I should have posted this a month ago – however, a month ago I didn’t have Seville oranges so I couldn’t tell you about the recipe which I had never tried before.
I am useless when it comes to making jams and marmalades – but this is totally idiot proof and above all, soooo easy. So if you can still find Seville oranges in the shops and have an afternoon to waste, do make this marmalade. The result is perfect. There should be photos but there aren’t as I can’t find the camera, but take it from me it looks and tastes divine.
The recipe will make about 7 or 8 average pots so before starting, hunt them out or turn out your fridge for pots that have bits that have been lurking in them for months going mouldy, put them through the machine and get going!
WHAT YOU NEED
10 Seville oranges (don’t worry about the weight)
1 lemon
2.5 litres of water
2kg of crystallised suger
1 large stewing pan and a colander
Piece of muslin or a tea towel + bit of string
METHOD
Put oranges and the lemon in pan with the water – leave them whole. Boil for 30 minutes until soft. Lift them out into colander and allow to drip over pan. When cool cut in half and scoop out middle into muslin which is lining a largish bowl. Put zests to one side. Dissolve sugar in your pan of water, stirring until dissolved so that it doesn’t stick – this takes a few minutes. Slice up the zests to the thickness you require and put in pan. Tie up muslin with string and stick it in pan, attaching it to one of the handles so it doesn’t float around too much. Bring this to the boil stirring occasionally and keep on boiling for 45 minutes (you will get a rolling ball as the juice starts to thicken a bit – this is pretty self-explanatory if you watch the bubbles). Turn off heat, take out muslin, put in colander and allow to drip over marmalade. When cool enough squish out remaining juice into marmalade (I use a potato masher). Give marmalade a good stir and then put into hottish steralised pots. This is messy and your fingers suffer! Allow to sit for 5 mintes and then cover. Wipe off sticky marmalade stuck to outside of pot – this is inevitable. Leave to sit for 24 hours and then eat!
This must be the easiest and least messy way of making marmalade. It works out at about £1 a pot which is about the same price as in the supermarket, but far more satisfying to eat your own, or if you have lots, to give as a present.
If you find the oranges (as the season is now drawing to a close) but don’t have time to make it, put the oranges into the deep freeze until needed – defrost 24 hours before using.
Et voilà!
My mother, product of the post-war years of rationing, once got her hands on Seville oranges for free on holiday (I cringe, but I think she picked them from the ornamental trees growing in Seville). She tried to make wine with them. It stored well. We called it the “cat piss” wine, and served it to unwelcome visitors.
Can’t get them in our area of France, but we did go to Tunisia, found loads of trees in the hotel gardens and were given permission to pick what we liked on condition we showed the chef how to make marmalade. Their english clients always asked for it.
Haven’t been back, unfortunately..it was a super friendly hotel…so I don’t know if they continued past the first batch.
Now, we have a seville orange tree on our little farm in Costa Rica but Mr Fly has been too ill this year to get over and they will be ripe in about a fortnight’s time.
Last year, Don Danilo, who looks after the coffee, thought to please me by bringing the sevilles in one day while still green to make fruit drinks. So, last year, no chance.
Before that, didn’t know we had a tree as it was covered in parasitic plants.
So, this year. Do I fly out..oh, I wish…and make marmalade, or do I try to send the instructions in Spanish to Dona Luz.
Two problems.
One…my Spanish.
Two…glass jars are almost unknown in Costa Rica. Even soft drinks can come in a plastic bag.
I have left a supply garnered from american friends, but probably not enough.
I used an inordinate amount of them for the lime pickle and mango chutney I made last year from fruit Don Danilo did not think to bring in to make fruit drinks.
Three. Getting to a rolling boil at altitude.
Now, thanks to you, I am like the hart that pants for cooling streams – but of marmalade.
I hope you can live with the responsibility.
Quite well, I should think!
Must try this…I love marmalade, yum. I’ve never seen Seville oranges around here though. Would it work with ordinary oranges, do you think? Or lemons or grapefruits? My mouth’s watering just thinking about it!
I made marmalade with normal oranges last year but it wasn’t too much of a success – but I didn’t use this recipe and I didn’t cook it long enough. If you can get small rather sour oranges it will probably work but perhaps without the tangy taste being so pronounced. But then my jam and marmalade making is a totally hit and miss affair – that’s why I published this recipe as it is totally idiot proof!!
sadly with the price of oranges out here this would cost a fortune to make, but it sounds great – i love making my own jam, there’s nothing quite like homemade.
I’m glad to hear you didn’t use that tinned stuff Ma Made (you can buy it in Stonemanor), one should always use real fruit in one’s home made jam. How nice to find another Brussels blogger – there used to be a bunch of us but they all dried up except Zoe and moi.
Never heard of MaMade (sounds awful!) – rather like Aunt Bessie (who has an Aunt Bessie?).
I went once to S****M**** and was horrified – thus saying we have started up an online grocery store bringing English food into Brussels, so perhaps I am biased! You can look at it here
http://www.thegrocerystore.be
I follow Zoe’s blog – there are a few more lost souls out there in the plat pays, one of whom is
http://belgianwaffling.blogspot.com
who is totally amazing!
What’s to be horrified about? I love it, but hard to get to without a car. An online British store! Great news! I can have my tea bags delivered now.
Belgian Waffle used to be a blog by somebody else. This is a new one. I’ll put you both on my blogroll.
@ Daphne – no, it’s true the store in not horrifying but I think living out of the UK for at least 30 years has cured me of most things English – although I do have Marmite in my cupboard!
Also, the one time I went there the place was full of small, screaming children which adds to my hate of shopping … I know, I know, my children were once like that – now they just grunt and slam doors (and empty the ‘fridge)!
I was so sad when I realized that I had missed the Seville orange season this year. We only get them for a week or two. I’m going to be cross about it until next year!
Thanks so much for advice on Paris. I would like to go to the Cluny museum — having already been to the other famous ones.
Seville orange marmelade a no go..he used them for soft drinks before I got to them….keeps reassuring me that they were very good…doesn’t know how close to sudden death he was.
Fly – what a shame. I’ve still got some in the deepfreeze – shall I send them to you?!
Just to say thanks for all your v helpful and supportive comments whilst I’ve been stuck out in Dubai. They’ve been a great help Lx
I’m sure you must be getting so bored Lulu and longing to get home – the end is in sight! I tried to post on your last blog but it is blocked for some reason. Just to say keep ringing your airline, which I’m sure you are doing!
Shhhh, it’s a blogworld secret but her real name is Minette.