Oranges and lemons, Say the bells of St. Clement’s.You owe me five farthings, Say the bells of St. Martin’s. When will you pay me? Say the bells of Old Bailey.When I grow rich, Say the bells of Shoreditch. When will that be? Say the bells of Stepney. I do not know,Says the great bell of Bow. Here comes a candle to light you to bed, And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!
Oranges and lemons have such a fresh, vibrant flavour that they’re prefer for injecting some colourful sunshine into these dark January days.
What’s your opinion on marmalade? It definitely divides people, that is unless you are Paddington and then you think everyone must love it!
I’ve never been a fan, finding it too bitter and grown up, but as it’s January and everyone makes marmalade in January, I thought I’d give it a go. It turns out, that after much taste testing, I do actually quite like it. What’s that theory with children and new tastes? It’s something like 17 tries before a new taste is accepted. Well, maybe my experience with marmalade is this theory in action, or maybe I just make awesome marmalade! 😉
This version used half normal oranges and half lemons (hence the St Clement’s theme and nursery rhyme at the top of the post), so I used jam sugar for added pectin. If you use the more traditional Seville oranges then no pectin is needed.
I loosely based my recipe on Nigel Slater’s one as he strikes me as someone who would be great at preserving and the results are pretty delicious. Go on, give it a try, you might like it too (and it’ll probably come in handy in some recipes coming up soon 🙂 ). It’s also pretty easy to make and if you don’t like it everyone loves a jar of something homemade as a present.
St. Clement’s Marmalade
(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan)
makes 4 small jars
4 oranges
4 lemons
up to 2 litres water
750g jam sugar
- Wash the fruit, then pare off the peel, Trim off any excess white pith and finely chop. This takes a while!
- Squeeze the fruit. Pour the juice into a saucepan and top up to make 2 litres of liquid. Add the chopped peel. Wrap the discarded pith and flesh into a muslin (or a clean j-cloth), tie tightly and submerge into the liquid.
- Cover and set aside for at least a day in a cool place. I left mine for 2 days.
- Bring to a rolling boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 40-60 minutes until the peel is soft and translucent.
- Remove the cloth filled with the fruit, add the sugar and once again bring to a boil. Simmer for 40-60 minutes until the marmalade has darkened and thickened. If any scum comes to the top, skim off. It’s useful to keep a sauce in the freezer for the skin test. Drop a dollop of the marmalade onto the cold saucer, if it quickly forms a skin the marmalade is ready.
- Pour into sterilised jars and immediately put on the lids.
