11. Citrus Marmalade

I love the tartness of marmalade. It seems to perfectly cut through the buttery, bready goodness of whatever you may wish to spread it on. It takes a good hour of pith scraping and rind slicing to get started, but it's totally worth the effort.

Citrus Marmalade

Makes about 1.5kg or 3 medium jam jars

2 large oranges

5 clementines

4 lemons

1.5kg water

1.2kg sugar

Wash all your fruit. Cut in half and squeeze the juice over a sieve to collect any pips. Line a bowl with muslin cloth and add the contents of the sieve. Using a spoon or sharp knife, remove as much of the white pith as possible adding to the muslin. Finely slice the peel and add with the water and the collected juices to a very large casserole (minimum 5 litres). Tie a knot in your muslin cloth and add to your mixture. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 2 hours. Leave to cool.

Prepare your jam jars by removing any seals and popping the jars on a baking tray with their lids. Put the whole lot into a cold oven and turn it on to 110ºC. Bake for a minimum of 30 minutes (conveniently the same amount of time it takes to cook your jam). Sterilise any seals and jam equipment (ie. ladle, funnel, what have you's) by boiling them for 20-30 seconds. I like to use clamp top jars because I find them beautiful and they make for a nice container to gift jam in. Whatever you decide to use, make sure your jars are hot when you fill them (this helps create that airtight seal that prevents your jam from going off).

Remove your muslin bag and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place a small plate in the freezer. Add your sugar into the casserole and cook over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook for 20-30 minutes, until the jam reaches it's setting point of 105ºC. Otherwise spoon a bit of hot jam onto your frozen plate and leave for a minute to cool. Push the jam with your finger: if it wrinkles, it's set. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Give it a little stir before filling your warm jam jars and sealing. If using screw top jars, you'll hear the jars pop into place creating that vacuum seal. Store in a cool dark place for up to a year. Once opened, refrigerate and consume within 3 months.