The Cottage Smallholder

Well I'm at stage 2 today and to my amazement I have almost 5 pints of liquid sitting in preserving pan.

I have never made jam or marmalade before with this amount of liquid and I am wondering if I might have trouble getting a set if I try to do it all in one go. What do you think.....should I halve the amount and do it in 2 goes or does marmalade set ok in large quantities?

Thanks Janet - I did think that but was hoping to do it in one go. I was really surprised at how much liquid/juice the fruit produced.

Thanks again Janet - took your advice and added whisky to 2nd batch. Ended up with 11 jars in total (6 large & 5 small).

Now I've been looking at several marmalade recipes just for a bit of extra info whilst doing this and I could be wrong but I'm fairly certain that Delia's Chunky Seville orange marmalade does NOT boil the mixture - it just simmers away for hours.

The reason I mention this is because my first batch thickened up within 3 mins of boiling so I tested it on saucer as normal and it was fine.

Second batch had been simmering gently whilst 1st batch was in progress and I got a set on it without boiling but after I added the whisky it was a bit loose so I brought it up to a moderate boil and it was fine. Much darker than 1st batch - both very nice in their own way. I would say using sweet oranges, limes and some lemons is a nice alternative to the strong bitter Seville Orange marmalade......but oh boy is my back aching

So my next question is this.........do you always boil your marmalade in the same way as you boil jams and if it isn't boiled will it keep just as well as if you had boiled it

Thanks Martin

I am always amazed at how many different aspects there are of jam/jelly/marmalade/chutney making. I probably read too much and then get confused by the various methods and opinions and start to doubt myself, when really you can work things out for yourself most of the time.

However - I do like to have a recipe to start with and see how that works out before I get adventurous.

I have been considering the Oded Schwartz preserving book but again there seem to be 2 or 3 versions of it so now I don't know which one to go for

If you could browse it in a book shop it would be so easy to decide but online you are stumped. Amazon do have one which you can look at online but not the older versions. Not heard of Mary Norwak but will keep my eye open for her book.