Wake up, and smell the oranges

Eunice Power'sSeville orange marmalade

As I write this, the house is filled with the distinctive aroma of bitter sweet Seville oranges simmering in the kitchen. I can think of no better reminder that a new year has arrived. Each January I make industrial amounts of marmalade – my husband is addicted to the stuff (there are worse habits, I suppose). He even has a secret stash as I am guilty of giving away copious jars of his beloved amber conserve. Very few people leave my house empty-handed. The Seville orange season is remarkably short and the oranges are in shops now; marmalade making is not a job to be put on the long finger.

As well as slathering it on toasted brown bread each morning, I use marmalade quite a lot in cooking. It is unequalled in giving an edge to orange sauce, or brushed on hot flapjacks just out of the oven, as a glaze on roast beetroot, or as a delicious addition to winter fruit salad.

In my experience, the secret of making good marmalade is having soft peel, and how long it takes the peel to soften depends on the thickness of the slices (I aspire to cut consistently thin slices, but as the hand tires they often get a little chunky). Only then should the sugar be added. This recipe makes about 2.75kg/6lb of marmalade.

Seville orange marmalade

900g Seville oranges, washed

Juice of a lemon

1.8 kg granulated sugar

Start off by giving the oranges and lemon a good wash, then half them and squeeze them. Use a dessert spoon to scoop out any remaining membrane. Wrap the pips and membrane (including the extra membrane that has come away during squeezing) in a piece of muslin and tie it up.

Next, slice the oranges thinly or thickly, as you prefer – the thicker the slices, the longer they will take to soften. Put the chopped peel, along with orange juice, muslin bag, lemon juice and 2.2 litres of water in a bowl and leave to soak overnight. This helps to extract the maximum amount of pectin from the fruit pulp, which will give a better set. It also helps to soften the peel, which will reduce the amount of cooking needed.

Transfer the contents of the bowl to a heavy-based saucepan and simmer for two hours or until the peel is really soft and the liquid is reduced by half. It should be soft enough to cut easily with a wooden spoon. Remove the muslin bag using a kitchen tongs, squeezing it well, allowing the juices to run back into the pan.

Add the sugar, stirring until it has dissolved, then bring to the boil and boil rapidly until the setting point is reached – this should take about 20 minutes. To test if the marmalade will set, put a little on a chilled saucer, put it in the fridge for five minutes or so; if a thick skin forms on the surface then the marmalade is ready to set.

Remove any scum from the top; if you don’t do this the marmalade will be cloudy. Allow the marmalade to cool down a little and then pot into sterilised jars and cover immediately.