Orange Marmalade

 I noticed recently that our neighborhood grocery store, Metropolitan Market, had Seville oranges. 

When we visited Nick in Spain, there were orange trees everywhere and the city of Seville was known especially for their orange trees.  Nick lived one hour south of Seville so we were very familiar with the oranges.  I couldn't believe it when I saw them in the grocery store here. 

The thing about Seville oranges is that they are really sour and if you want to eat them, you must make orange marmalade so that's what I did.  I remember when we picked one off the tree in Seville to eat, we had to immediately spit it out because it was so sour!  That was hard because the trees are EVERYWHERE in Seville and they looked so inviting. 

I thought we just got an orange that wasn't ripe because the trees near Nick's house had super sweet oranges. He had a park behind his house and we would pick the oranges and throw them over the fence into his pool. The kids would retrieve them from the pool and we'd make orange juice from them. It was a fun game and also fun making and drinking the orange juice. 

After I bought a few at the grocery store here, I told Nick and then he told us that the Seville oranges are sour because that variety of orange has the most fragrant orange blossoms. The ones by his house were a different variety. They planted the sweet variety at the park behind his house so the neighborhood could eat them. But in Seville, the fragrant orange blossoms are a tourist attraction. We were never there during the time of the orange blossoms, unfortunately. I wish we could since they are supposedly quite something to experience. Anyway, I experimented with making orange marmalade this past weekend and finally came up with a method I like best after trial and error. Now, we can't stop eating it!


With orange marmalade, you use the whole orange; the skin, pulp, the whole thing. So, you need to cook it for awhile to soften it enough to eat it. That isn't so much a problem but my problem was that it was too bitter. The membranes and white, stringy part can taste bitter which I don't like. Some people like the sweet/bitter affect of orange marmalade and I could taste the appeal of it but you don't want it to be too bitter. The other thing is that since the skin is also in the final product, it can be pretty chunky. My first batch was too chucky and bitter, although Bruce liked it. I'm just a little more finicky, I guess. Since I made two batches to get it the way I like it, we now have six jars of orange marmalade which ought to last us at least a year! I did not can them like I did all my jams and jellies because I got rid of all my canning supplies from Idaho, so I froze it. I'm still not sure we can eat them all but I plan to use them up in cooking like making chicken or pork chops with it. I think any of these recipes will work great:  glazed game hens;  plum good chicken; orange sweet and sour chicken or plum good pork chops.

You can use any type of orange for orange marmalade, even navel oranges; they don't have to be Seville oranges but I would use the same amount of sugar whether you us sweet or sour oranges since sugar is the preservative in jams and jellies and causes it to turn into a gel.  In other words, don't try to make it "healthier" by reducing the sugar.  The pectin in the skins will naturally cause the marmalade to gel to the right consistency, along with the acid from the lemon. 

I always felt apple butter was a very fall preserve and goes great with biscuits or other bread in the fall.  Now, with spring just around the corner, orange marmalade can be our spring preserve.  For whatever reason, it is tasting really good to us right now.  It might be a nice spread to add to your Easter menu.  We will be in Japan at that time but Nick wants me to bring my homemade Seville orange marmalade when we come and I will happily oblige.  I think of orange marmalade as a little bit of spring in a jar with happy memories of Spain bursting through all that glorious orange flavor.  

Makes 3 jars

1 lb. oranges or 2-3 oranges such as Seville oranges, or any variety of orange of your choice such as cara cara, naval, etc. 

1/2  fresh lemon

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

1.  Place a small plate or glass dish in the freezer.  You will use this later to test the viscosity of the marmalade.

2.  Thoroughly wash the oranges and lemon. Cut off the end or thick portion of each. 

3.  Cut the oranges and lemon is wedges, removing all the seeds as you go and as much of the white membrane or pith as possible (this is the bitter part).  Place in a food processor. 

4.  Pulse the wedges in the food processor until mushy but still some fine chunks.

5.  Place in a large stainless steel, cast iron, glass or ceramic pan and add the water. 

6.  Place pot over high heat and bring to a boil.  Cover the pot and boil for 30 minutes.

7.  Uncover and let simmer an additional 15 minutes or until citrus is very soft, stirring occasionally.

8.  Raise heat and mixture to a boil.  Add sugar to citrus mixture and mix until well combined.  Let boil until mixture reaches 220 degree F on a candy thermometer, about 45 minutes.  Keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn once the sugar is added, stirring often.  The mixture should darken in color.  

9.  Test the doneness by placing a small amount of the marmalade on the chilled plate and letting it sit for 30 seconds.  

The mixture should turn into a soft gel and move slightly and not be runny or thin, although it will continue to gel as the pan cools.  

10.  Place in airtight, freezer-safe containers leaving 1/2" headspace to allow for expansion to store in the freezer up to 1 year, but best used by 6 months.   You may also process the marmalade using a hot water bath as explained here.

I froze my marmalade which can be thawed in fridge overnight. Once thawed, it will keep for 1 or 2 weeks, up to 1 month. 

Enjoy your orange marmalade.