What You’ll Need
- 4 ripe oranges
- 1 ripe lime
- 6 cups sugar
- 3 pint jars with sealable lids
Using a paring knife, peel the rind off the oranges and lime, careful not to peel the white pith as much as possible. From the pith is where the bitter flavor comes.
Set aside the oranges and lime.
Gather rinds of 4 oranges and 1 lime. Chop in thin slices, or use a mandarine tool to cut into 1/8 inch slices. Place chopped rind in a bowl.
Returning to the citrus, section each fruit using your paring knife.
To section a citrus fruit, you cut out the fruit sections in between the white membranes holding together the fruit. Cut out the sections while hovered on top of a bowl, so as to catch any falling juice!
Using a citrus juicer or your hands, squeeze out any remaining juice from the membrane. Do not throw away the membrane – you will use this later as natural pectin, the binding agent.
Combine juice, sections of fruit, sugar, and water together. Bring to a boil. Now it is a waiting game. Use a muslin cloth or strainer to include the membrane in with your mixture, careful not to let the membrane get permanently mixed into what will be your marmalade.
After 5 minutes at 220F, check the thickness of the setting marmalade by putting a teaspoon of the jam on a plate and set in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Run your finger through the jam, and if a clear path is left after your finger runs through then the marmalade is set.
Repeat process in 5 minute increments, checking the setting of your boiling marmalade mixture by dropping a bit on a plate to cool, then running your finger through.
Boil jars and lids for canning, or prepare your preferred containers. Canned jam lasts for a year. Jam placed in freezer lasts for a year, or if put in refrigerator and opened, it lasts for 3 weeks in the fridge.
