Marmalade: Disasters, Experimentation and Finally Success

One of the Citrus Direct family's aims for this website is to create a one-stop shop for everything citrus-related. There is nothing worse than have a bountiful supply of citrus fruits and having no idea what to do with them.

To help you with this dilemma we test a variety of recipes so you can have access to a wide range of products you can make with your citrus fruit. These recipes will also include the more unusual citrus fruits, which often don't have recipes in cookbooks.

As marmalade lovers, marmalade seemed like the best thing to start with. There is nothing nicer than warm toast slathered with butter and  marmalade. The traditional fruit for marmalade is Seville oranges. But why limit ourselves? The world of citrus offers a vibrant range of flavours, colours and aromas just waiting to be explored through the art of marmalade making.

Photo Above: Limequat Marmalade and Butter on Vogels Toast

Before I go into our success and failures, here is some marmalade information to help you make amazing marmalade.

• Pectin, the magical ingredient: Pectin is responsible for that gorgeous marmalade set. Many citrus fruits, like grapefruits and blood oranges, have lower natural pectin levels than Seville oranges. To ensure success, consider adding commercial pectin or jam sugar. Follow package instructions. Another option is to add the juice of a lemon, as they are high in pectin.
• The Great Peel Debate: The white pith in citrus rinds adds a delightful bitterness to your marmalade. Some recipes recommend removing all the pith. Others recommend using the whole orange, pith and all. An in between approach involves using a julienne /potato peeler to remove the thicker white sections, leaving a thin layer for depth of flavour. What you choose to do will depend on the citrus fruit you choose, your recipe, and the taste you desire.
  
  
  Photo Above: Removing the zest and pith from an orange. How much pith you remove depends on how bitter you like your marmalade.
• A Feast for the Eyes: Citrus peels come in a stunning array of colours and textures. Don't be afraid to get creative! For example combine Cutlers Red grapefruit or Moro blood orange peels with bright yellow lemon peels. Another option is orange peel with flecks of lime zest for a visually stunning marmalade.
• Have fun and experiment with different flavours and fruits. If it isn't a success don't worry. Depending on the flavour, turn it into a syrup to have with soda, a vinaigrette, marinade or add to a dessert. If its great, please share it with us.
• Vanilla Bean: For a touch of complexity, consider adding a vanilla bean pod split lengthwise to the simmering fruit mixture. Remove the pod before processing the marmalade.
• Spice it Up:  A pinch of ground ginger or cardamom can add a surprising yet delightful twist to your marmalade. Cut crystalised ginger can also be added during the last 5mins of cooking. Experiment in small batches to find your perfect flavour combination.

Marmalade Mishaps: and the Secret to Success!

In September, we embarked on an ambitious marmalade-making adventure. We dove head first into a variety of citrus fruits: Rangpur lime, Kusaie lime, Moro Blood Orange, Tarocco Blood Orange, Mixture of Navel Oranges, Navelate Orange, Limequat and Kaffir Lime. While we are marmalade lovers, when it comes to making marmalade, we are complete novices. As a result, our marmalade month was a steep learning curve consisting of failures, near disasters, and success.

The first recipe we made, actually our first ever marmalade, was Rangpur Lime marmalade. The recipe called for a staggering amount of water - 2 litres for 1 kg of limes! We followed it faithfully but soon found ourselves in a seemingly endless boiling saga. The result? A very dark marmalade with a unique flavour that left us scratching our heads. Was it simply overcooked, or was there something special about this dark delight? The jury was still out, but one thing was clear - this recipe needed some serious tweaking.

Next up was Kusaie Lime, the yellow version of a Rangpur Lime. Unfortunately, we used the same water-heavy recipe for the Kusaie lime marmalade. While both these lime marmalades were edible (just), the recipe wasn't a good.

Kaffir Lime marmalade was our next attempt. This recipe, thankfully, involved a more reasonable amount of water (600ml) water and 1.5kg of sugar. However, it called for blitzing the entire 1 kg of kaffir limes in a food processor. But after blitzing just 200g, we knew we had made a mistake. It was soooooo bitter.

We threw that out and started again.  This time we used just the zest and ripe pulp for the remaining limes. The result? Still a bit runny, but the bitterness was thankfully tamed. This marmalade needs some work - perhaps a mixed fruit version with just the zest or maybe leave the recipe as it is and use a spoonful in a marinade or dressing.

Photo Above: Kaffir Lime Marmalade. It lost its vibrant green due to all the boiling to reduce the liquid.

Our fourth variety of marmalade was Limequat, using the Kaffir Lime recipe. It looked great but was a bit too runny. Some taste testers felt it needed to be balanced with a bit or orange to make it less tart or more sugar added. I personally l like tart things.

Photo Above: LR Kusaie, Limequat, Kaffir, Mixed Orange, and Rangpur Marmalades on Lemonade Scones.

By this stage we were sick of runny marmalade. We did a lot of internet research to find the secret to the best marmalade and to find some great marmalade recipes. The recipes can be found below.

We concluded that the Secret to a Great Marmalade was Don't Add Water. Traditional marmalade relies on natural fruit pectin for setting. Water dilutes it, leading to a runny mess.

Marmalade Winners

Our first successful marmalade was made using the whole fruit marmalade recipe. I used Washington Navel, Best Seedless and Carters Navel Oranges to create a mixed Orange Marmalade. My only criticism was that it didn't really look like marmalade. Instead of having long strands of peel the peel was chopped into small confetti sized pieces.

Whole fruit Marmalade
ingredients

• 1kg citrus fruit
• 1kg sugar
• Juice of 1 large lemon, or several limequats (for pectin)
• Optional extra, crystalised ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise.

Directions

• Take the citrus fruits and wash well, removing any blemishes.
• Place in a food processor.
• Chop until finely ground, skin and all.
• Place fruit into saucepan
• Add sugar and juice of a lemon
• For an optional extra add some crystallized ginger, star anise or cinnamon
• Boil together, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 20 minutes.
• It splatters, so be careful.
• After 15 minutes, test the marmalade has set by placing a spoonful on a cold plate.
• Pour into sterilised jars and seal while hot

Note:

Do not double the ingredients, rather make two batches.

This marmalade never goes dark and lasts for up to 6 months in the fridge.

We used this recipe to make Blood Orange marmalade. The colour was a bit muted because I used a combination of Moro and Tarocco Blood Oranges.

Photo Above: Blood Orange Whole Fruit Marmalade

Next up was Lemonade Marmalade. I decided to modify the above recipe slightly.

Lemonade Marmalade

Ingredients

• 1kg lemonade fruit
• 1kg sugar

Directions

• Wash the lemonades well.
• Zest the lemonade with a potato peeler. Leave some pith on the rind. Slice thinly.
• Remove most of the pith left on the fruit.
• Place chop up fruit and place into saucepan
• Add sugar and zest
• Boil together, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 20 minutes.
• It splatters, so be careful.
• After 15 minutes, test the marmalade has set by placing a spoonful on a cold plate.
• Pour into sterilised jars and seal while hot

This was lovely but too sweet. Next time I would reduce the sugar to 700gm.

Photo Above: Lemonade Marmalade

Intense Orange Flavoured Marmalade/Jam

In this recipe I removed as much pith as I could off the orange and the zest. The result was a vibrant orange marmalade without any bitterness. It is nice for a change.

Ingredients

• 1kg Orange
• 500gm jam setting sugar
• 400gm regular sugar
• Juice of 1 large lemon, or several limequats (for pectin)

Directions

• Wash the Oranges well.
• Zest the Oranges with a potato peeler. Remove all pith from the rind. Slice thinly.
• Remove as much of the pith left on the fruit as possible.
• Place chop up fruit and place into saucepan
• Add sugars, zest and lemon or limequat juice.
• Boil together, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 20 minutes.
• It splatters, so be careful.
• After 15 minutes, test the marmalade has set by placing a spoonful on a cold plate.
• Pour into sterilised jars and seal while hot

Serving Suggestions:

Amazing over porridge, add to marinades and dressings, add to drinks for an orange hit.

Where to Next:

We are looking forward to retrying Limequat and Rangpur, Kusaie and Kafir Lime Marmalades later this year when the new fruit is on our trees. We will use one of our 3 successful recipes or modify to suit.

We are also looking to try some other types of marmalade:

• Seville Marmalade: The classic marmalade. Loved by the Queen and many others.
• Kumquat Marmalade: I can't wait to try this. Kumquats make a beautiful standard tree, but we don't use the fruit very often.
• Chinotto: Marmalade: A tiny bitter orange. This will be interesting.
• Blood Orange Marmalade: A classic with a twist, blood oranges add a stunning ruby hue and a touch of berry sweetness to the traditional recipe.
• Tangy Trio Marmalade: For a burst of citrusy sunshine, combine grapefruit, lemon, and lime rinds. Balance the tartness of grapefruit with an equal amount of lemon and a touch less lime for a vibrantly flavoured marmalade.
• Bergamot Marmalade: Embrace the exotic with this fragrant marmalade. Bergamot's delicate floral aroma and subtle citrus notes create a sophisticated spread.
• Yuzu Marmalade: This Japanese citrus gem boasts a complex profile with hints of mandarin orange, grapefruit, and even a touch of floral lime. Yuzu marmalade offers a truly unique flavour experience.

Check back later in the year to see our latest marmalade experiments.

Please send us your favourite marmalade recipes and we can share them or post in the comments box below.