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marmalade with grapefruits and oranges, spread on toast

Orange and Grapefruit Marmalade


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  • Author: Steve Peters
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: about 3 cups 1x

Description

A bright, lightly bitter orange and grapefruit marmalade sweetened with honey for depth and balance.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 blood oranges
  • 1 large pink or red grapefruit
  • 1 lemon
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups honey

Instructions

  1. Prepare the citrus peels. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the outer peel from the oranges, grapefruit, and lemon, avoiding as much white pith as possible. A little pith is fine, but keep most of it on the fruit. Roughly chop the peels and place them in a small saucepan with 3 cups of water.

  2. Simmer the peels. Bring the peels to a gentle simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until softened and aromatic. Remove from the heat.

  3. Make a pectin bundle (optional but recommended). While the peels simmer, cut away the remaining white pith from the citrus fruits. Separate the fruit into segments, removing any tough membranes and seeds as you go. Gather the discarded pith, membranes, and seeds and tie them loosely in a piece of cheesecloth to form a small bundle. This bundle releases natural pectin, helping the marmalade set.

  4. Prepare the fruit. Roughly chop the citrus segments and add them to a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Mash lightly with a potato masher or your hands to release some juice.

  5. Combine the marmalade base. Add the sugar, honey, chopped peels with the liquid they cooked in, and the pectin bundle (if using) to the pot with the fruit. 

  6. Cook the marmalade. Bring the mixture to a steady simmer over medium-low heat. Give it a stir every once in a while. Cook for about 25 minutes, then remove the pectin bundle.

  7. Finish. Continue cooking for about 10 more minutes, or until the marmalade has thickened, is darker in color, and no longer appears watery.

  8. Store. Spoon the hot marmalade into clean jars. Let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate. The marmalade will continue to thicken as it cools and will keep in the fridge for several weeks.

Notes

When removing the peels from the citrus, be gentle with your peeler and remove only the peel and not the white pith. 

The pectin bundle may seem like extra effort, but wrapping up all those pieces of pith and seeds in a bundle will really help the marmalade to set. So it is worth the effort.

If you want to test the set of the marmalade before you finish cooking it, use the freezer plate method. I didn't include it here because this is a small batch fridge marmalade, and I don't think it matters too much.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Category: Preserves
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: English