The Marmalade Factory

I'm no longer a marmalade-making virgin! This weekend I made two batches and while it takes a lot longer than jam it's very satisfying and the results are absolutely delicious.

The window for making is quite narrow if you're going to use Seville oranges - and you should - as these rather bitter oranges are absolutely perfect for the very best breakfast experience! The Sevilles are in the shops now and tend to get snapped up quite quickly. I bought mine from a fruit and veg shop - I noticed Sainsbury's don't stock them - probably because they don't conform to the supermarket ideal of horrible, uniform, flawless, ersatz, plastic-looking orbs. The two kilos I bought were in all shapes and sizes and the skins were very gnarly looking. Wonderfully real!

When you cut them open (oops forgot to take a photo of that!) you'll notice immediately that they're full of pips - that's probably another reason the supermarkets don't like them  - but these plentiful pips are what give the pectin needed for a successful set.

On the radio recently someone was commenting that sales of marmalade have declined dramatically in the UK - and immediately this provoked a corrective backlash of people rushing out to buy some. As someone pointed out, hopefully the sales decline is down to more people making their own. If you haven't tried it give it a go - you'll enjoy the results for months to come.

>> Here's the foolproof recipe I followed

Clare F