I have a new found love of canning. It all started this summer when I had a Ball House Party and me and several friends made strawberry jam. It was so much fun, not that hard and very rewarding. I love that I have made my family something that is fresh and cheaper than what I can buy at the store! I've made strawberry jam, apple butter, apple sauce, spiced orange marmalade and spiced watermelon honey. I learn something new about the process every time I make something. It's great!
I made this recipe by taking a little bit from several different orange marmalade recipes. This one is not your traditional recipe. I'll post the links to those recipes at the bottom of the post and you can check them out for yourself.
Ingredients:
8 oranges (I used navel)
2 lemons (juice from both, zest from one)
5 cups sugar
4 cups of water or orange juice
6 T regular pectin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
Start with ripe fruit (not over ripe) and wash them well.
Peel your oranges making sure to pull out the middle part. If you want the traditional orange marmalade then you will see one of the recipes below and follow the directions there. This marmalade has no peel in it, just some zest.
After your oranges are peeled you will slice them and cut them into chunks, remove any seeds at this point. Mine were seedless. I added a couple of chunks of lemon too, they were not seedless. Make sure you are saving as much of the juice as you cut by draining it into the bowl.
Zest one lemon into your bowl. Then add your chopped oranges.
Mix your pectin in with a 1/4 cup of your sugar and your spices. I read that this keeps the pectin from clumping. It must work because it did not clump. Stir this into your oranges.
Dump your orange mixture into a large pot and then add 4 cups of water or orange juice. I used water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
Add the sugar and bring the mixture to a full boil. Stir and bring boil, hard, for one minute.
This is the finished batch.
Pour into jars and leave 1/4-inch at the top. Wipe any that may have spilled on the top, seat the prepared lid and tighten the ring around them. Put them in the boiling water canner.
Keep the jars covered with at least 2 inches of water. Keep the water boiling and boil for 15 minutes.
Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without bumping them in a draft-free place. You will start to hear the popping of the lids as they are sealing. It's very exciting! Once they are cool you can check to see that they are sealed. It may take up to two weeks for the marmalade to set and thicken up. It will be runny until then. Should last about 18 months. This batch made 5 1/2 pints.
RECIPES
