Orange Marmalade

5 from 1 vote

Not as sweet as most jams, but delicious citrus flavor, and just a hint of bitterness, this orange marmalade is my favorite to make in the winter and have on a fresh slice of sourdough.

Prep Time20

Cook Time2

Total Time2 20

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword: blood orange, jam, marmalade, Orange

Servings:

Calories: 98kcal

Equipment

Heavy Pot

Ingredients

2 pounds blood oranges or regular oranges
500 grams granulated sugar
8 cups water

Instructions

Prep the oranges

Wash all the oranges.
Slice in half and squeeze out all of the juice. Make sure no pulp gets mixed in but if it does, simply strain it out with a sieve. Pour the juice into the heavy pot and set aside.
Use a serrated edged spoon or a fork to remove the insides of each orange half. You want to scrape out as much of the white pith of the orange as possible and leave only the orange rind. Keep what you scrape out and place it in a cheesecloth or thin towel.
Tie the orange "guts" in the cheesecloth with a piece of twine so that none of it can escape and put it in the pot with the juice.
Pour the water into the pot with the juice and the satchel of guts.
Cut each scraped out orange half, in half so you are left with quarters. Use a sharp knife to thinly slice the peel of 2/3 of the oranges into strips no wider than 1/8". Really just as thin as you can.
Add the sliced peel into the pot.
Place the pot over medium low heat and bring it to a simmer. Stir occasionally but simmer until 1/3-1/2 of the liquid has evaporated and the peel is floppy. Think cooked noodle kind of floppy.

Adding the Sugar

Place a plate and a spoon in your freezer.
Once simmered and reduced, remove the pot from the heat. Carefully, without burning yourself, remove the satchel form the syrupy juice and squeeze out any extra liquid. The insides can now be discarded and the cloth can be washed.
Pour the sugar into the pot and stir to combine.
Place the pot back over medium heat, allow it to come to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning.
Marmalade can be tricky to tell that it's done because it still looks very runny when hot. It will need to boil for a bit (around 15-20 minutes but could be more) and reduce quite a bit more.
To test if the marmalade is ready, use the cold spoon to spoon some of the marmalade onto the frozen spoon and place it in the fridge for 2-3 minutes. The difference between done and over reduced can happen quickly so lower the heat while waiting for the result.
After 2-3 minutes, the jam should either keep a line shape on the plate if you drag your finger through it or it will form a thin skin on the surface that wrinkles when you drag your finger through.
Once cooked down, pour the marmalade into heat safe jars. Allow them to come to room temperature before storing in the fridge.

Notes

Tips for making Blood Orange Marmalade

If you're using blood oranges and want that red orange color, be sure to pick blood oranges with a darker skin. The ones that are paler and look more like a traditional orange tend to have lighter insides.
If you're worried about bitterness, use a peeler to peel only the outermost layer of the rind from the oranges before squeezing out the juice and then slice that to add into the marmalade.
Jam or marmalade is best made in a heavy pot to prevent burning. I like to use a coated cast iron dutch oven because you don't have to worry about the acidity from the oranges messing with the cast iron. Plus the tall sides of the pot keep the juices from splattering out.
Making marmalade isn't hard but it can be time consuming so I recommend making it with a minimum of 2 lbs of oranges or even doubling the recipe.
I use less sugar than most in this recipe because I like to really taste the orange but it does mean you have to cook it longer and reduce it more. If you get impatient or feel that it isn't sweet enough you can add more sugar. Just make sugar the sugar has fully cooked in and dissolved before taking it off the heat.
If you can/jar it properly with sterilized jars and get a proper seal, marmalade can last for a few years. However, if you aren't making that much, as long as you put it in a clean jar and store it in the fridge, it should last for a month or two.

Nutrition