Seville Orange Marmalade

Today I made my first batch of Seville Orange Marmalade from the oranges I had bought at the market last Wednesday.

As I had done last year, I used this recipe from Delia Smith. I had just over 2 kg of oranges so that was just the right amount for two batches.

Here are a few photos of the process.

I squeezed the oranges (and one lemon), adding the juice to my pan of 2 1/2l water, and cut up the peel. Any pith or seeds were added to what came from the squeezing on a square of muslin on a plate. Each half shell of orange was cut into 4 and each of those quarters folded over and sliced, the slices being added to the pan. One more bit of peel left to go here.

The muslin containing the pith and pips was tied up into a bag with a bit of string... 

...and added to the pan, with one end of the string tied to a handle.

The peel (and bag) were then gently simmered for over 2 hours until the peel was sift enough to break when bent.

The bag was put on a plate to cool...

the 2kg of sugar was added and dissolved on a low heat before squeezing the gooey pectin rich juices from the muslin and stirring it in. Then the heat was turned up and the mixture boiled.

After 15 minutes, and then again every 5-10 minutes I tested whether the marmalade was ready using a drop of the mixture on a plate taken from the freezer to try the "wrinkle test". If, when cooled the mixture wrinkles when you push it with your little finger it is ready.

Finally (after well over an hour of boiling, my mixture was ready to put into jars.

The verdict? Delicious!