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Thursday, January 27, 2011

Seville Orange Marmalade

I must admit that I have had Seville Orange envy for a few years now. Every year Rebecca posts about making Seville Orange Marmalade. A couple of years ago (have we been at this that long?) she was kind enough to send me some. Her Marmalade was wonderful, but it didn't last very long! For two years I have been searching for a source for my very own Seville Oranges. Finally, I was able to find them this year. I am so glad because not only have a been checking out Rebecca's marmalade activities, but I have also been dying to make some orange marmalade cookies. After some minor mishaps with the company I ordered from I ended up with about three times as many oranges as I was expecting, and some grapefruit and tangerines too! I ended up making two batches of Marmalade. This one from David Lebovitz was great as I don't have a whole lot of experience wit Marmalade. I have made citrus jelly in the past, but never Marmalade. It makes a really small amount, I ended up with 3 1/2 pints. At the last minute I decided to swap out the whiskey for Grand Marnier.
The best part of making this one was a happy accident I had at the end of the process. I had about 1/4 cup of marmalade left in the bottom of the pan and still needed to make dinner. It was getting late and I was feeling terribly lazy. I was planning to make some simple salads with a little steak on top. So I poured a little olive oil  the pan with the marmalade and added a couple of teaspoons of soy sauce. David looked quite skeptical, but it was so good I'm actually working on a more official recipe to post here. Plus, I had one less pan to wash.
Seville Orange Marmalade
adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz

6 Seville Oranges
1 Navel Orange
10 cups Water
Pinch of Salt
8 cups sugar
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Slice oranges including the navel in half and squeeze the juice into a mesh strainer set over a small bowl. Place contents of the strainer including seeds and large any segments of orange into a piece of cheesecloth and secure tightly. Cut the rinds into long thin strips. Try and cut as thin as you possibly can.
Put the rinds, orange juice, water, bag of seeds, and salt in a large pot or dutch oven. Bring to a boil, then decrease heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand overnight at room temperature.
On the second day, add sugar and place the pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, then decrease to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally making sure the bottom is not burning. Cook until the mixture has jellied. You can test by placing a small amount on a plate and placing in the freezer for a few minutes. Remove from freezer and push marmalade with your finger, if it wrinkles it is ready.
Remove from heat and take out the bad of seeds using a pair of tongs to squeeze out any marmalade. Stir in Grand Marnier and ladle into clean jars. Cover tightly, cool, and refrigerate. Will keep 6 months in refrigerator. Please note that this is not a shelf stable recipe. You will need to put your jars in the fridge after they cool down.

5 comments:

  1. Ooh, Grand Marnier, that's a great idea! As it happens I have a slowly building pile of things on my fireplace waiting to be send...part of which is some new marmalade. I promise I'll post it next week. Perhaps I can tempt you to a swap?!

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  2. So you used the leftovers with oil and soy sauce for a salad dressing? Woodman LOVES marmalade I can't wait for you to post the recipe soon so I can try it for him.

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  3. Rebecca- I owe you an e-mail. We can certainly discuss another swap!

    Daisy- I actually cooked the steak in the pot with the marmalade. I actually just used my homemade balsamic vinaigrette for dressing. That recipe is coming up soon as well!

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  4. I love marmalade...so much better than regular jam. Your photos look tempting! We should be neighbors!

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  5. This sounds like my recipe! Yummmm-y! (Even though mt batch came out a bit runny, lol. It still taste delicious!)

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