HI all! Where did I go wrong??
Got 76 orange trees in the garden, and muggins here cant make marmalade!!! good job we like OJ!!!
heres the recipie that I used
3 Ib´s Oranges (eating)
4 lemons
6 pints water
6 Ib sugar
I used all the peel and put the pips in a muslin bag boiled for one hour, then added sugar and kept boiling, did the cold plate test every 20 mins, but It wouldnt B***** set!! even addes a whole bottle of pectin and some arrowroot!!
I´m going to try again tomorrow what (apart from add more pith and pips) should I do different? any ideas on where I went wrong?
Cheers all and If I havnt said it before happy new year to you all! XX
That's EXACTLY the recipe I use too Biscombe ???
Alll I can think is that for some reason your oranges don't contain as much pectin as they should - but I can't really think why that should be, and it would have been solved by the little bag of pectin wouldn't it? ::) Not much help really, just wanted to say I can't see why it's happened either!
Twice the water you need.
Just noticed your recipe says 'eating oranges' Biscombe. Do you think there's a difference between the pectin/rind to pulp ratio in eating as opposed to Seville oranges? I've only made marmalade with Sevilles ::)
Is this yours tim? I made a note whenever it was posted, but haven't tried yet:
4lb Seville oranges
31/2 pt Water
1 big fleshy Lemon
6lb Sugar
this is the one I use in the jam pan:
3 Ib Seville oranges
1 large lemon
6 pints water
6 Ib sugar
and this one in the pressure cooker:
1 - 1½ lbs Seville Oranges
Juice of 1 large lemon
2½ cups of water
3lbs sugar, warmed
???
I'd love to make some seville orange marmalade again - but where do I buy the oranges? When I lived in Spain the orange groves were ringed with bitter orange trees (to put off the sweet ones being filched I presume) so, since they were never harvested, I always had a good supply at this time of the year.
Tricia
The market, greengrocers and farmer's shop here have them here (also Waitrose) - come to think of it, usually about this time of year ::) Only for a couple of weeks, short season.
Many outlets are giving up stocking because they just rot on the shelves - this great modern society!!
Yes, Sarah - it has more fruit/sugar than most. I think that EJ found it a bit zingy!!
I only cook the fruit in the p/c - all else in the pan. Main aim is minimum stewing to keep it tasting of oranges.
I wondered the same about variety, but I don't think that that should make any difference.
By the way, when you DO buy, buy extra for reserve in the freezer & for Nigella's heavenly icecream!!
Going to try again this afternoon, after I´ve finished my digging and weeding jobs! keep your fingers crossed for me! I boiled some extra lemons in a muslin bag last night for more pectin, and as camborne suggested ease off the boiling. Wish me luck..............
Thought about you this morning when we had breakfast. OH loves marmalade and makes his own. Hope that all works out well today.
Good luck
Ongoing disaster! boiled some more lamons for ages this morning for an extra pectin boost and the muslin bag split! what can I use instead!? thanks for your encouragement everyone :-*
I really do not believe that you need all this hassle, or it's going to be a lemon jam? The only thing you miss with sweet oranges is the bitterness - not the acidity.
I can find no recipe which suggests added lemon or pectin for sweet oranges. Here is one (I do not agree with the amounts!!)
6 sweet oranges and a lemon
2.3 litres water
1.8 kg granulated sugar
You DO, of course, boil up the pips etc in the bag? Like you suggest for the lemons?
Don't know what Cambourne suggests, but I do not put the peel in until the rest is up to temperature.
Sorry - this overlapped yours!
Gosh no idea what else you could use?
Persistence must be your middle name Biscombe! I've sometimes ended up with a bad batch, even with a tried and tested recipe - maybe this is just one of those :-\
Might your oranges be juicier (i.e. with more water content) than Seville oranges? At this stage I'd be tempted to start from scratch with Tim's reduced-water recipe :P
For us, Tesco will have them in a couple of weeks.
By the way, Biscombe, yes of course you boil up the pips - sorry!
Tim, please can you let me have Nigella's recipe for marmalade ice-cream or tell me where I can find it? It sounds delicious ;D
will it still be ok for pouring over ice cream, Biscombe ?
Biscombe... In answer to your split muslin problem.
I use nylon mesh (net curtain will do just fine) -- it cleans out very easily and doesn't mind when you wring it hard (to get every last drop of pectin-rich goo out of the pith/pips mixture.)
Hope the marmalading goes better from now on :)
I bought Seville oranges from Morrisons yesterday. I did the soaking-with-the-pips-overnight thing, but removed the pips before boiling-OOPS :-[! Hope it turns out OK. I have some jam sugar left over so I'll use that.
Well! boiled up the marmalde syrup in a last ditch attempt to save the 8 jars or so, and it turned into a toffee mess very quicky! burned the bottom of the pan too, will take ages to scrape it!!
not a country kitchen gal yet!!! oh well I´m not giving up......well tonight I am!!! glass o wine o clock!! another attempt tuesday!! I´ll let you know how I get on!! saving the pips from the OJ in the meantime!
Thanks again for all the support, you lot are stars :-*
its ok for us were not doing the washing up!
Does anyone do it this way?
Boil the whole oranges and a lemon until soft, cut in half, scoop out all contents with spoon (including the pith) and put them back in the hot water to boil them some more to get the pectin from the pips.
While they boil, cut the nice dry cooling skins into pieces as fine or coarse as you like them (in my really hectic days I put them in the liquidiser with some of the water).
Pour the boiled pulp/pips/pith through a coarse sieve or fine colander. It retains the pips and pith but lets some of the pulp and all the juice through. I never use muslin.
Reunite the peel with the juice and pulp, add sugar and boil until setting point.
Thank you Mrs Beeton. For decades I have used her proportions: 1.5 lb oranges plus a lemon, twice as much sugar as weight of the fruit, about 2pt water. But I use less sugar because I like it sharp.
I make it in small quantities to keep the fresh taste and so that it doesn't take over my life in Jan. It is quick and easy, and I tend to do it at the same time as other little jobs like washing up, or in the middle of a cold weekend afternoon to warm me up.
Happy Catz - SO easy - SO good!
Yes artichoke, using the pressure cooker for the boiling bit.
Quote from: artichoke on January 14, 2007, 17:34:24
I make it in small quantities to keep the fresh taste and so that it doesn't take over my life in Jan. It is quick and easy, and I tend to do it at the same time as other little jobs like washing up, or in the middle of a cold weekend afternoon to warm me up.
BLISS!:D :D :D
I had a tragic pressure cooker disaster 40 years ago and have never lived it down. A friend called while I was making marmalade just in time to see a fountain of marmalade whoosh up to the ceiling and spray the rest of the kitchen. I've never quite trusted it since....
But aren't you glad that the safety valve actually worked??
:-X
In my family it was a fountain of beans :'(
They've changed a lot since then ;)
Thanks for the recipe Tim. Our local farm shop have got seville oranges in so will have to buy extra to make the ice cream.
Incidentally, I always make seville orange and whisky marmalade which is delicious. You just add about 8ozs whisky after setting point has been reached and before you pour into jars. I love it ;D
I do the same as artichoke, and also the pressure cooker to 'soften' the fruit- but I use clementines instead.
I never use the white pith when making marmalade. I peel the zest off the oranges using a potato peeler, then pull off the white pith and discard it. Weigh the oranges and use the same amount of sugar when the time comes. Orange flesh is then processed, boiled for about 30 mins in enough water to cover it, strained through a colander, juice and whatever passes through colander back in pan, fish out any odd pips. Meantime I have chopped the zest and boiled it a couple of times, throwing the water away. Add the zest to the boiled juice mix, add the sugar, bring to 104 deg C, and jar.
Quote from: jennym on January 19, 2007, 14:17:47
I never use the white pith when making marmalade.
The pith is pectin-rich, so it joins the pips and pulp in the 'muslin' (actually nylon mesh) bag
in my recipe. It doesn't actually end up in the marmalade!
I suppose it's boiled by default in any recipe that cuts the oranges into 2 or 3 and goes through the jelly bag. At the time you can choose to leave the white pith on the rinds for thick homely marmalade, or scrape it out with a spoon (it's like a jelly) for Golden Shred whiskers (happy days!) ;D
What a palaver, Jenny. Each to their own - as usual - but, if you boil the fruit first, it's seconds to take out the innards for the bag - pith & all?
Hmmm, maybe I shall review my method. Think I do it that way, because I can do the preparation bit beforehand, whilst something else is occupying the stove, and I don't have to touch the fruit etc after it's been prepared. And I have to make an awful lot at a time. It sounds longer-winded than it actually is :)
I know the pith doesn't end up in the marmalade, but never had any setting problems here without it, and really do think it affects the bitterness - the most bitter flavour compounds are found in the pith. Not that I knew that when I started making marmalade, I think the method of not using the pith was from May Byron's Jam Book. I do know that fruit juice manufacturers add allsorts in the process to counteract the effect of the bitterness of pith (for juices that use the whole fruit).
Just wanted to say, I LOVE MARMALADE. ;D
2 marmalade recipes, one for clear marmalade and one for chunky:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/03/2007_04_thu.shtml
Oh dear, looking at those recipes dandelion - I always use beet sugar (Silver Spoon) rather than cane sugar (Tate & Lyle) and don't notice the difference!
Chose to do this as I believed that the UK produces fine beet sugar.
Thanks for the tip about cane sugar Dandelion - must admit I never even looked on the label :P ::)
A chum asked for chunky marmalade last weekend, so this came just in time! ;D
You can use either refined cane or beet sugar! ::) how confusing !!! :-\
Making jam and marmalade is all about proportions of water to fruit - pectin :o
To achieve a set ...get the proportion correct!! if too much water, the proportion of pectin is insufficient. ( if using the traditional method the quantity of water is only used to give you enough time to soften the fruit!!) The fluid has to be reduced and should be done before you add the sugar ...
prolonged boiling of both together darkens the colour and increases the chances of burring the pan ... or making toffee!! ... have been there and done that !! :'( :'( :'(
Once this has been done I use 1 pint of fruit & water / 1 lb of sugar!
Once the proportion is correct, add sugar, boil flat out and it will set!! :D ;D
The setting point of jam occurs most readily when the sugar concentration is about 65% of which about 5% will be obtained from the fruit and 60% from the added sugar ... hence the push on good sugar! :-\
Try this ... weight the pan ... make a note of it ... then ...
" The setting point should be reached when the fruit weighs 10lbs for every 6lb sugar used.
To determin the final weight, the quantity of sugar used should be multiplied by 10
and divided by 6 - (60 / 40 ratio!)
e.g. if a recipe gives 3 lbs sugar and 3lbs fruit, the jam should be reduced until it weighs 3 x 10 div by 6lbs = 5lbs. .... remember all this is done in the pan hence weighing it befor you start!!
source of info: HMSO "Home Pres of Fruit & Veg" ( as Tim wil know ;) )
Funny - I've always believed that cane sugar works best, but never compared it. Never had a setting problem.
Proportion of water - hence the convenience of pressure cooking the fruit?
Dark stuff? Yes, I think that EJ prefers it Oxford type, but I prefer it very un-dark.
Reducing? Yes, this is why the fruit doesn't go in until the liquid is up to temperature.
Temperature? If using a thermo, do move it around a bit or you'll get a localised reading. Ours has an alarm, so one can get on with the chores in between times.
Just been shopping!
sevilles 80p/kg
sugar 80p/kg
= marmalade@ <40p/lb
(not including labour, heat and hospital fees ;))
am I dreaming? I'm sure that's cheaper than last year?
I love Oxford marmalade Tim, love it dark and rich and tangy. Mmmm. (Had yours on home made bread, toasted with lashings of butter for breakfast today. YUMYUM)
Still haven't found Sevilles in Essex! Going to ask mummy to see if she can buy some south of the water.
They've arrived in Tesco here, but you have to be quick - they sell out each day!!
EJ: I just had one of those fuzzy middle-of-the-night thoughts! ::)
A lot of the organic veg box delivery companies have Seville oranges on their "extras" lists at the moment. Not an avenue you'd normally need to try, I know, given that your plot runneth over with organic stuff ;) but if you can't get hold of Sevilles by other means...?
I searched "seville organic delivery" and found quite a number. Abel & Cole look like they might do Essex ... www.abel-cole.co.uk
Aha! Co-owner Keith Abel has written Cooking Outside the Box - very usable cookbook for seasonal, organic veg - very appropriate :)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooking-Outside-Box-Seasonal-Cookbook/dp/0007230702/sr=8-1/qid=1169975682/ref=pd_ka_1/202-1970606-0279044?ie=UTF8&s=books
Ooo, interesting Trif. Mum is going to have a look locally to her - she is coming for a visit in the next couple of weeks so that will be okay, but if she has no joy, I will definately give that some thought.
Yesterday I stood stirring in the kitchen for an hour waiting for the marmalade to set; then had to go upstairs for a few minutes to get the kids out off bath. And of course that's when it started sticking to the bottom of the pan. I now have 8 jars of over-set marmalade. Well, at least it tastes nice :D.
*waves at EJ and SS* -- and EJ, if I have any better ideas I'll let you know...
Oh poor Dandelion, I sympathise: just glad for you that it still tastes delish. I've had a heap of Seville oranges waiting for attention for more than a week and haven't had a chance to get started because my two little 'uns have been running amok!
Mind you, Tiny Triff would be happy to help, so I might settle the two of us down one while big bro's out doing football or whatever and we'll have a girly marmlemaking session together. ;D
and a picture of same! ;D ;D ;D
<waves back>
Hi all, :D,
Just a tip for you marmalade makers, use a pressure cooker to soften up the rind, I do this & it saves a couple of hours of time. I chop the rind, put the pips & pith in a muslin bag, place in the pot with only 1 pint of water, seal it & bring it up to pressure, (15lbs) & simmer it for 11 minutes, then let it release the steam slowly & bingo soft peel ready for boiling ;D.
Adrian.
Exactly what I've been banging on about.
Except that I cook them whole so that pips & all get a basting!
Yes, I find it a lot easier to scoop out the flesh and cut the peel when they've been pressure cooked (halved) too.
10 lb produced yesterday - from 6 lb sevilles, 3 lemons, 8 lb sugar, and 4 pints water. Had to use the 12l pressure cooker, too much for the jam pan :P Bit sloppy last year, firm as a rock this! ;D
EJ they have recently been in large Tescos in chelmsford- near Miami Hotel. I would give them a ring first though, as they probably are selling out and depends when new stock comes in.
Thanks Lady. I won't be that side of town until later in the week so I may give them a try. You are a star!
A message for Tim, tried your ice cream recipe and it was fab, husband was well impressed!!! ;D
Also got some extra oranges in the freezer for a hit later in the year