Seville orange + lemongrass{optional}Marmalade

Well it's definitely that time of year again...Seville orange marmalade time that is, and like an obsessive foodie that I am Iv been looking forward to this since the end of the summer last year .

Myself and my blogging buddy laura {we are 2girlswithafoodblog.com} decided that instead of going on the razzle  like normal humans we'd stay at home on a Saturday night have a few glasses of the vino {very important} and make way to much marmalade, in the end we made 20 jars of the sticky stuff between us.

And I don't mind bragging that it felt so satisfying to have made my years supply from scratch and to my delight it tastes so more'ish and indulgent that the shop bought marmalade.

So this recipe will make you 10 jars enough for yourself and friends and family and maybe the teacher lol.

I also added 1 stick of fresh lemongrass to one of my pots {so say half your batch} to kick the lemon flavour to another level and it is amazing the marmalade is very aromatic  but without been to tart and zingy if you get my drift ;)

For this recipe you will need:

{this recipe makes 10 jars}

9 Seville oranges

3.6 kilos of golden unrefined sugar

2 lemons

7 litres if water

A nob of butter

2 large pots

Muslin clothes

Firstly cut all your oranges and lemons in half and squeeze the juice out into your pot you will use to boil the oranges in. Once that delightful task is complete scrape out all the pulp including any pips you come across and tie them all up in a muslin clothe. 

Next with a sharpe knife cut your peel into long thin shreds and divide that into your pots along with the water, orange juice and the pulp in the muslin clothes. Bring this to the boil then reduce to a gentle boil for aprox 2 hours.

When you come to the last half hour of boiling you will gently heat your sugar in the oven do this by spreading the sugar on baking paper on a tray then heat through for 7-10 minutes on a low heat.

Once the 2 hours are up take the pots off the heat and remove the muslin let them cool then give them a good squeeze into the pots this will release the pectin into the juice. 

Next pour in your sugar and continuesly stir until the sugar has dissolved then bring them back up to the boil. This is when I bruised a long stick of lemon grass and added it to one of the pots. Add the butter at this stage it will reduce the froth that could appear when boiling.

We had to rely on the old fashioned method of testing the marmalade . You do this by putting a saucer in the fridge for a few minutes to chill. Take it out and spread a small thin amount of the marmalade across it, wait a moment then touch it to see if it has set. If it has the marmalade is ready if not boil a little longer.

Meanwhile you will wash your jars and then pop them in the oven @110" for 10 minutes to sterilize them. 

Next is the tricky bit if you do not have a funnel to pour your marmalade into the jars use a jug like we did. Once all the jars are sealed give yourself a high five you have just made yummy marmalade well done you...

This will definitely be an annual event for myself and laura...

Enjoy Rebecca x