Sweet Old Marmalade

Orange Marmalade is my all time favorite fruit spread, strawberry is second.  This marmalade is full of orange flavor and is really delicious on a good English Muffin, there is nothing like it.  I also use marmalade in cooking.  I have basted Cornish hens and chicken with it, either in the oven or on the grill.  Pair it with soy sauce and honey and you have sticky, tasty chicken.  This recipe is easy and fast, because that's the way I roll (like to cook)!

   Start with oranges and sugar.  Zesting the oranges.

 Peel the pith (remaining white peel) off the oranges and cut in half.  Remove the white vein that goes down the center of the oranges.

 I put my oranges through the food processor.  Put all ingredients into a medium saucepan.

 Cooked down and ready for pectin to thicken it up.

Canned and ready to eat!

 Up close you can see all the good pieces of orange and zest in there!

Homemade Orange Marmalade

Ingredients

7  large oranges

2 ¼ cups of sugar

3 tsp pectin

Directions

Rinse  3 – ½ pint canning jars in very hot water.  Place the metal rings and seals in a pan of water and bring to a boil, then turn the water off and leave the lids in the pan.

 

Bring a big deep pot with water to a boil.  It should be deep enough with water to cover the jars once you lower them into the bath to seal them.
 

Prepare the fruit:  Zest the oranges by going down the sides with a zester to get somewhat long pieces.  Don’t go to deep, you don’t want the white pith.  When all the oranges are zested, cut the longer zested pieces in half and set aside.  Peel the oranges with a knife by cutting them down the sides, carefully removing the white pith (it’s bitter, you don't want to use this part) but try not removing too much of the orange. Next, cut the oranges lengthwise and remove the white vein that is in the center of all the oranges.  Chop the oranges up, I use a food processor to chop my oranges, but if you do not have one finely chop them up so there are no big chunks.

Add the zest, oranges and sugar to a medium size saucepan.  Cook on medium - high heat until it comes to a boil and cook for 15 minutes, stirring so it doesn’t stick to the pan.  Reduce the heat to medium (slow boil) and cook for 10 minutes more.  When you are ready to gel it, add the pectin and stir it in quickly.  Stir and cook for 3 minutes.

Set the jars out and using a canning funnel and a ladle, fill the jars to ¼  inch below the rim.  Immediately place the lids on the jars and twist on the ring, but not tight, leave them a little loose.  Put jars in the boiling water with a pair of tongs, be careful not to tip them, and boil for 10 minutes.  Remove from water, with tongs, and place on a cooling rack.  You should hear the lids pop (seal) a few minutes after removing from the water.   After the jars have cooled run your finger lightly over the center of the lid, if the center button on the seal is not concave the jar is not sealed. You can either put that jar in the refrigerator or heat the jam back up and re-can it with a clean jar, new lid and rim.

Refrigerate any unsealed jars after they’ve been opened.