Seville Orange Marmalade

Paddington Bear was one of my favourite cartoon characters as a child. I was very proud that I had a little leather suitcase, just like  Paddington, that I brought everywhere. There is something very caring and lovable about this little bear that has an amazing appeal to children and adults alike. The Paddington books have sold more than thirty-five million copies worldwide and have been translated into over forty languages. Even though I haven't seen Paddington on television in a long time he is still  in the business- so to say. As he was an avid fan of marmalade and his image is used by many companies to promote this preserve. The World’s Original Marmalade Awards & Festival will take place at the historic Dalemain Mansion, in the Lake District, UK on February 12th and 13th 2011 and Paddington will be there to partake in the marmalade tasting. Click Here if you would like some more information on this event.

Marmalade is best made with Seville oranges which are only in season for about 4 weeks, at this time of each year. I am constantly in search of new jam and marmalade recipes and welcome tips on how best to set these without the use of 'jam sugar'. A fellow blogger Joanna from Smorgasblog  was making marmalade in the past few weeks and gave plenty of tips through Twitter and shared this article from the Guardian which proved quite useful. This recipe for Seville orange marmalade is from Skye Gyngell's new book- How I Cook. I followed the method exactly and to my delight it set perfectly. I thought the idea of measuring the liquid and fruit before adding the sugar was a good one as naturally the amount of liquid left in the pan may differ between cooks so therefore this makes for a more accurate recipe. If you would like to make this marmalade you will have to be quick as their season for this year is almost over.

Seville Orange Marmalade

Ingredients

1kg Seville oranges
3 litres water
2 pinches of salt
about 2kg caster sugar

Method

1. Scrub the oranges, thinly slice the oranges into pinwheels – leave the skin on but discard the pips. Put the fruit, water and salt into a large pot. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer gently until the peel is soft; this will take about 2 hrs. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 24 hours.
2. The following day bring to a boil and to every cup of fruit/water mixture add a cup of sugar. Return to the boil and cook for 30 minutes.
3. To test whether the marmalade is set, place a flat plate into the fridge to chill. Spoon a teaspoon of marmalade on to the chilled plate and, if it is ready, it will immediately set like sticky jelly. Remove from the heat and spoon into hot sterilised jars.