MARMALADE MAKING – The Basics:

THE FRUIT
The citrus fruits include oranges, lemons, grapefruit and limes. For the purpose of preserving, the bitter variety of orange is generally used, but sweet oranges and tangerine oranges are frequently combined with lemons, grapefruit and bitter oranges to make different kinds of marmalades.

The underlying principles of marmalade-making are essentially the same as those of jam-making, except that the thick peel of oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit require a longer time to cook than the soft or stone fruits from which jam is made, so that more water has to be added in order to cook the peel.

A characteristic of citrus fruits, the importance of which is not fully realised, is that most of the pectin (or jelling material) is to be found in the white inner skin, or pith as it is commonly called, and in the pips rather than in the juice. When oranges are being cut up, those who like marmalade with very little pith in it can cut the peel finely, but instead of discarding the pith, it should be cut up roughly, tied loosely in a piece of muslin and cooked with the peel until just before the sugar is added. The bag should then be squeezed and removed, as the pectin will have been extracted, and a jelly marmalade that sets very easily but has no white pith in it is obtained.

In other respects the rules for jam-making apply to marmalade-making. Prolonged boiling after the sugar has been added should be avoided, for it not only spoils the flavour and darkens the colour, but also affects the pectin contained in the fruit and causes the loss of the jelling properties. As with jam, the presence of acid is essential in order to bring the pectin into solution, and to help in converting part of the cane sugar invert sugar, which is necessary to prevent crystallization.

Marmalade made from bitter oranges, generally referred to as Seville marmalade, is the most popular for breakfast on account of its sharp flavour.

The best time of year for the bitter oranges is December until the end of February. A good time for making marmalade is the end of January, when supplies are usually both plentiful and cheap. The fruit should be used when it is fresh, and large quantities should not be purchased at one time unless they can be utilized without delay.

PROCESS IN THE PREPARATION OF MARMALADE

Washing the Fruit. The fruit should be well washed in clean water. If the skins are at all dirty they should be scrubbed with a clean brush. If the fruit is soaked in boiling water for 1 or 2 minutes the skin can be peeled off more readily.

Cutting up the Fruit. As has been stated above, much of the pectin is located in the skin of citrus fruits, and it must be brought into solution before a jellied marmalade can be made. The fineness of the shreds of peel is largely a matter of choice, but it is clear that the more thinly the peel is cut the more readily will the pectin be brought into solution. Consequently, if a proportion of the white pith is to be cooked in a muslin bag it should be cut fairly thinly, although perhaps roughly as compared with the peel.

Soaking the Fruit. A large amount of water is added to the fruit to allow for the evaporation that takes place when the pulp and peel are cooked. Soaking the peel in water helps to soften it, but where time is important the soaking may be omitted and equally good results obtained by cooking the pulp and peel for a slightly longer period. There is no need to leave the pulp for 24 hr. Between the first cooking and the addition of the sugar, as is often done. It may sometimes be convenient to do so if it is not possible to finish the whole process at one time, but generally the procedure is wasteful of time and fuel.

Cooking the Fruit. The fruit needs cooking to extract the pectin and soften the peel before the sugar is added. Four methods of cooking the fruit for thick marmalade and further methods for jelly and special marmalades are given in the recipe section.

Addition of Acid. It will be noticed in some of the marmalade recipes that the natural acid found in the Sevilles or grapefruit is supplemented by additional acid in the form of lemon juice, citric or tartaric acid. The reason for this is that it is the total amount of acid in relation to the amount of marmalade that is important in securing a good jelly. From 1 lb.(453grms.) Seville oranges (of which nearly half the weight is in the skins) approx. 3 lb.(1.4 kilos)of marmalade are obtained; it is clear that the acid present in this relatively small amount of fruit is not enough to give a good set with the pectin and sugar, hence the addition of lemon juice or acid.

Pectin Test. As the pectin content of citrus fruits is on the whole much more stable than that of the jam fruits, the pectin test is not of the same value as in jam or jelly-making. However, if there is any doubt as to the setting properties of the citrus fruit, the test should be applied when the peel is quite soft.

Boiling the Pulp and the Sugar. As in jam-making, the major part of the cooking should be carried out before the sugar is added. The preliminary cooking usually takes 2-3 hours after which time the pulp should be considerably reduced and the peel softened, so that it will disintegrate when squeezed between the fingers. If the reduction of the pulp is carried out before the addition of the sugar the time of boiling after the addition of the sugar should not take longer than 15-20 minutes; in this way a marmalade of good colour and flavour is obtained.

Testing the Setting Point. This may be effected as for jam making.

Filling the Marmalade into jars etc. As soon as the marmalade has reached setting point it should be skimmed, using a hot spoon as advised for jam. Delay in removing the scum causes it to cling to the peel, and great difficulty is then experienced in its removal. To prevent the peel rising in the jars, the marmalade should be allowed to cool in the pan until a thick skin begins to form, then stirred gently and poured into the jars. The jars of marmalade should be covered in the same way as for jam.

Details of Importance in the Making of Marmalade

1. The fruit should be well washed before using.
2. Any pith removed when cutting up the peel should be soaked and cooked with the pips to extract the pectin and may then be removed before the sugar is added.
3. Soaking the peel and fruit overnight is not essential provided longer time is allowed for softening the peel.
4. The sugar should not be added until the peel is quite soft and the excess water boiled off. After the sugar has been dissolved, the marmalade should be boiled rapidly until setting point is reached.
5. The scum should be removed as soon as possible after setting point has been reached, but the marmalade should be allowed to cool a little in the pan before pouring into warm jars, to prevent the peel from rising.
6. Waxed paper circles should be put on the marmalade while hot, but the covers are usually put on when cold.