Description
Ina Garten’s orange marmalade recipe brings classic British citrus preserve to American kitchens with elegant simplicity. Home cooks can easily craft this zesty spread using fresh oranges, sugar, and water for a delightful homemade condiment you’ll savor on toast or in baking.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 pounds 12 ounces (1.7 kg) sugar
- 6 cups (1.4 L) water
- 1 ¾ pounds (794 g) oranges, 4 to 5 medium
- 1 lemon, zest finely grated and juiced
Instructions
- Fruit Preparation: Wash oranges and lemon thoroughly. Quarter the fruits, remove seeds, and finely mince the entire fruit, including peels, ensuring complete incorporation of all components.
- Initial Cooking: Transfer chopped fruit to a heavy-bottomed pot. Add water and bring to a vigorous boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for approximately 2 hours until citrus rinds become tender and soft.
- Sugar Integration: Introduce granulated sugar, stirring continuously until completely dissolved into the fruit mixture. Gradually increase heat to maximum, creating a robust rolling boil.
- Marmalade Refinement: Maintain constant stirring to prevent scorching. Cook until the mixture reaches exactly 220 degrees Fahrenheit (104 degrees Celsius), which typically takes about 30 minutes of careful monitoring.
- Setting Verification: Conduct the gel test by placing a small amount of marmalade on a chilled plate. Push the sample with your fingertip – if it wrinkles and maintains shape, the marmalade has reached the perfect consistency.
- Jarring Process: Sanitize glass jars by immersing in boiling water and draining on clean towels. Use a canning funnel to fill jars with hot marmalade, leaving minimal headspace below the threading. Wipe jar rims with a clean, damp cloth to ensure proper sealing.
- Preservation and Storage: Secure lids firmly and optionally process in a water bath. Allow jars to cool completely at room temperature. Verify lid seals by pressing the center – it should remain stationary. Store in a cool, dark pantry, and refrigerate after opening.
Notes
- Fruit Prep Precision: Thoroughly clean oranges and lemon, ensuring no dirt remains. Finely mince the entire fruit, including peel, to maximize flavor extraction and texture.
- Cooking Patience: Simmer fruit for 2 hours until rinds become tender, allowing natural pectin to develop and intensify citrus essence.
- Sugar Dissolution Technique: Stir sugar gradually and continuously, guaranteeing complete melting without crystallization for smooth, silky marmalade.
- Setting Point Perfection: Use the gel test by placing a small amount on a chilled plate – if it wrinkles when pushed, the marmalade has reached ideal consistency.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Breakfast, Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 16
- Calories: 218
- Sugar: 34 g
- Sodium: 2 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 57 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg