Recipe Orange Marmalade

The recipe uses fresh Seville oranges. This will make small batches of marmalade, no more than 2.25kg (5lb) Smaller batches mean shorter boiling times to reach setting point, which gives true flavour.

1. Remove the juice from the oranges and pour the juice and the water into a large stainless-steel lidded pan. Scrape out the inner membranes and pips out of the oranges with a small knife. Do not remove the pith. Juice the lemon and add the juice to the pan. Discard the lemon halves.
2. Finely chop the membranes by hand or using a small chopper or food processer. Put the chopped membranes, pips and any stray parts of the oranges left in the juicer into a 33cm x 33cm (13 x 13 in) piece of thin cotton muslin. Tie this up tightly with string and add to the pan, securing it to one of the pan handles.
3. Quarter the orange shells. Turn them peel side down and slice them evenly, either with the knife almost touching your fingers or at graduated distances from your fingers. Add them to the pan. If possible, leave the pan overnight to allow the contents to soak.
4. Next day, bring the lidded pan to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer gently for two hours. Remove the lid and set aside. The peel should be very tender. Warm the sugar in a low oven at 140C (275F/Gas 1). Remove the muslin bag and squeeze it over the pan through a sieve. Check the volume level in the pan- it should be reduced by a third.
5. Add the sugar and dissolve over a low heat. Place the jars in the oven. Bring the pan to a rolling boil and start testing for a set after 5 minutes. Scoop out a spoonful of warm marmalade, turn the spoon horizontally and look for a flake hanging from the side of the spoon. Once setting point is reached, remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes. 
6. Remove any scum with a metal spoon by pushing it to the side of the pan and then removing it. Gently stir the marmalade to distribute the peel. Ladle the marmalade into a jug and pour into the jars, or pour the marmalade directly from the pan into the jars using a jam funnel. Pour up to the brim of the jars. Remove any stray scum with a teaspoon. Seal the jars with new twist-top lids. Alternatively, apply a waxed cellophane disc to the surface of each jar and when cold cover each jar with a cellophane top secured with a rubber band.

Taken from First Preserve: Marmalade by Vivien Lloyd (Citrus Press. £17.99)