Since I've no money and everyone was out having fun, it was the perfect time to make (#24) Orange Marmalade. In a weird and quite geeky way I actually quite enjoyed myself! Boil 3 pounds of Seville Oranges in 6 pints of water for about 1 1/2 hours, scoop out the innards and put in a muslin. Add muslin to pot of water, shred the peel, add shit load (6 pounds) of sugar. Boil. Piece of piss. The tricky bit was getting it to set.
FYI: pectin sets at 105 degrees Celsius after boiling for 10 minutes. Viciously boiling a pot of molten sugar for that long is quite scary and it took ages for me to pluck up the courage! Eventually I did and it passed the 'wrinkle test'. The kitchen and I ended up one massive sticky mess! Then it was the simple procedure of funneling everything in with my new jam funnel. I haven't had a chance to taste it yet, except for the molten splashes that landed on me; and it seems very nice, strong and bitter. I am labelling them up and distributing them about.
FYI: I got all the jam-making stuff and posh jars from internet/ebay shop Country Cook Shop (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/COUNTRY-COOK-SHOP) which is situated in The Travelling Hen, Herefordshire; and very good they are too! Plus the fancy Gingham pot lids were from Greg as a Christmas pressie. I can't believe he feeds my geekiness by buying me these things! Anyone else would be ina permanent state of embarassment...
I think I may start a new career in conserve production...
2 comments:
This was my best seller at Failsworth Church Sale - a bright clear sparkling marmalade with a great taste. However I found I had to cook it for a much longer time than in Mrs Grigson's - even so it was a perfect set. I think old jam kettles and modern hobs are not a good fix.
Yes, you have to boil it for ages. I use less water these days and it sets much quicker
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