I make a batch of this every year for my friend Jeff. It is bright, it is sharp, it is bold, the ginger packs one hell of a punch and it is always comforting; Jeff’s special marmalade.
Marmalade making takes place in two stages – a boiling the fruit and macerating it in sugar syrup stage- and the actual boiling up into a set stage. Thus you can chop a longer process in two and make marmalade in the middle of the night, in the middle of summer and in the middle of a pandemic too.
I eat mine on toast, make upside down cakes with it and sneak it into the bottom of crème caramel moulds for a twist.
In this recipe I use fruit sugar, concentrated grape juice and more lemons to ensure a light marmalade and a perfect set. The amount of ginger is generous and roughly chopped as I generally find that there is no such thing as too much ginger but if you prefer things a little less head-on then grate the ginger and reduce the amount a little.
Ingredients
Makes 10-12 small jars
- 1.0kg of sliced boiled oranges
- 2 lemons halved and juice reserved
- 1.75 litres of water the oranges and lemon halves have boiled in
- 150g roughly chopped ginger
- 800g fruit sugar
- 800ml concentrated grape juice
How To
Gadgets and Gizmos: a heavy bottomed pan or a special jam pan help, a sugar thermometer helps but is not essential. A wide neck funnel for jarring the jam.
- Step One – 1.5 hours – Boil the oranges: boil the oranges in quite a lot of water. Bring them to the boil and then simmer them very gently. They should be totally soft after boiling – test by cutting one in half.
- Take the oranges out of the water and allow to cool before slicing them (leaving overnight in the fridge can actually make this a little easier)
- Slice the soft oranges into slices as fine as you can manage
- Weigh this “sliced orange pulp” taking care to retain all the juice from inside the oranges too until you have 1.0kg
- Boil on the gentlest heat in the concentrated grape juice sugar syrup and an additional 1.75litres of water until translucent and the flesh “disappears”.
At this point your orange peel mix can be frozen until needed or chilled in the fridge for 2-3 weeks before moving to make the final jam.
Step Two – Creating the jam and jarring
Prepare your jars, put a couple of small plates in the freezer and sterilise all your utensils according to Jam Sessions – Jam Making Rules
Add the fruit sugar, the lemon juice to the mixture and also place the lemon halves in too (for a bit of extra pectin power).
Turn the heat so the jam gently dissolves the sugar until the mixture looks shiny and glassy. Then switch the heat to max to reach a rolling boil. If you have a sugar thermometer you want it to reach 104C which is when gelling happens. Boil for 15-20 minutes before you start testing for the setting point (see the Rules) by placing small quantities on the plates.
As soon as you are happy that it is set add the chopped/ grated ginger and stir through and take off the heat. (the same applies for any aromatics you may care to add such as whisky or vermouth or treacle)
Fill the hot jars. Close the lids. Invert the jars while the jam is still hot (this is where you really do want to be sure you closed the lids tight – trust me!) to sterilise that air space and then leave to cool. Water bath them if you want to add another layer of certainty about spoilage.