Every year, I have to make jars and jars of marmalade for the other half. I don't eat it myself - well, perhaps in a bread and butter or steamed pud now and then - be HE is addicted to the stuff. We got fabulous fresh Seville oranges from Riverford at the weekend, so the annual ritual begins. I make mine a slightly unusual way - I boil the whole oranges, just covered with water, for a couple of hours and let them cool overnight. Then, I halve them and scoop the gooey pulp into a seive, which is forced through the mesh with a spoon into the orangey cooking water - here lies all the pectin for the purposes of setting the stuff. It is also a doddle to cut the cooked peel, in our case, into very coarse chunky shreds. Sugar is added - I used 2.5 kilos of granulated sugar to 1.5 k of oranges, and the mix is boiled to reduce and reach setting point - this takes about 40 minutes, and we don't like it to colour too much or go too dark. And that's it. Let it settle for 10-15 mins, dispersing any scum with a tiny bit of butter, and potting into hot sterilised jars and sealing tightly. We haven't tasted any yet, but it has set beautifully, and we have rows of gleaming orange preserve sitting in the kitchen.
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