A recipe for easy homemade marmalade (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak fruit before making marmalade? ›

Add the shredded peel and muslin bag to the pan along with the water. Leave to soak overnight. This helps to extract the maximum amount of pectin from the fruit pulp, which will give a better set.

Here are the key steps to get right when making marmalade. But first, you gotta pick the right fruit. Historically, and even today, the best fruit for the job is a Seville orange, a sour-bitter variety that's used as a souring agent in many Caribbean and Latin American cuisines in lieu of lemons or limes.

Pectin is key

“Mandarin marmalade is harder to make; mandarins don't have as much pectin. Lemons are really good. A lemon and ginger marmalade's a really nice one to make, lots of pectin, so that one will set easily.

Boiling to a set

I always make small batches of marmalade, using 675g of fruit. Once the sugar is dissolved, a boil to a set takes an average of 5-7 minutes.

I typically use 4 cups of sugar for every 4 cups of fruit mixture, which produces a rather tart marmalade. Feel free to use more! Squeeze the pectin from the bag: Once your pectin bag has cooled to the point you can handle it, squeeze it like play-doh to extract extra pectin.

I prefer to use low sugar pectin, as the resulting marmalade is still sweet – but not overly sugary. The final secret in producing a sweet marmalade is to boil the orange peels several times to leach out the bitterness.

Lemons contain a very high amount of pectin, which naturally sets and thickens the marmalade. If your marmalade is too thick for your liking after it cools, then it's likely that too much water evaporated as it simmered, and you can just add a bit more water for a more spoonable consistency.

Making Marmalade and Jams with Pectin

Pectin is a gelling agent and provides texture, helping the setting process when jams and marmalade cools. Fast set high methoxyl pectin is mostly used for chunky jams and marmalades. Pectin is especially used to thicken recipes that include low-pectin-producing fruits.

To prevent scum forming on the top of your jam, add a knob of butter to your fruit at the same time as you add the sugar, we recommend 20 grams per 1 kilogram of fruit. Note: Scum is nothing sinister, it is only air bubbles that are created during the cooking process, they will not ruin your jam/marmalade if they form.

Many marmalade recipes will have you remove the peel, boil it once, twice, or three times, and then separate the tasty and colorful zest from the bitter white pith. However, you can also remove the pith at the start. Use a sharp peeler or paring knife to carefully cut off the zest from each piece of fruit.

How long does homemade marmalade last? ›

Once the jars have cooled, it's best to store them in a cool, dark place—no excessive light or heat. Stored properly, the marmalade will last up to one year. Once you open a jar, store it in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 3 months.

You simply spoon a little of the peel and cooking liquid onto a frozen plate, then return it to the freezer for 2 minutes. Take the plate out and push your finger through the liquid part. If it “wrinkles” and looks like, well, set jelly, you know the marmalade is ready.

Pam Corbin, preserving expert and former owner of Thursday Cottage, marmalade and jam makers: After adding sugar to the oranges, stir the mixture over a gentle heat to ensure it's completely dissolved before it starts to boil. Once it's reached a rolling boil, disturb it as little as possible.

Baking soda is slightly alkaline and helps to break down the peels, shortening the time it takes to cook and soften them. You do not have to use it to make good marmalade, but it helps shorten the cooking process.

Soaking can reduce anti-nutrients such as phytic acid, tannins, and enzyme inhibitors present in nuts and dry fruits. This enhances the bioavailability of nutrients, which leads to better absorption. Soaking nuts and dry fruits provides hydration and may help counterbalance the dryness associated with Vata dosha.

Submerge the fruit or vegetables in the baking soda water. Let soak for 12 to 15 minutes. The time will help the baking soda do its job. Swish the produce around in the water or push it down several times to ensure all sides of the produce is being cleaned.

It could be that…. You used too much water or not enough oranges or not enough sugar. You didn't extract enough pectin from the muslin bag. The heat was too low so you didn't fast boil the marmalade.