Sweet Orange and Clementine Marmalade

Marmalades are very easy to make, and they fill the house with a lovely sweet smell of fruit. Not only are they cheaper to make than to buy, but it is also fun and satisfying to know that you made them yourself. And they are guaranteed free from preservatives. Oranges are especially good in the spring, but you can make marmalades at any time of year when you want to bring a little sunshine into your kitchen.

Makes about 3 jars

600g oranges

200g clementines

50ml lemon juice

500ml water

500g granulated sugar

Thoroughly wash your fruit; you don’t want any pieces of grit or grime in your marmalade.

Peel the fruit thinly. You don’t want any of the white pith, as this becomes bitter during boiling. Chop the peel into small pieces. Clean away all the white pith from the fruit, and dice. Add both fruit and peel to a thick-bottomed saucepan, add the lemon juice and water, and bring to the boil. Boil rapidly for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Add the sugar, and boil for a further 30 minutes or so until it is sticky and set when you use a spoon to drip a few drops of the liquid onto a cold plate.

Leave the marmalade to cool while heating your clean jars and their lids in the oven to sterilise them. Make sure you put them in the oven while it is cold – if you add cold jars to a hot oven they will break. Bring the oven up to 100^oC. Use a dishcloth to extract the jars from the oven, and fill them with the still warm marmalade. Tighten the lids and leave to cool.