How To Make Yummy Organic Orange Marmalade

A recipe for making organic orange marmalade

Stainless Steel Cooking Pot

Today I would like to show you how I make my marmalade. I live on a farm in the south of Spain. After an awful experience with Roundup, that dangerous product made by Monsanto, I went green. From 1981 on, I have used nothing harmful on the property.

On the south side of my house, I have a plot of 1000 square meters where I planted 100 orange trees in 1986. There are also some lemons, mandarins, and grapefruit trees. The orange harvest starts in December with the Washington variety, also known as navel oranges. In March, the Valencia oranges are ripe and will last till approximately June.

In March the Washington oranges are very ripe, sweet and juicy so I prefer to make the marmalade at this time (at the end of the early orange harvest). Because these oranges have not been sprayed with anything, we can use the shredded peels without a second thought.

Sterilized Marmalade Glasses

What you need

A big, 15-liter stainless steel pot.

As I normally make a batch that is 3 times the recipe described below, it is a good idea to have such a big pot. The boiling marmalade is extremely hot and can jump out and burn you while you are stirring. With a 15 liter pot, it is only filled up half the way, so it is less dangerous.

4 glass jars of around 450 ml

A wide-mouth funnel

A long wooden spoon for stirring

An apron, I recommend that as making marmalade can get sticky.

10 Organic oranges and 1 organic lemon

1 Kg of normal white sugar

Key Ingredient Organic Oranges

How to prepare

First, you need to boil the glasses, let’s say 15 minutes. Take them out and put them upside down on a cloth. Be careful as they are hot.

Of the 10 oranges, you take 5 together with the lemon. Rinse them in cold water to get the dust off and then shred the peel. I would suggest shredding medium-thick as too thick will not taste so nice. Put the peel shreddings into the marmalade cooking pot.

Shredded Orange Peel

Now you can start to peel all the fruit and cut it in smaller pieces. At the end of the season, because the oranges are so sweet, I might add 3 extra oranges to the 10 oranges, but I will not increase the amount of sugar.

Cutting the Lemons

When all is ready, you add the cut fruit to the peel and put the pot on the fire. Bring it to boil with the lid on. Once you have a hard boil, reduce the heat to bring the mix to a soft boil. Remove the lid as the amount has to reduce to at least half. You will enjoy the fact that the entire house will fill with the wonderful aroma of oranges.

Reducing the Fruit

How long does it take

The reducing of the fruit will take between 45 minutes to 1 hour. You have to stir now and then till you have reduced to half. Then comes the moment where you add the Kg of sugar. The added sugar will cause the level in the pot to double.

Bring it back to a hard boil and reduce to a soft boil again to reduce the volume to about half. This can take up to 1 and a half hours. You have to take care to stir often, as it should not stick to the bottom. Especially to the end, this boiling mixture can jump out of the pot so please be very careful as you could burn yourself.

Glasses filled with Orange Marmalade

How do you know it is ready?

When it has reduced to approx half and at least 1 hour has passed, take a spoon of marmalade and place it in the freezer to cool. After a short amount of time, take the spoon out and see if the marmalade has gotten the consistency you want. The photo below is an example. The spoon was tilted, and the marmalade did not flow off the spoon.

The Orange Marmalade tastes great

When the delicious mixture reaches the consistency you want, fill the glasses with marmalade. It is best to use a wide mouth funnel, so it is less messy. I place a piece of cellophane over the mouth of the jar and close the lid well.

Another method is to not use cellophane. When the jar is filled and you have put the lid on, you can turn it upside down. Leave it standing like that for a while.

In general, the marmalade stays good for nearly a year, but it normally does not last that long in my house. I give some glasses away to friends and eat the rest myself. It tastes so good, and no store-bought marmalade can compare to it.

Here you see some products on Amazon. From a nice Marmalade recipe book to a stainless steel pot and some jars to put the marmalade in. Then a pretty marmalade jar to have standing on your breakfast table.

An Afterthought

To make your own marmalade is not too difficult, but you will need some time. You know what ingredients you have used and the taste will surprise you. In case you do not grow fruits yourself, then the best thing is to buy organic at your local market. I think it is worthwhile. In case you have questions, do not hesitate to contact me. Before I forget, once you open the jar, keep it in the fridge.

Source: My Life

Photo Source: Private

I have made a special page for my readers. Have a look at Recommendations. You will find different things which I think could be of interest.

On this website, I have a special page you might also like to see. If you like recipes, here are some healthy ones.

Improve Your Well Being With Great Recipes