Boozy Seville Orange Marmalade
I know it’s late in the season to be doing anything with Seville oranges but I bought some at the end of January, meaning to do something exotic with them, put them in the drawer of the fridge and then forgot about them until I cleaned out the fridge at the weekend. They were looking a little sorry for themselves but there weren’t any green fuzzy bits yet so I thought I might as well use them up!
I was really surprised to find out when watching a cookery programme (obvious I know) on the tellybox that most of the oranges grown in Seville are exported to the UK.
I started off thinking I’d try out a Nigella recipe for a chocolate cake I’d seen many moons ago, where you poach oranges or clementines but then I realised I didn’t have enough eggs (it took 6!) but I’d already poached the oranges so, waste not, want not and seville orange marmalade was on the menu! If you are using fresh oranges, you might not need to use all the orange juice, perhaps just 150ml, but mine were a little dried out so I figured they could do with a little help!
I often use whisky in my marmalade but I didn’t have any so I have used rum in this version and it works really well.
Ingredients
1kg Seville oranges
1kg jam sugar
1kg granulated sugar
250ml orange juice (any type – I used UHT)
250ml water
Large knob butter
50ml spiced rum
Method
1. Prepare your jam jars – I put a little water in mine, about a teaspoon in each, then stick them in the microwave on high for 5 minutes just before I was ready to put the marmalade in them but that was only because I hadn’t originally planned on making marmalade. Empty out any remaining water at the last minute. What I would do if this had been planned would be to stick them on the hottest setting, clean, in the dishwasher before starting on the poaching process, then leave them in there, without opening the door until you are ready to use them. Put a saucer in the fridge.
2. Place the oranges in enough cold water to cover them in a large saucepan and bring the water to the boil. Reduce the water to a simmer, cover and let them poach for 2 hours.
3. Remove the oranges from the pan and discard the poaching liquid. Leave the oranges to cool a little so they are cool enough to handle.
4. Once they are cool enough, cut the oranges in half and remove any pips. Take one half orange and using a sharp knife remove the skin and slice it into thin strips.
5. Put the pulp from that half plus the other orange halves together with the orange juice and water into a food processor and blitz.
6. Pour the puree into a preserve pan, add the sugar and strips of peel and bring to a rapid boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to ensure all the sugar dissolves.
7. Reduce the heat to a high simmer and add the knob of butter. Continue to boil for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally. At this point, remove the saucer from the fridge and put a small blob of the marmalade onto the centre, leave for a minute or so and then draw your finger over the surface. If it wrinkles then it’s ready, if not then continue to boil for a few more minutes.
8. Add the rum, stir through, ensuring you still have a simmer then turn off the heat and leave for 2 to 3 minutes.
9. Using a jam funnel, pour into the warm jars, pop a wax disc on top and cover with the lids but don’t do them up until the marmalade has cooled. You will probably need to dry the lids off before sealing them.
