I’ve been making marmalade for over 15 years now and I highly recommend it. Once the Christmas and New Year celebrations are over, it’s a fixed date on my calendar to check out the arrival of the Seville oranges in the shops, or online, and prepare my jam jars ready for my marmalade making session.
My Grandma Abson had several traditional marmalade recipes with various citrus fruits, and my late mother-in-law, Grandma Pat, supplied the family with marmalade well into her 80s. Grandma Pat shortened the boiling time by chopping the orange peel finely in a food processor and using a pressure cooker. This works if you don’t mind small pieces of peel rather than longer strands.
Creating a marmalade recipe
I’ve tried all their recipes, and others over the years, and created my own version based on all this expertise. I think I’ve ended up with something easy and reliable to be sure of a winner every time. Nowadays Seville oranges are often sold in string bags weighing a kilo, so I’ve adapted the measurements of ingredients to fit this weight. This recipe makes about 6 jars.
Seville Orange Marmalade
What you need…
1 kg Seville oranges
Juice of 2 lemons
4 pints/approx. 2 litres water
2 kgs granulated sugar
How to make …
- Wash the oranges and place them in a large pan with the water and the lemon juice.
- Boil and then simmer for between 1½ and 2 hours until they are soft and the peel pierces easily with a fork.
- Remove the oranges from the pan with a ladle and leave to cool on a tray or plate.
- Cut the oranges in half and scoop out the fruit, pith and pips and return this mixture to the pan, retaining the peel. Boil for 5-6 minutes.
- Strain this mixture through a sieve or a muslin cloth. You can press it through with a wooden spoon.
- Cut half of the peel into strips – chunky or thin, depending on how you prefer them in marmalade.
- Add the peel strips to the remaining liquid in the pan, with the sugar, and stir gently until all the sugar has dissolved. This can take between 6-10 minutes. Be careful not to boil the mixture at this stage.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, fast boil rapidly for 15 minutes until the setting point is reached. This can sometimes take up to 25 minutes, so keep checking.
- Check for the setting point using the plate/wrinkle test by putting a small amount on a pre-chilled plate and pushing it with a teaspoon – it should wrinkle.
- Leave the marmalade to cool in the pan for around 20-25 minutes and then pot into sterilised jars.
Tips for marmalade making
- To prevent too much froth in the liquid as it boils, add a knob of butter at the fast-boiling stage.
- To sterilise jars, place them in a dishwasher or wash carefully in hot, soapy water. Rinse.
When did marmalade making start?
There are lots of myths about how we started making marmalade, including one about a wrecked boat carrying a load of bitter Seville oranges arriving in Dundee in the mid 18th century. There, the enterprising mother (or wife) of James Keiller made the first marmalade jam from them – although earlier recipes have since been found. Food historians usually refer to early recipes for ‘Marmelet of Oranges’ in the late 17th century recipe book of Eliza Cholmondeley.
Love it or not?
It’s true to say that, love it or hate it, marmalade is firmly established as part of a traditional British breakfast, and with a wide variety of textures to suit all tastes. Seville oranges are only around at this time of year, between late December and early February, so don’t delay.
Start the year and banish the January blues
Now I’ve made my marmalade, I’m ready to take on 2026 and bake my favourite Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding to banish those January blues. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, 2026!
You can read more about Grandma Abson’s life, her passion for baking and recipes, and then head over to Instagram @grandmaabson to see Meryl baking with her grandchildren.
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