Marmalade oranges

If you love marmalade, and would like to try making some yourself, now's the time! Marmalade oranges are in the shops right now - we got a case of them last weekend, and all kinds of marmalade is being made. Below is a recipe - you can leave out the cranberries if you can't find any. See photos here.

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Cranberry and Orange Marmalade
This one is a perfect January preserve – Seveille oranges are only available then, and you’ll be sure to have some cranberries in the shops round Christmas. Both oranges and cranberries can be frozen, and used when you want to make this.

Ingredients:
3lb bitter (Seville) Oranges
5 pints water
1lb cranberries
7lbs sugar
2 large Lemons

Squeeze lemons and reserve juice. Scrub oranges, and remove disks form the stalk end. Put the whole oranges, and lemon peels into a large heavy pan, and cover with 4 pints of the water. A narrow rather than a wide pan might be better – it’s important that all the oranges are covered.
Cover, bring to a boil and simmer for about 1.5 hours, until the peel is quite soft. Lift out oranges and lemons, reserving the liquid. Halve oranges, and scoop out the flesh and pips into a small saucepan. Add the remaining pint of water, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 mins, to extract pectin. Put a few saucers in your freezer.
Cut up the softened peel as coarsely or finely as you like. Put the peel in a pan containing the reserved liquid, add sugar, cranberries, lemon juice, and strain the juice from the flesh and pips into this also.

Start off on a low heat, stirring while sugar dissolved. Bring to a fast boil for 10-15 minutes. Test for doneness: remove one of the saucers from the freezer, and put a little marmalade on it. Put it back in the freezer for 2-3 mins. When you check it, push the skin which has formed on top – if it wrinkles, you have successfully gelled. If not, keep boiling.

After gelling, remove form the heat, and allow to cool for 10-15 mins. This means that the fruit will be distributed well through the marmalade.

Pot in hot sterilised jam jars, put on lids, leave to cool, and label and date.