blood orange marmalade recipe
Recipes,  Winter

Blood Orange Marmalade

When life gives you blood oranges….

...you take the weekend off and make blood orange marmalade

blood orange marmalade recipe

Blood orange marmalade – how to use it

‘Tis the season for blood oranges, and for me that only means one thing: blood orange marmalade. I’ve been making blood orange marmalade for the past 3 years and using it in so many different ways. The obvious use is to simply put it on buttered toast. But I also use it as a topping for my favourite porridge bowl or as garnish for the classic lemon tart. Over the years I found that it works well as a substitute for honey in cake recipes. Also, it brings a different flavour to savoury dishes. I sometimes add a teaspoon of blood orange marmalade to the red wine jus that I use to garnish duck dishes. Or when making Vichy carrots I substitute the sugar in the recipe with a small quantity of marmalade. I could call it ‘my secret ingredient’. Well, I guess not so secret anymore now…

The recipe is adapted from Karen Burn’s award winning lemon and lime marmalade recipe. It is quite time consuming, but I believe that it’s worth dedicating a weekend to this project. And not only for the multiple ways in which you can use the marmalade over the year. But for the satisfaction of making your home-made marmalade. And for the almost therapeutical effect of engaging in a fiddly operation like chopping the orange peel. Not to mention the Christmassy orange-y smell that will surround your home for two whole days.

blood orange marmalade recipe

Blood orange marmalade – recipe notes

On a practical note, the orange peel preparation is the most fiddly part of this entire project. Karen suggests to juice the oranges first, then scrape out the membranes, quarter the fruit shells and finely chop them. There is a very important step here, and that is removing as much of the white membrane as possible to cut out the bitterness. It is quite a messy operation, but there’s no much to do about it. This year I’ve tried a new method: I cut the top and bottom of the orange and used a teaspoon to remove all the flesh. I put the flesh aside, then went on with removing the white pith and finely chopping. Finally, I used a food processor to chop the flesh and get as much juice out of it. I found it a bit less messy, but I guess you’ll have to try and test various methods until you find the one that works for you.

In terms of quantities, I would suggest to adjust the quantity of sugar depending on how sweet the oranges are. There can be quite significant variations, depending on the blood orange variety that you use.

As a variation, I usually add the slices of a lemon during boiling, just to balance the sweetness a little bit. Also, I sometimes like to experiment with condiments. So just before sealing the jars, I might add half of a vanilla pot to a jar, or some star anise. I did tried to add some green pepper once, but I found the flavour combination a bit confusing. If you feel more adventurous (I know I do), you could also add a spring of rosemary to one of the jars. If you’re not so adventurous, simply add a slice of blood orange on top – it will caramelise beautifully over time.

Blood Orange Marmalade

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg blood oranges about 10 small oranges
  • 1.2 kg granulated sugar
  • 1.5 l water

Instructions

  • Cut off the top and bottom of the oranges. Use a teaspoon to remove all the flesh and set it aside in a big bowl. Cut the orange peel in quarters.
  • Use a thin sharp knife (I use the fish filleting knife) to remove as much as possible of the white pith, then finely chop the orange peel.
  • Transfer the flesh in a food processor and blitz it for a couple of times. Do this in smaller batches if your food processor doesn't have a big capacity. Strain the juice and set aside the remaining membranes.
  • Transfer all the juice in a big pan and add the water. Place the membranes in a muslin cloth, tie it up with string and add it to the pan of juice. Leave over night to soak.
  • The following day remove the muslin bag (squeeze out all the juice), bring the pan to the boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer until reduced by a third. Use a slotted spoon to remove the scum formed during simmering.
  • Add the sugar and continue simmering until it reaches the setting point.
  • Transfer to clean jars and seal with new caps.

Andra Constantinescu

I am a classically trained chef, with a BSc in Culinary Arts and a Masters Degree in Food Business Management.

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