That Loser Feeling: Writing: Good: Orange Marmalade

For every 2 pounds of whole oranges, use 5 pounds of sugar, and 3 quarts of cold water. (Metric: 1 kilogram of oranges to 2.5 kilograms sugar and 3 liters of cold water.) You can double this recipe, but it's slower to set, and it results in a lot of marmalade. 2 lbs of oranges is fine.

You will need:

an orange squeezer, preferably a dome juicer
a very large, non-reactive bowl (glass or plastic)
a jelly bag, or equivalent
a jelly pan (or whatever. You'll need a great big pan to boil everything in.)
a knife
a table spoon (not the measuring spoon a regular flatware table spoon)
a wooden spoon
a large, shallow baking dish
sterilized and dried jars, lids, rings, and all that happy jarring stuff

By the way, a great way to sterilize jars is simply to run them through the rinse and dry cycles in the dishwasher, and then just leave them there with the door closed until you're ready. Spiff!

Wash the fruit. Because I was using oranges from a friend's tree, this meant scrubbing them with a toothbrush. Grrrr. You won't need to do that with supermarket oranges, but still, wash 'em. Cut the oranges in half, and squeeze them. Pour all juice into the big non-reactive bowl, setting aside any seeds. Using the table spoon, scrape out all the orange pulp, leaving the pith (white part of the peel). Put all seeds and pulp in the jelly bag, and tie it closed. Put the jelly bag in the big bowl with the juice.

Now for the delightful part. Thinly slice the peels. Now is when you will regret doubling the recipe, if you have chosen to do so. Slicing the peels will take forever. You will hate oranges. You will hate everything.

Cut each orange peel dome into two halves, and flatten them when you slice. This makes it a little easier, but not much. A better idea is to cut each dome into halves, and then thinly slice them using a mandoline, if you've got one. This is much faster, but it still takes a long time. Deal with it.

Add the sliced peels to the juice in the big bowl. Add half the cold water to the mixture. Cover the bowl tightly with cellophane, and let it rest overnight. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. The marmalade will suck if you don't let it rest overnight. Leave it alone, big guy.

THE NEXT DAY: Put the contents of the big bowl, including the jelly bag, into the jelly pan. Add the remaining water. Bring to a boil, and then turn down the heat and let the juice simmer for about an hour. What you're doing is tenderizing the orange peel. Ultimately, what you're after is peel that will disintegrate when you rub it between your fingers. Take your time, and do this slowly. Stir occasionally.

About fifteen minutes before the hour is up, put the sugar in the shallow baking dish, and put it in a 250 F oven.

[You want to add warmed sugar to the mixture. Cold sugar will cool everything down, which is bad at this point.]

When the peels are tender, remove the jelly bag. Squeeze as much juice out of the bag as you are able. It's hot, so mash the bag against the side of the pan with the wooden spoon. Throw away the contents of the bag later, after it has cooled. It will be icky.

[Anyone who knows anything about jelly bags will tell you never to squeeze them, because squeezing the juice from the jelly bag clouds the jelly. This, however, is not jelly. This is marmalade. In this case, you want the pectin from the seeds and pulp to be squeezed back into the juice. It will help set the marmalade. Do it.]

Add the warmed sugar to the mixture, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. When the sugar is dissolved, turn up the heat and bring the marmalade to a boil. Stir occasionally, but keep an eye on the marmalade; it wants to boil over, and it will be sneaky about it. It usually waits for you to take a quick bathroom break to do it.

Boil the marmalade for half an hour, or much longer if you have doubled the recipe. At this point, begin testing the marmalade for "done-ness" by dribbling a couple of drops onto a saucer, and putting the saucer in the freezer for a minute or two. When the test sample of marmalade is done, its chilled "skin" will wrinkle when you smear it.

When the marmalade is done, you may stir in 1/2 cup of whiskey, if you like. Some people really dig this, but I usually leave it out. Take the marmalade off the heat, and let it rest for about ten minutes.

[You're allowing the marmalade to cool enough so that the peels will be suspended more evenly in the mixture. If you ladle the marmalade into jars while it's still very hot, the peels will float to the top.]

Ladle the marmalade into jars, and seal according to the jar manufacturer's instructions. Let set overnight, and then try to give as much of it away as possible, which will prevent you from eating it all with Double Devon Cream on scones.

Last updated 24 March 2003