I recently learned the magic of homemade marmalade (thank you Alison Roman and NYT Cooking) and I will never ever go back to store bought! Deeply citrusy, less sweet, and so so easy to make — this recipe is worth the time and will leave you with jars of delicious marmalade that last indefinitely in the refrigerator. Making marmalade has now become a regular weekend activity in my kitchen. One of the best things about this recipe is that it strikes the perfect balance between effort and payoff; spend a little time peeling and cutting the fruit the day before you want to make your marmalade. The next day, spend roughly 2 hours monitoring your simmering pot. That’s it! Couldn’t be easier. Best slathered on some homemade scones with butter, but I have definitely also eaten this by the spoonful, straight from the jar.
You could make this with navel oranges or clementines (or sumo oranges, HELLO) but I love the sour-sweetness and unique floral flavor of satsuma mandarins. I’ve also used grapefruit here with good success but I’ve found that I need a LOT of sugar to counteract the bitterness of the grapefruit.
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Ingredients:
- 950 grams satsuma mandarins or clementines
- 700 grams granulated sugar
- ¼ cup/60 milliliters fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
- 6 cups water, divided
Directions:
- Peel the mandarins by hand and set fruit aside. Thinly slice the peels (with the pith) no thicker than ¼ inch. Place the sliced peels in a large bowl and set aside.
- Halve the fruit horizontally and remove any visible seeds. Thinly slice about ¼-inch thick (white membrane and all), removing any seeds you find as you go. Add the fruit to the peels and cover with 5 cups of water. Place bowl in the refrigerator and let sit for between 8 and 24 hours. This softens the peels and extracts the natural pectin from the fruit.
- Next day: place a small plate in the refrigerator to chill (you’ll need this later).
- Place the peels, fruit and water in a large, heavy pot. Add remaining 1 cup of water and bring to a strong simmer over medium–high heat.
- Cook the citrus until the peels have begun to soften and turn translucent, and the liquid has reduced by about half, 40 to 50 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add sugar and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the peels are totally softened and almost totally translucent, about another hour. As the marmalade cooks, the liquid in the pot will reduce while the sugars thicken the liquid and the natural pectin in the citrus is activated. The liquid will change from a rapid, rolling boil with small bubbles to a slower boil with larger bubbles. At this point, it’s important to begin stirring the pot frequently to prevent sugar from concentrating on the bottom of the pot and burning. Be careful, as splattering might also occur at this stage.
- When the marmalade reaches the slow boil and has thickened considerably, add lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring constantly until the jam has returned to its previously thickened state, about another 5 minutes. The mixture will be thick and you’ll notice pieces of peel suspended in the marmalade.
- To test the jam’s thickness, spoon a bit onto the chilled plate, return it to the refrigerator and chill for 2 minutes. Drag your finger through it: it should hold its shape on either side without appearing watery or runny. If it’s not there yet, cook marmalade for a few more minutes!
- Remove from heat and divide among jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top. Seal immediately, and store in the refrigerator.
Sophie in the Kitchen 