This recipe for Orange and Ginger Marmalade is adapted from a Nigel Slater recipe that can be found here. My only changes were slightly increasing the amount of ginger and reducing the lemons by one! This was for no reason other than that I only had 3 lemons to hand and I had a lump of ginger that I wanted to use up 
It made a fabulous marmalade though!
The earliest references to citrus marmalade as a preserve were in the 1670’s. Prior to that marmalada was a Portuguese delicacy made with quinces and flavored with rose water and musk and served in squares much like Turkish delight is served today. In the 17th and 18th centuries marmalade was made in a clear jelly form and used as a paste but it was free of the shreds of peel that make up the marmalade of today.
James Keiller and Sons from Dundee are thought to be the first commercial makers of marmalade and they are believed to have made the first marmalade that contained chunks of orange peel. The story goes that Mr Keiller brought a large amount of Seville oranges from a ship that was sheltering from a storm in a port near to where he lived. The oranges were being used as ballast for cargo contained on the ship and were far from fresh. He gave these oranges to his wife, Janet, who played around with different recipes and developed a marmalade which contained chunks of orange peel suspended in a clear amber colored jelly. This marmalade became a best seller for James Keiller and Sons company and in its heyday the company was highly successful and more profitable than both Cadburys and Rowntrees. In 1857 James Keiller and Sons set up one of their factories in Guernsey (my home Island) to avoid the UK mainland sugar tax. They made approx 350 tonnes of the stuff every year from their Island factory until sugar tax ended in 1874 and they moved their production lines to London. I never knew this Guernsey connection to marmalade before researching for this post and I am interested to learn more.
I used Seville oranges in this recipe. They are typically used in marmalade due to their high pectin levels and their tangy flavor. Cutting up this amount of orange peel can be a labor of love though – a sharp knife is essential. I was lucky enough to have received a chefs knife from Edge of Belgravia before Christmas which made this task so easy! For over 20 years I have relied on a trusty knife set that I brought when I first went to cookery school, but I’m kind of wondering whether they have finally had their day. This funky designed knife was so good to use, it cut through the orange peel like butter, was well weighted and comfortable to hold. I need to try out some more. They look pretty good too 
Anyhow, I hope that you enjoy this recipe.
Orange and Ginger Marmalade
- Prep Time: 1h
- Cook Time: 1h
- Total Time: 14h
- Yield: 5 large jars
- Category: Gluten Free, Jams, Jellies & Preserves, Sweets, Candies and Gifts
Ingredients
- 1 kilogram Seville Oranges
- 3 Lemons
- 2 kilograms granulated sugar
- 150 grams fresh ginger (peeled)
- 2 litres cold water
Instructions
- Peel the oranges and lemons. The easiest way of doing this is to score the skin of the fruit into quarters from top to bottom. The four quarters of peel should then be easy to remove. Cut these into strips. I like long thin shreds of peel in my marmalade so I cut the peel into strips of about 2-3mm wide.
- Using your hands (or a metal lemon squeezer) squeeze the juice from the oranges and lemons into a large bowl making sure that you remove any pips. Place the squeezed oranges, lemons and pips into a muslin bag and secure tightly at the top.
- Pour 2 litres of cold water over the juice and mix to combine. Add the muslin bag full of squeezed fruit and the cut up peel to the juice. Cover with a tea towel and set aside overnight.
- Tip the mixture into a large pan and place on a medium high heat. Bring to the boil.
- Whilst waiting for the liquid to boil, peel the ginger and chop it into small shreds (again 2 - 3mm wide).
- Once the liquid boils, reduce to a simmer and add the ginger shreds. Simmer for 60 minutes until the peel is translucent.
- Carefully remove the muslin bag from the pan and still secured, place it into a separate bowl. Using a spatula or wooden spoon carefully squish the bag to release any liquid. Do be careful as it will be hot! This liquid can then be added to the large pan of juice and peel.
- Add the sugar to the juice/peel mixture and stir to combine. Bring to the boil.
- Place a couple of saucers in the fridge to cool down (for testing for set)
- You want to boil the mixture for approx 15 minutes. When the mixture is boiling it will produce a froth on the top which needs to be removed to ensure a clear marmalade. The easiest way of doing this is to regularly skim it with a slotted spoon.
- After the mixture has boiled for 15 minutes, remove a teaspoon of mixture and place it on one of the cold saucers. Place the saucer back in the fridge for a couple of minutes to chill. Check the set of your marmalade by running your finger through the chilled marmalade - if a thickish skin forms on the top, your marmalade is ready. If it does not, continue boiling for a few minutes before retesting.
- Once you have tested for set, remove the mixture from the heat and ladle the marmalade into sterilized jars.
The post Orange and Ginger Marmalade appeared first on Drizzld.