Make Homemade Orange Marmalade Out of Sour Oranges

The point of this blog - making homemade marmalade from organic sour oranges! We were out at the co-op and there was a bunch of fruit and we took some home over the holidays. More than we could reasonably eat and since I hate to waste food, so I made some of it into organic marmalade without pectin. It's much easier than you think! Over the winter, when a lot of people were gone their broccoli went into flower, as did their lettuce. We had to trim them down and compost them as they became inedible. It was sad to see all that hard work go into a bin, so I became inspired!

I took out my old Joy Of Cooking and looked up an easy recipe for sour orange marmalade. I'd made it before, when I was a kid, with my mother. This time, however, I was on my own.  Below, find my recipe for sour orange marmalade.

First, I cleaned (scrubbed) the rinds and washed the fruit thoroughly. Then, I sliced and seeded it. Then, I soaked them in 11 cups of water for 24-36 hours, to soften the rinds and get the good flavorful juices and oils in there. The next day, in the evening, I took out the fruit, removed the pulp and put the rinds into the food processor. While I was doing this, I started the simmering process with the liquor. After bringing the liquid to a boil for an hour, I added the sugar, stirring periodically. I turned the heat down to medium-low so as not to kill the pectin. I continued simmering this way for an hour more until the orange marmalade gelled on the spoon. Then, I turned it off and let it cool in the stainless-steel stock pot.Once it's done, the sour orange marmalade will keep for 6 months in a crock, or longer if you decide to put it into boiled jelly jars. I put mine in a crock for now (it's about 18 jars worth), but I will jar some in the near future to be put up for longer - or to be given as gifts to friends. I have mixed feelings about using the white sugar, but honey and other liquid sweeteners don't work to gel the jelly. It was organic sugar, so I could keep the homemade marmalade recipe pesticide and chemical-free.

So, there it is. Delicious, homemade marmalade. It's very smooth, tasty and makes a great gift!