Orange or Lemon Marmalade

Orange or Lemon Marmalade is a traditional Elizabethan recipe for a classic marmalade made from the pulp of boiled oranges or lemons with apples that's set by boiling with sugar. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Elizabethan version of: Orange or Lemon Marmalade.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

150 minutes

Total Time:

170 minutes

Makes:

8 jars

Rating:

Tags : Vegetarian RecipesBritish Recipes

Original Recipe

To make Marmelade of Lemmons or Orenges (from Sir Hugh Platt's Delightes of Ladies to adorne their Persons, Tables, Closets, and distillatories with Beauties, banquets,perfumes and waters. Reade, Practise, and Censure 1602)

41. To make Marmelade of Lemmons or Orenges

TAke ten lemmons or orenges & boyle them with half a dozē pippins, & ſo draw them through a ſtrainer, then take ſo much ſugar as the pulp doth wey, & boyle it as you doe Marmelade of Quinces, and then box it vp.

Modern Redaction

Oranges and Lemons were exotic fruit in Elizabethan times. As a result every part of them was used, and when making conserves of them they were bulked out with other fruit, such as the apples in this example. A marmalade was any conserve that was boiled sufficiently long for the sugar to caramelize and give a dark colour. Hence, you could make a marmalade of any fruit.

Ingredients:

10 large lemons or oranges
6 apples (Cox's orange pippins would be close to the original)
500g caster sugar per 500g of fruit pulp

Method:

Quarter the fruit, place in a pan with 4 tbsp water, bring to a simmer then cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for about 40 minutes, or until the fruit have broken down into a pulp.

Pass the fruit pulp through a fine-meshed sieve using the back of a spoon. Weigh the pulp and to every 500g of fruit pulp mix in 500g caster sugar.

Place in a pan, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes.

At this point, test the marmalade for setting. Take a saucer (which you have previously cooled in the refrigerator) place a teaspoonful of the marmalade on this and allow to cool down. Push against the mixture with your thumbnail. If a skin forms and crinkles on top when you push it, then the marmalade has reached setting point. If not, continue boiling for 5 minutes more then test again.

Once you have reached the setting point, you can pot your marmalade. Spoon the finished marmalade into cleaned and sterilized jars that have been warmed in the oven. Seal securely, allow to cool then label and store.

Find more Hugh Plat Recipes Hereand more Traditional Elizabethan Recipes Here.