Thursday, January 8, 2009

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!

8 comments:

purpledogstar said...

That looks very tasty. Great photos too.

Unknown said...

Hi honey!,

Yes, was very tasty. A good smooth light taste I'd not expected. I think it had to do with shredding the rind particularly fine - or maybe it was that it was organic?

:) The photos are courtesy of your xmas gift to me - and yes, I think they turned out well, too! xoxo

Anonymous said...

Huzzah and congratulations!

I lost my job in October, but got a part-time one in December, but still looking.

Best part is the time I have had with my family, while the boys are still so young. But the economy is really getting to me.

C, who also will consider this the time to get her pot garden going. NO, not that kind of pot. I have a bunch of pots on my porch in which I want to grow herbs and tomatoes, etc. But yeah, the Home Depot guy looked at me funny when I said I needed help in sustaining a pot garden ....

Unknown said...

Hi C!

Good luck with the job! I've found with an investment of time my $10 fee to the garden co-op has reaped me at least 4-5 times that in actual produce with some to spare for the homeless/hungry.

Now, all co-ops are different, but mine provided the seed, the fertilizer, the compost, the water, and all the tools. Almost anything you would need, including advice.

The only requirement I have is to attend at least 3 work parties a semester and they're on the 1st or 2nd Saturday of the month. In fact, I have one to attend in the morning tomorrow. We're putting polyeurethane on the greenhouse (and that's my area, as co-manager).

I found it well worth the investment, even on a strictly economic level.

Anonymous said...

Love homemade marmalade, Deb's dad makes a good one.

C

Unknown said...

Hi Col!

Congrats on publishing 3 of your poems!

Yes, I hadn't made any marmalade since I was a child. But this was fun. I'd definitely do it again, having had such a good result this time.

Hope you and Deb are well!

:)

Anonymous said...

I think we are starting to get something like that here. A local restaurant bought a former auto dealership with the intention of creating a co-op warehouse in the back. C, who wants to grow stuff, but my hubby and I cannot decide where we want it! With a half acre, you would think anywhere, right? We suck at picking growing locations. We've killed all our rosebushes already. He managed to eradicate the mint from my front walkway. How in the hell is it possible to kill mint?!

Unknown said...

Hey, don't feel so bad, I have killed mint before. I used to be a bad plant killer, but then I had to learn to care for them.

lol

Which reminds me, last time I was out at the co-op there was mint all over the place on the ground. It was incredible. It just creeps up all around. :) Maybe I'll take that home so I can kill it?

:D