Cornriggs Orange Marmalade

1.5lb of Medium Sweet Oranges
2 large lemons
3 pints of Water
3lb Granulated Sugar (or jam sugar)
½ oz butter
5 x 1lb Jam Jars (Must be very clean and warm)
5 x Clean lids or grease proof paper and rubber bands.
Saucer - kept in the fridge
Extra Large Pan

This is an ideal recipe to make in the winter when oranges and lemons are reasonably priced .I make it for my B&B and is very popular with guests. Read on for my step by step guid on how to make Cornriggs Marmalade for yourself.

Wash all fruit and dry with kitchen paper. Prick the oranges and one lemon.

Then put the oranges and the lemon keeping them whole into the very large, high sided pan.

Pour the water into the pan and bring to the boil, pop on a lid, then turn the pan down and let them cook very slowly for approximately one and half to to two hours or until the skins of the fruit are soft and can be pierced easily with a fork (the pan needs to have high sides as when you put the sugar in it will boil over)

Let it cool slightly and then lift the fruit out and place it in a collander, over a bowl, and let them cool completely. When the fruit is cold chop the flesh up finely and take out any pips, white pith and the ends of the fruit - these are bitter and tough. Place the flesh into the bowl and remove the collander

Next, chop the peel on a clean chopping board with a sharp cooks knife into very fine, short strips and add to the flesh you've collected. Then add the juice from the other lemon. If there are any pip, these need to be put in a small peace of muslin tied with string into the basin.

Bring the liquid that is left in the pan to the boil, add the sugar and bring back to the boil for 5 minutes, then add the fruit from the bowl. This needs to boil hard for about 40 minutes (make sure that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan or burn - this can be avoided by frequent stirring.

Next we need to do a test - this is called setting point. You will need the saucer from out of the fridge, put a dessert spoon of the marmalade onto it and put it back into the fridge. Meanwhile, keep the marmalade boiling in the pan.

After abut 10 minutes check the liquid on the saucer and if you can put your finger across the saucer and it separates, and stays seperate - this is the the setting point - the marmalade is ready. If this does not happen you need to boil for a little longer until this is the case.

When setting point is reached, lift the pan off the heat and turn off completely, pop in the butter to disperse the layer of scum. Leave the marmalade in the pan until a skin forms over the surface. Stir gently, and pop into warm jars and cover with lids.

Enjoy - Jan.