Citrus Marmalade
- Total Time
- About 2 hours, plus soaking
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2pounds/907 grams oranges, grapefruit or lemons, washed
- 4cups/800 grams granulated sugar
- ¼cup/60 milliliters fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
- Add-ins (optional, see note)
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Preparation
- Step 1
Cut the citrus: Using a sharp knife, slice off the top and bottom of the citrus so it sits sturdily on the cutting board. Slice off the peel and white pith in sections, starting at the top and following the curve of the fruit. (You should have a pile of peels and a few naked fruit.)
- Step 2
Thinly slice the peels (with the pith) no thinner than ⅛ inch and no thicker than ¼ inch, place them in a large bowl and set aside.
- Step 3
Halve the fruit and remove any visible seeds. Thinly slice about ¼-inch thick (white membrane and all), removing any seeds you might have missed. Add the fruit to the peels, and cover with 3 to 5 cups of water, taking note of how much water you used. Let this sit for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (This will help extract the pectin slowly as well as soften the peels.)
- Step 4
Make the marmalade: Place a small plate in the refrigerator to chill. (You’ll use this later.)
- Step 5
Place the peels, fruit and water in a large pot. Add enough water to bring the total to 6 cups and bring to a strong simmer over medium–high heat.
- Step 6
Cook the citrus until the peels have begun to soften and turn translucent, and the liquid has reduced by about three-fourths, 40 to 50 minutes.
- Step 7
Add sugar and any add-ins and continue to cook, stirring occasionally at first, then more frequently as the marmalade cooks and the juices thicken. Continue until most of the liquid has evaporated and the peels are totally softened and almost completely translucent, another 40 to 50 minutes.
- Step 8
As the marmalade cooks, the liquid reduces, the sugars thicken and the natural pectins activate. You’ll notice the liquid go from a rapid, rolling boil with smaller bubbles to a slow, thick, tarlike boil with larger bubbles: This is the stage at which it’s most important to stir constantly along the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching and sticking. (Sugar is heavier than water and will concentrate at the bottom of the pot, making the fruit more likely to burn.) It’s also the stage at which splattering may occur, so take care in stirring.
- Step 9
When the marmalade reaches this point, add lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring constantly until the jam has returned to its previously thickened state, about another 5 minutes. At this stage, the mixture should look thick and viscous with bits of the peel floating around. The peels will never break into the liquid as with a jam: This is O.K.
- Step 10
To test the jam's thickness, spoon a bit onto the chilled plate, return it to the refrigerator and chill for 2 minutes. Drag your finger through it: It should hold its shape on either side without appearing watery or runny. If it’s not there yet, cook it for a few more minutes.
- Step 11
Remove from heat and discard the vanilla bean, if used. Divide among jars, leaving ¼ inch of space at the top, and seal immediately. Can the marmalade (our How to Make Jam guide has detailed instruction), or store in the refrigerator.
- To elevate your jam, add in any of these ingredients in Step 7.
- Orange: Add 1 tablespoon freshly grated turmeric; or add 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger.
- Lemon: Add 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped; or 1 tablespoon earl grey or rooibos tea leaves.
- Grapefruit: Add 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger; 2 teaspoons rose water; or 2 tablespoons dried jamaica (a.k.a. hibiscus).
Private Notes
Comments
It is not necessary to separate the peel from the flesh. Instead, cut the fruit in quarters, remove stringy interior section and seeds, and then slice fruit.
Try using different kinds of oranges for delightfully different marmalades, or mix oranges and lemons.
As good as this recipe is, there's a much easier way to arrive at comparable results thanks to a wonderful English product, Robertson's Ma Made, a tin of concentrated Seville oranges. It produces 6 lbs of marmalade in about 20 minutes. The recipe on the can calls for 4 lbs of sugar, but for me the right amount is 3 lbs. I sometimes substitute lemon or lime juice for some of the water. Stored in screw-top Mason jars, Ma Made marmalade lasts for months and months. I buy it on Amazon.
If you have never tried kumquat in a marmalade, give it a try. Skin is softer so you don't need to soak as long. I always add grated fresh ginger to my marmalades.
I have made this twice now. Both times with garden grapefruit. The first time, I followed the instructions and separated the fruit from the skin. Just like some other readers, I overcooked it. While it was still edible and the flavor was great, the texture was a bit too compact., which was really disappointing. The second time, I didn’t bother separating the fruit from the skin, I just quartered the grapefruit, removed the stringy interior and sliced the quarters thinly. I used 1,150 kg fruit and 850 g sugar. I watched it like a hawk, did the cold plate test twice and stopped cooking after the second test, 48 minutes after adding the sugar. I filled half of my jars with the marmalade as it was and used an immersion blender to process the rest because I wanted to try two different kinds of texture. I just opened a jar of the non blended one and wow, it is perfect!!! Will keep this recipe as a canvas and I look forward to try it with different citrus. I find jam to be something difficult to make, it’s always a bit different depending on the fruit, nailing the cooking is hard. Using a thermometer has never helped me, I think from now on I will only rely on the old grandma trick of the cold plate.
Made this last night and it turned out perfect! Used a mix of orange, blood orange, clementine, Meyer lemon, and kumquat. Reduced the sugar by 10% per my preference but otherwise followed the basic recipe exactly. Really delicious!
I made this with garden grapefruit and followed the instructions carefully. Like other readers/cooks, I overcooked it. Not by a ton, it’s still edible and quite tasty, albeit a bit too compact. I find citrus jams really hard to cook properly. I did try to observe the bubbling and its pace, and I was under the cooking time indicated. I guess it comes with experience. I don’t find thermometers helpful with such small quantities in the pot. Overall, I think it’s a great, well explained recipe. I will try it again with other fruit. I do wonder how it would work if one just sliced the fruit thinly instead of separating the fruit and skin.
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