The crappy thing about winter is that there are far fewer things to can. If you’ve been following the blog you know that this summer I transitioned to pickling instead of making jam. I also preserved some peaches in syrup and made my fave Peach Jam with Pinot Noir and Cinnamon but these days I’ve been craving some sweet canned goodness. Around this time of year the most logical thing to make is marmalade since citrus fruits are in abundance. I wanted to make a Seville Orange Marmalade (like I even know what a Seville orange is but people sure do love to use them to make marmalade) but I had just missed the season. So it was onto blood oranges.
Here’s the things about marmalade, I can’t say with confidence that I’d ever had it before. If given a variety of spreadable options, marmalade is probably the last thing I’d try. How could I pass up a strawberry, raspberry or blueberry jam? I’d probably even choose honey before marmalade. I’m sure I’ve had it over the years but not enough to leave me with a distinct impression. Since I wasn’t sure if I even cared for marmalade I decided to make a very small batch just to whet my canning desires.
Around the time that I decided to make marmalade, Monica over at Nervous Chef was doing the same… and with blood oranges! Definitely check out her post. She led me to Sarah Hood’s (local canning goddess extraordinaire) post about Seville Orange Marmalade which I followed as my guide.
Marmalade making seemed a bit less worry free than my usual jam making, I’m not sure why. It could be my confidence since I’m much more experienced with canning now. Towards the end I did become a bit unsure when I had to assess whether or not I had enough water in the pot. Oh! And I got creative with things and added a vanilla bean into the mix.
For my first foray into marmalade I was impressed. While I didn’t have as much jelly as I would’ve liked (things were heavy on the peel) I have to admit that marmalade is fantastic! I served my marmalade on some homemade croissants with homemade ricotta… because I’m fancy like that. I’m already getting excited for next winter and all of the possibilities. I’ll get in on the Seville orange goodness and maybe some clementines, maybe some meyer lemon… the possibilities are kind of endless.
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You feel about Seville oranges the way I feel about blood oranges! I’ve never seen one in a store, but I will order any cocktail with “blood orange” in the name! No idea why, it just sounds like something I would enjoy.
Wiki says: The benchmark citrus fruit for marmalade production in Britain is the “Seville orange” from Spain, Citrus aurantium var. aurantium, thus called because it was originally only grown in Seville in Spain; it is higher in pectin than sweet oranges and therefore gives a good set.
I am actually getting more confused the more research I do on this subject, so I’ll just stop. Good work on the marmalade!
Next time I come to NYC in the wintertime we are having an orange party. Obviously.
That sounds like a great plan!
Can we also add to the syllabus:
Meyer Lemons & Key Limes – Worth The Fuss?
Mandarins vs. Clementines – It’s all about the seeds.
I’m liking the look of this syllabus