Easiest Orange Marmalade recipe in 40 years!

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ChrisGreaves
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Easiest Orange Marmalade recipe in 40 years!

Post by ChrisGreaves »

In response to LineLaline's request:-
I began making jams and marmalades around 1974, so 38 years, but by the time anyone responds it will be 40 ...

Gawler, 25 miles north of Adelaide, where every house lot had at least two fruit trees. We had a large lemon tree, ditto apricot, and a small Cumquat tree. I diced lemons, boiled them, added nowhere near enough sugar, and we started eating crepes/pancakes for breakfast so we could pour lemon fluid over them. It was awful!

Over the years I have made jam on and off, but since moving to Bonavista have bought only one jar of marmalade - Feb 4th 2029 - and a sliced loaf (No!!!) along with that.

Being lazy, I have dreamt up various shortcuts. Here is my latest batch of marmalade:-
2023_01_20221230_170653.jpg
Take three pounds of any citrus fruit. This batch came from oranges, shrink-wrapped and marked $2.99 then placed in the trolley of what people think is "Not fresh fruit", but is actually "fruit approaching rottenness" which can be translated as "this is as ripe as it is going to get". (The same trolley from which I lift very ripe tomatoes for ketchup).

I remove the aggravating plastic label, slice the oranges in half checking for pips - for a tree nurseryman these are the real reason for buying fruit. The tray of fruit will sometimes have two or more varieties in it, mandarins, lemons, grapefruit. I am not fussy.

I chop the orange-halves into segments no bigger than 3cm and handful them into a mini-chopper which I bought at a Bon-Ton store over ten years ago. The chopper reduces the handful of segments - peel and all - into pieces no more than 3mm on a side, but usually less than 2mm.

The pulp goes into my big pan and reaches within an inch of the top. On goes the heavy Pyrex lid.

Onto the stove at #3 on a dial (that runs to #10) until I can see a column of boiled pulp in the centre. I stir the mass every time I walk past the stove for the next two hours.

After two hours I add an equivalent original weight of sugar, all at once, and stir it in for about 60 seconds, then stir it every time I walk past for about two hours.

Bottle it and sterilize/seal the filled jars in my tub.

Done!

Notes:
(a) I really do mix the fruits – lemon, grapefruit, orange, lime, mandarin. I am omnivorous. It should be noted that some folks are on medication that forbids grapefruit.
(b) I really am averse to work. TIME is on my side here; a great deal can be accomplished by letting things soak, stew, etc.
(c) The jars in the image are regular mason jars, four of about two-cup capacity, one of one-cup capacity.
(d) I hand them out around town as a “thank you” gift to folks in stores. They say it tastes good and that I am a genius. I don’t argue with people nowadays.
(e) The number is a unique number on my system in one of my many WhatFAQ documents that provides a link into a page that holds the recipe.
(f) I have stopped writing the name on the piece of masking tape. I can SEE that it is orange marmalade/

Cheers, Chris
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LineLaline
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Re: Easiest Orange Marmalade recipe in 40 years!

Post by LineLaline »

Thank you so much for this detailed description of the process!
I knew about grapefruit being tricky. Not before I should have known about it. But at least I knew after that.

It would be fun to try this with other citrus fruit. I once saw a documentary named 'The Fruit Hunters', they had the most marvellous kinds of fruit and one was a special lime that looked like a waterfall of citrus. I watched it thinking 'Oh it would be so nice to have a partner who would enjoy travelling with me to all these locations and to try these fruits!' There was also the 'last tree' of one particular fruit, it was kept hidden because of, well, people, profit... This tree had a guardian to protect it. Fruit are so wonderful. I would like to tour the world and taste special fruit, and vegetables mind you because I may even like those more, from every region. Fruit and vegetables: my favourites ever since I was a child. And cheese.
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