Homemade Marmalade Jam

I love marmalade. Not the overly sweet stuff. The slightly bitter jammy stuff, stuffed with loads of orange peels. But whenever I go to the shops, I feel that every bottle I inspect, just doesn't have the right amount! So I thought I'd make my own. With orange season here, I couldn't miss the opportunity to make my own marmalade.

I usually make my own strawberry and apple jam. But I wanted to change it up thistle and go for marmalade. I was inspired while my kids were sitting and watching Paddington last week. I just couldn't get it out of my head. So off to the kitchen I went. And what I ended up with was an amazing, sticky jam, which filled the kitchen with the smell of sweet oranges.

Preparation Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Yields 400 ml

Ingredients

3 lb oranges- halved

2 cups sugar - check the recipe for full details

6 cups water

Instructions

1. Wash and cut your oranges in half. Squeeze the orange juice from the oranges. Reserve the seeds and pulp in a separate bowl. Keep the rinds.

2. Use a spoon to scoop out the pith, pulp and seeds. Place the seeds and pulp in a muslim cloth/ cotton cloth. Tie it up and set aside.

3. Place the orange peels in a separate bowl. Reserve everything.

4. Slice the orange peels into thin slices and set them aside.

5. Place the juice, orange peels and water in a large cooking pot. Place the cloth pouch in the pot as well. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook the mixture on a medium heat.

6. As the mixture cooks, scum will form on the top of the sugar mixture. Just use a spoon to scoop away the scum from the top. We don't want that.

7. Cook the liquid until the peels have no give when cut with a spoon.

8. Remove the pouch from the mixture and place in a bowl to cool. We still need it, so set it aside.

9. Pour the orange liquid and peels into a jug and measure out the liquid. For every cup of liquid we want 3/4 cup of sugar.

10. Place the liquid back into the pot. Add the sugar needed and place on a medium heat.

11. Squeeze the pouch and extract 2-3 Tablespoons of the pectin from the pouch. It will be very hot so make sure you use a pair of gloves.

12. Give it a good mix.

13. Place a thermometer in the pan and bring the mixture to 220F. Keep mixing the jam until it comes to temperature.

14. Once it comes to temperature, remove from the heat and set aside. Check that the jam is ready by placing a plate in the freezer to chill. Place a couple drops of the jam onto the plate. If it wrinkles then its ready. Too soft then cook a little longer. And if it is too hard then add a little water.

15. Wash and boil your jars, ready to fill.

16. Fill your jars while the jam is still hot. Cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge.

17. Enjoy with a slice of toast or even atop of scones and cakes.