Lady Marmalade | Life and style | The Guardian:
The first sign of fresh Seville oranges for sale heralds the start of the preserving year and usually lasts until late February.
But be warned: recent reports that sales of manufactured marmalade have taken a nose dive and that the homemade version is on the up may mean fruit is harder to find than usual.
Best get started early.
There are two basic methods of making marmalade: paring the uncooked oranges and shredding the peel; or poaching the oranges whole before scooping out the innards and shredding the cooked peel.
I favour the latter method.
Whichever route you choose to take, the peel requires at least a couple of hours of slow cooking to get right.
According to Jane Hasell-McCosh, founder and organiser of the Marmalade Awards, undercooked peel is what lets most people down.
Last year, the festival received more than 650 entries from amateur makers, a third from men, and a further 150 entries from artisan jam makers, sent in from as far afield as Japan.
Every entry is marked for taste and appearance and every entrant receives their scorecard feedback in the post after the event.
The 2011 Marmalade Festival takes place on the 12th & 13th February (you need to get your entries in by the 6th).
It isn't necessary that your marmalade be award-winning.
It can still be delicious.
Here is my tried and tested recipe for this classic breakfast preserve.
Seville marmalade
(makes 2kg)
1 kg Seville oranges
1 lemon
1.5 kg sugar
1.25 litres water
Wash the whole fruits and place in a heavy lidded casserole or a preserving pan that will fit in the oven.
Pour in the water and bring to simmering point on the hob.
Cover or if using a preserving pan make a lid to cover the top with tin foil before placing in a 180 C, Mk4 oven.
Poach the fruit for two-and-a-half to three hours, by which time the skins will be softened.
Using a spoon, lift the fruit out of the liquid into a colander over a bowl and leave to drain.
When the fruit is cool enough to handle, cut each in half and scoop out the insides with a spoon to leave just the peel, placing all the flesh, pith and pips in a muslin bag or a large piece of muslin over a bowl which you can gather into a bag.
Collect all the juice as you go and add it to the poaching liquid.
Measure the poaching liquid and make up to 1 litre with water if necessary.
Place the muslin bag in a preserving pan with the poaching liquid and bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Leave till cool enough to handle then squeeze the bag to get as much of the liquid as possible from the pulp.
Discard the bag and its contents.
Chop the peel into thin strips and add to the preserving liquid.
Add the sugar and stir over a low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the liquid is clear.
Turn up the heat and bring to a rolling boil until it reaches setting point. (Setting point is when a dollop of the syrup on a cold plate, readily forms a skin when you push your finger across the surface. This takes me around 20 to 30 minutes.)
Turn off the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes then stir to distribute the peel.
Pour into hot, clean sterilised jars, put waxed paper circles wax side down on each one and seal immediately.
Label when cool and store in the larder.
PS
This marmalade takes a lot longer to get to the setting point ...reckons that marmalade sets between 104 and 105.5C, and that if it gets any hotter than this, then you're in trouble.
I end up with a tawny amber jelly, with a complex bittersweet flavour, although the set is less firm.
'via Blog this'
No comments:
Post a Comment