was referred to as a 'marmalatice' & In Portuguese, 'marmelada' is the name for a fruit preserve made using quinces (looks like a pear, ripe quince fruits are hard, tart, and astringent). The words 'marmalatice' &  'marmelada' combined together to form a word 'marmalade.'

     While writing this post, I remember the lines about Orange Marmalade from Dan Brown's Novel Digital fortress -

      - The patio, Jardin de los Naranjos, was famous in Seville(Spain) for its twenty blossoming orange trees. The trees were renowned in Seville as the birthplace of English marmalade. An eighteenth‑century English trader had purchased three dozen bushels of oranges from the Seville church and taken them back to London only to find the fruit inedibly bitter. He tried to make jam from the rinds and ended up having to add pounds of sugar just to make it palatable. Orange marmalade had been born.

***The word Naranjos which means Orange Trees in Spanish, reminded me that in Malayalam we call Lemons, Naranga and could be that the word would have been derived somewhere from either of the word???

ORANGE MARMALADE

       Well coming back to Marmalades, it is usually made with Citrus fruits like Oranges, Lemons, Kumquats, Grapefruits etc., This Marmalade recipe is made with the citrus fruit peel.  It has an aromatic sweetness without the bitterness as it is commonly known for. Marmalades are mostly made with fruits like orange, kumquat, and grapefruit. This homemade orange marmalade is a wonderful combination of sweet and bitter taste, and it has a fresh, addictive aroma.  With a little bit of work, time and patience you would have a jar or two full of orange deliciousness.

     This recipe is similar to all other marmalade recipes, but I have used the Peels for the texture & without the bitterness of a traditional marmalade. Traditional marmalade recipes call for removing the peels and then boiling it once or twice and then again to removing the zest from the white pith etc., & etc., It seemed to be tedious according to me.  So went with an idea of just peeling off the zest with a vegetable peeler, then I cut off the ends of the oranges, & removed the white pith.  The next step is to cut the oranges into sections, removing the membranes & seeds.

     Pectin is one main ingredient in the preparation of Jam, which helps to thicken the Jam. The membranes and seeds of the oranges acts as a natural pectin.  And I have used the Seeds and membranes to add the natural pectin to the Marmalade by tying it up in a muslin cloth. So I have not used any Pectin powder in the recipe, you may just have to boil the jam a little longer with the membranes and seeds tied up in a muslin cloth.  This way, you can make sure that the marmalade is Sweet and not bitter.  And with the Peels in it, it is full of texture.  I know, the steps take a bit of time & needs patience, but it's worth the work. 

ORANGE MARMALADE

      Also, I have not used any preservatives in this Orange Marmalade.  I made only a small batch with just 4 Oranges, which yielded about 250-300 Grams of Marmalade. And as I live in a humid place, and as there are no preservatives in this recipe, I leave them in the refrigerator.  Refrigerate it and consume within a months time.

HOW TO MAKE ORANGE MARMALADE - HOMEMADE ORANGE MARMALADE

ORANGE MARMALADE

INGREDIENTS:

For Orange Marmalade:

METHOD:

• Wash and dry the oranges. 
• Using a sharp vegetable peeler or paring knife, peel the Orange zest. Make sure that you do not peel it with the white pith underneath it, which makes it bitter.
• Cut the zest into thin strips and keep them aside.
• Cut off the ends of the zested oranges.  Then remove the thick white pith from the oranges. Discard the ends and the white pith.
• Cut out each segment between the membranes from the peeled oranges.
• Squeeze any left out juice from the membranes and add the juice into the segmented oranges.
• Save the membranes and the seeds.  
• Tie them up in a clean muslin cloth into a 'potli' like bag and keep it aside. This is the Pectin Bag.
• Now in a heavy bottomed pan combine the thin strips of orange strips, segments and juice.
• Pour in the water and add in the Sugar.
• Bring this to boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
• Once the sugar is completely dissolved, stop stirring.
• Let it cook on a medium low flame for about 15-20 minutes.
• Add the "pectin bag" to the pot and cook the mixture until it boils.
• Meanwhile, place a couple of small plates in the freezer to chill.
• Cook the marmalade until it turns like a jelly. Be patient, this can take quite a while. Do not stir.
• Put a dollop of the marmalade on a chilled plate. Swirl the plate to spread the marmalade and gently drag a chilled spoon through it.
• If the marmalade is set, the spoon will leave a trail, and you'll still be able to see the plate where you dragged the spoon.  
• If it has set, then remove the pectin bag.  
• Squeeze out any extra marmalade sticking on to the pectin bag and then discard the bag. 
• Switch off the flame and hold it for about 5 minutes on stove top.
• Mix well until the zest is evenly spread through the marmalade.
• Use a ladle to transfer the marmalade into the clean & sterilized jars.
• Ladle the hot marmalade into clean and dry, sterilized jars.
• Allow it to cool and then cover the jars tightly before refrigerating. 
  

ORANGE MARMALADE

NOTES:

• Can use a pinch of sodium benzoate as a preservative, if you are storing it for a long time. 
• Can also add a teaspoon of pectin powder, few drops of Orange food colour and artificial orange essence if you prefer.
• Adjust the amount of sugar to suit your sweet tooth.
• This marmalade recipe is without any artificial colouring, pectin powder and preservatives.
  
• Store them in clean and dry, sterilized jars.
• Allow it to cool down completely before refrigerating.
• For a traditional method of Canning, process the Jars using the hot water bath method for 10 minutes.
• You can also freeze the marmalade, but make sure to leave a little space at the top of the jar, as it expands in the freezer.