Hi everyone, today I am going to show you how to make orange marmalade.
The word marmalade means a preserve made from citrus fruit, especially bitter oranges, prepared like jam, but in a slightly different way.
And the process is a little more complicated than regular jam.
So I will demonstrate every detail of it in this video.
Let's go over the ingredients first. Very simple, just lemon, orange and caster sugar and that’s it.
First off, score across the end of an orange.
Lightly cut along those scores from this end to the other.
This is a quick way to neatly peel an orange.
Save the zest, and then cut the flesh into a few pieces.
Or, you can slice the orange into quarters first.
And then separate the zest and flesh.
Either way is ok. Just try your best to keep the zest in shape.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, put the zest in and simmer for a minute or two.
Parboil the zest, wash them under cold running water, and then drain.
Now scape off the white pith with a spoon.
The white pith is what makes an orange bitter. So we need to remove some of them to reduce the bitterness.
Don’t remove all of them, since bitterness should be part of the flavor in your marmalade.
Or it will be plain.
Do it gently and do not break the zest.
Once done, pile some zests together and then thinly shred them into strips.
It's up to you how thick slices you want. I personally prefer very thin shreds.
Set them aside.
Set the flesh in a blender, and then pour water in it.
As for the proportion of water and orange pulp, you can check it out on my website or read the description down below.
After the flesh and water are blended into a juicy mixture,
Lay a piece of muslin bag over a bowl.
Since my muslin is a little loose, I put two layers together.
Or you can use a large piece of gauze, that works as well.
Pour the juicy mixture through muslin and separate the residue from orange juice.
So now the residue are secured in the muslin bag.
Pour the muslin bag along with the juice to a stew pot.
Tie your muslin at the edge of the pot, or you can tie it with a piece of thread.
Make sure it stays in the pot.
Doing so is to keep the residue from the juice, but at the same time, let them bath in the juice to extract flavor and pectin.
The next step is optional. You can skip this if you don’t have lemon at hand, or you simply don’t like it.
I personally am very fond of the freshness from a lemon in my marmalade.
Slice off the lemon zest.
Shred into thin strips.
The white pith of a lemon also has that bitter taste.
So if you don’t want that bitterness, you can use a peeler to peel off only the yellow zest.
Again, shred into thin strips.
And then set aside.
Halve the lemon, and squeeze the juice.
Combine them into the pot with orange juice.
Add shredded orange zest and shredded lemon zest in it as well.
Pour in a certain amount of water. You can see the ratio from my website or the description down below.
Keep a record of how much water you have added in.
So that you will be very aware of the exact amount of water in your marmalade.
And you will have a better control over the cooking process.
Now you can cook them immediately, or, if you have time, soak them for a while.
Half a day or overnight. That gives it enough time to soften the peels and extract a maximum amount of pectin.
Thus it's easier to set.
After soaking the mixture, put it over the stove and bring it to a boil. And then turn down the heat to low.
Simmer for about an hour to soften the peels.
During the cooking process, stick your spatula on muslin bag once in a while
To release the pectin from inside the bag.
After an hour, take out the bag.
Squeeze with your spatula.
The bag is very hot, that's why you are using the spatula to do the work instead of your hands.
I am going to set it aside to cool, and later I will squeeze with my hand.
Squeeze out as much of pectin as possible.
Now, add caster sugar into the pot.
Don’t be surprised at the amount of sugar I am putting into the marmalade. As a matter of fact, the sugar content is much higher in commercially produced jams.
Sugar is not just for the flavor, but also for a long-term storage.
Now our muslin bag is cooled down a little bit.
Squeeze any pectin in it out with your hand, because almost all of the pectin in your marmalade comes from this bag.
Otherwise the marmalade won't set and gelatinized as expected.
Turn the heat to high to maintain a boiling state.
Cook for about 30 minutes over high heat.
Now it's time for you to prepare the jar for your marmalade.
Make sure you boil the jars to sanitize them.
[Don’t place them at the bottom of the pot, so I placed a rack underneath here.]Put them in a large pot, and cover with boiling water. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
That will sanitize the jars completely.
Now check the boiling juicy mixture.
After boiling for about 30 minutes, the temperature increases to 105C/221F.
It's better if you have a thermometer at hand. 105C/221F is the setting point.
That means the mixture will cool down and set as a jellylike substance.
If you don’t have a thermometer, there's another way to test the temperature.
Put a plate in the freezer, and then put a dollop of mixture on the chilled plate.
Wait for a while, and then spread and drag your finger through the mixture, if it sets, that means it's done.
If not, return to the heat and boil again, and test the setting point every 5 minute.
While you are testing on a plate, make sure you turn off the heat because it's very likely to overcook at this point.
When the mixture is ready, turn off the heat.
Take out the jars and drain.
Check your mixture in the pot, remove any foam and scum on the surface if any.
Transfer the marmalade into the jars.
You should do this while the mixture is still hot. And I place a funnel at the top to keep the bottleneck clean.
Ladle the mixture into the container.
Stop and leave about 1cm headspace at the top.
Put lids on the jars.
Just top with it, but do not make it too tight.
Once finished, sterilized the jars again.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, line a piece of clean kitchen towel at the bottom.
Doing so is to keep the jars from direct contact with the bottom.
Pour in boiling water to cover all the jars.
After it boils, turn down the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes.
Now the bottles are sterilized completely, so the storage time will be longer.
Take them out with a tool.
Let them cool down a bit.
If you can hear a "bump" sound, that means your jar is vacuumed.
Tighten the lid, and flip the bottle.
There are many orange peels in it.
To make an even distribution of the peels, flip once while the jars are still warm.
When they cool down a bit but are a little warm , flip them again.
Now the peels are evenly distributed in the marmalade.
Rather than concentrate on the top or at the bottom.
A cool marmalade is like this, translucent and jellylike.
And you can see the orange peels in it.
A marmalade that has been cooled down completely can be store at room temperature if sealed properly.
And you can keep for as long as a year, because of those sanitation work we've done.
Opened marmalade needs to be in the fridge.
If you have made several jars, you may want to send them out as gifts.
So let me show you how to make a simple package.
Cut a beautiful package paper into a circle, and then wrap it over the lid.
Secure with an elastic band.
Simply flatten the edge, and it looks great.
A marmalade is very versatile.
A classic way is to spread it over your toast for a breakfast.
Or you can serve with yogurt and ice cream.
It's sour-sweet with a tangy orange flavor.
It may take you some time but you can make many at a time.
Just store them in the cupboard, and you are well supplied all year round.
It's also a pretty good choice as a gift.
I hope you enjoy this delicious marmalade, and thanks for watching.