By Ben Mims, The New York Times
All throughout the year, fruit can be turned into tart jams, wiggly jellies and smooth, comforting fruit butters. But once the bleakness of winter sets in, that routine feels like a necessity, turning citrus into bright marmalade that invigorates morning toast. Making marmalade is truly the best thing about winter. And, as Paddington knows, it’s wonderful when spread into sandwiches. (A couple slices of cheddar in there are great, too.)
Marmalade techniques abound, and many are complicated, but everyone can master this easy recipe with good old-fashioned navel oranges and a little patience. This method comes from years of experimenting and delivers the most streamlined path to the most potent hit of citrus. The tricks below ensure perfect preserves.
Start with fruit you can find.
Traditional recipes call for Seville oranges, bitter, sour, fragrant citrus fruits that stand up to the amount of sugar needed for proper preserves. Grown primarily in Spain, Sevilles are only in season from midwinter to early spring and aren’t easy to find in the United States. Because their bitterness can be quite powerful, the peels are often blanched up to three times: boiled, drained and rinsed to remove some of their bite.
To mimic the unique tangy bittersweetness of Sevilles, simply use a combination of oranges and lemon. Not only are they more readily available and affordable, they take less time to turn into marmalade. Navel oranges have a pleasing, balanced bitterness, so there’s no need to repeatedly blanch the peels.
Plan for an overnight soak.
Navel orange and lemon peels only need to be boiled once, but must be left in their boiling liquid for 12 to 24 hours to extract as much pectin as possible. The pectin within the peels’ walls acts as a gel to set jelly into a wobbly blob. Without it, you would have only heavy orange syrup.
Pick the right pot.
The depth and width of the Dutch oven or heavy pot used affect the evaporation rate of the water, and thus, can alter the cook time of the marmalade dramatically. For this recipe, a 7 1/2- to 8-quart pot that’s 11 inches in diameter provides adequate space to set marmalade more quickly. If you don’t have a pot this big, halve the recipe to cook in a 4-quart pot.
Slice the orange peels as you please.
Quarter-inch-thick slices are classic, but you can go super thin or cut the peels into small squares. It depends on whether you want large, chewy pieces or thin slivers that blend into the surrounding jelly more seamlessly. And while many recipes start with cutting raw orange peels into shreds, this method cooks the peels first, which softens them and makes the cutting process much easier on your hands. If you prefer to skip slicing altogether, you can use a food processor to pulse the peels into smaller, irregular pieces. The choice is up to you.
Stick to the sugar quantity.
If the weight of the oranges is a couple ounces lower or higher than the prescribed amount, it’s OK. Just don’t alter the quantity of sugar. While it may be tempting to reduce it, the marmalade won’t set correctly with any less. This recipe uses more lemon juice than traditional versions (plus their spent peels), and is pleasantly bitter from the orange peels. Rest assured, it will not taste cloyingly sweet, but rather, balanced and bright as all great fruit preserves should.
Test for a just-right consistency.
The most important note is in regards to timing: Because this recipe doesn’t use powdered pectin, the cooking time may vary by up to 30 minutes. It relies instead on the pectin leached from the orange peels, and the amount and strength of pectin in each orange varies, as do most things in nature. The time needed for the marmalade to set will depend on how big the oranges are and how much pectin their peels have.
The best way to ensure the marmalade is spreadable without being too syrupy or firm is by testing it. Put plates in the freezer when you start soaking your boiled fruit. Once the marmalade has cooked, spoon the hot peels and liquid onto one of the frozen plates. Return the plate to the freezer for a minute, then push your finger through the liquid. If it wrinkles and clings to the transparent peels in a jellylike coating, the marmalade is ready. If it doesn’t, keep boiling it until it does.
This is the easiest and, blessedly, least complicated way to make a zesty marmalade. It will help get you through winter until the sun takes over and gets back to its job.
Recipe: Orange Marmalade
By Ben Mims
Marmalade techniques abound, and many are complicated, but everyone can master this easy recipe with good old-fashioned navel oranges and a little patience. Most traditional recipes are made with Seville oranges, a fragrant citrus that often requires blanching to remove some of its bitterness. To mimic the unique tangy bittersweetness of Sevilles, this method simply uses a combination of oranges and lemon. Rest assured, it will not taste cloyingly sweet, but rather balanced and bright, as all great fruit preserves should. One step that can’t be rushed, however, is an overnight soak to extract as much pectin from the boiled peels as possible — this will keep the marmalade spreadable and buoyant.
Yield: 5 to 6 half-pint jars
Total time: About 3 hours, plus overnight resting
Ingredients
- 2 pounds plus 2 ounces (963 grams) navel oranges (5 to 8 oranges), scrubbed and halved (see Tip)
- 3 large lemons, scrubbed and halved
- 4 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (963 grams) sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or sea salt
Preparation
1. Juice the oranges into a liquid measuring cup and place the spent peels, as well as any pulp and membrane caught on the juicer, into a large (71/2- to 8-quart) Dutch oven or other heavy pot (see Tip). You should have about 1 1/4 cups of juice; if you have more, save the excess for another use. Juice the lemons into a small bowl, reserving 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons of the juice and adding the spent peels to the pot. Cover and refrigerate the containers of juice until needed the next day.
2. Cover the peels with 14 to 16 cups of water (enough so the peels freely bob). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cover the pot and cook until the tip of a paring knife can pierce the peels very easily, about 1 hour.
3. Remove the pot from the heat and let the peels cool and steep in the pectin-rich liquid, covered, at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Meanwhile, place three small plates in the freezer; you will use these to test the set of the marmalade tomorrow, and you want them to be truly ice-cold (see Tip).
4. Uncover the pot and retrieve the peels, gently squeezing them so any liquid falls back into the pot. (The liquid on your hands should have a greasiness to it; that is the pectin.) Cut each orange peel half in half again to make two quarters. Using a small spoon, gently scrape the membranes and most of the pith from each quarter back into the pot, leaving behind a clean, smooth piece of peel with a thin, even layer of pith attached; place the peels on a cutting board. Slice the orange peels into whatever thickness you prefer (a 1/4-inch thickness is classic, but you can go super thin or cut them into a small dice instead). Alternatively, transfer the scraped orange peels to a food processor and pulse a few times to make smaller, irregular pieces.
5. Squeeze out any juice from the lemon peels back into the pot and discard the lemon peels.
6. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl and strain the contents of the pot; reserve the pot. Use a spoon to stir and press the solids into the sieve repeatedly until they break down into a dry, applesauce-like paste. Look at the underside of the sieve: You should see lots of gel-like goop. That is more pectin, and you want it in the marmalade, so use the spoon to scrape the pectin into the strained liquid. Discard the solids in the sieve and pour the orange juice from Step 1 through the sieve into the bowl too, to rinse off any remaining pectin.
7. Pour the strained liquid back into the pot. Set it over high heat and bring to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, slowly pour in the sugar while stirring until it is dissolved. Add the cut orange peels, the reserved lemon juice and the salt. Return the mixture to boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-high so it still boils but not as violently.
8. Let the marmalade cook for about 20 minutes. As it boils, it may foam up wildly. Using a slotted spoon, repeatedly scoop the top of the foam into the center of the pot to keep the foam from boiling over the side of the pot. You may also need to adjust the heat to keep the liquid from boiling over.
9. At the 20-minute mark, remove the pot from the heat, let the marmalade settle down, then spoon a blob of peels and liquid onto one of the frozen plates. Return the plate to the freezer for 1 minute. Remove the plate and push your finger through the liquid. If the liquid wrinkles and clings to the transparent peels in a jellylike coating, the marmalade is ready. If it’s still too loose, return the pot of marmalade to the heat, bring to a boil, then cook for 2 minutes more. Remove the pot from the heat and check the set again. Repeat until the marmalade is done. (If you want extra insurance, use a candy thermometer: When the temperature of the marmalade is 218 to 221 degrees, test it on the frozen plates.)
10. Once the marmalade is done, remove the pot from the heat and let the marmalade settle for 5 minutes. Use a large spoon to skim off any foam on the top. (This is not necessary, but helps produce a crystal-clear marmalade.) If storing in jars, use a ladle to transfer the hot marmalade into clean glass jars of any size, though 8-ounce jars are the most sensible. Cover with lids, let cool to room temperature, then store the marmalade in the refrigerator. (Canning the jam will lengthen its shelf life.)
Tips
If the weight of your oranges is a couple ounces lower or higher than the listed amount, it is OK; just aim for the target weight.
A 7- to 8-quart pot provides the adequate width and depth for the controlled evaporation that is crucial to this recipe. If you don’t have a pot this size, use a stock pot and increase the cook time as needed, or halve the recipe to make a smaller batch in a 4- to 5-quart pot.
Rather than powdered pectin, this recipe relies on the natural pectin leached from the orange peels themselves. Since the amount of natural pectin in oranges differs, the cook time required to achieve a nicely set marmalade may vary by as much as 20 or 30 minutes. The plate test is the best way to ensure the marmalade will be jellylike and spreadable, without being too syrupy or too firm.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.