Orange Marmalade

That nasty cold ended up being bronchitis, so I've been kind of out of commission for a while.  The most elaborate thing I've made lately is a pot of wor wonton soup minus the won tons.  Not much to blog about there.

Then I opened my last jar of last year's jam, which happened to be a blueberry, and realized that it's almost Passover and I need more corn syrup-free jams.  It was time to have a major jamming session.  Strawberries and blackberries were on sale at Sprouts, but I needed a third something to make the day worthwhile, preferably of a lighter color and flavor.  I almost asked if I could pick a bag of apricots off the tree at an estate sale, but figured that would be too tacky.

I checked my tree to make sure I had enough lemons not to buy lemon juice, and realized how many Valencia oranges I have been not eating this winter.  I haven't posted an orange marmalade here because I haven't made one.

How to use up a 4 lb bag of sugar in one day

I read a bunch of recipes in the Ball book on how to make marmalade.  It's very labor intensive.  Then I found their recipe that involved tossing the oranges in the food processor.  I was about to use that when I found the Food in Jars recipe for blood orange marmalade and decided that I could apply it to my Valencias without too much more effort than the Ball since I wouldn't have to clean the food processor after.  The reason I read Marisa McClellan's blog is because she makes everything in small batches.  I don't need eight half-pint jars of any one flavor.  That's about how much jam I go through in an entire year.  Yes, this one involves an overnight soak.  So does my strawberry-lavender jam, so I was already doing one two-day jam and might as well add another.

*1 lb oranges (about 3 or 4)
2 1/2 C sugar
3 C water

1.  The night before, wash oranges well.  Cut off top and bottom, slice in half, and remove the seeds and core membranes.  Set those aside in a cheesecloth tied tight.

2.  With a very sharp knife, cut the thinnest slices possible of orange.  Then cut those semi-circles in half to have tons of little quarter slices.  Place those in a bowl with 3 cups of water.  Nestle the cheesecloth bag in the water and refrigerate the whole thing overnight.

3.  If canning, prepare for a 3 C yield.  Discard the cheesecloth bag.  Place the orange slices and water in a medium saucepan with the sugar.  Over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

4.  Once boiling, reduce the mess by at least 1/3.  It's going to take at least half an hour.  It will get thick and sticky and start to sheet off the spoon.  Check for set with a chilled plate or the wrinkle test.

5.  If not canning, cool and refrigerate.  For canning, spoon into half-pint jars, center lids, screw on rims finger-tight, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes about 3 cups

Difficulty rating  :)