Seville Orange Marmalade and Summer Drink Recipes
About the Seville Orange
Seville orange is Citrus Aurantium, also known as bitter orange, sour orange or marmalade orange. This fruit is a cross-breed between pomelo (Chinese grapefruit) and the mandarin.
There are many uses for this specie of citrus including herbal medicine, soaps, oils and for cooking but the most popular use for the seville orange is its use to make marmalade.
The Seville orange is native to the Mediterranean. The fruits contains a high pectin ratio compared to other oranges. The juice is quite sour and the rind quite bitter. It cannot be consumed as a regular orange hence being used for a variety of uses.
Here I am sharing the marmalade recipe with you.
Marmalade Ingredients
- 1 1/2 - 2 dozen ripe seville oranges
- 3 - 4 lbs sugar
- 2 quarts water
How to prepare jars for marmalade
In a large pot, put about 3/4 water to boil. Wash jars thoroughly first. Using a thong, lower the jars into the pot. Boil for about 1 minute then remove with thong making sure to drain excess water. Place on clean trays and cover with mesh, or place them in warm oven until ready to use.
Items you will need
A sharp knife
2 large pots
A cutting board
A piece of muslin or fine mesh.
A wooden spoon
A ladle
A thong
Marmalade jars
Instructions
- Place two saucers in fridge to chill for testing the marmalade. Prepare your jars by boiling then leaving to air dry in a clean area covered with a clean mesh.
- Pour water in the large pot and set aside. Scrub seville oranges thoroughly to remove any debris on skin.
- Halve oranges and juice them. Strain the juice and add to the pot with water.
- Using the spoon remove pith and most of the white substance.
- Place the innards in the cloth and tie into a loose ball/bag leaving a length of the cloth out like a tail. Tie this to the handle of the pot and lower the ball into the pot about an inch or two.
- Cut the skin of the seville oranges into dices or strips. I have done it both ways but the traditional recipe calls for thin strips.
- Add the skin of the seville oranges to the pot. Cover and let stand for about 2 hours.
- Place the pot on the stove and turn flames on medium low and let simmer for about two hours. Do not boil vigorously, just let simmer gently until orange peel/skin is tender. I don't like my peel too soft.
- Remove pot from heat and remove ball of pith. Let the ball cool.
- Add sugar to pot and stir. Turn flames back on to medium. Dissolve sugar by stirring gently. Then increase flames to high.
- Squeeze out pectin into pot. This is the agent that will cause the marmalade to gel. Squeeze out as much as you can. Using a whisk, blend in pectin with the liquid.
- As soon as the marmalade starts boiling rapidly set your timer for fifteen minutes. After 15 minutes then test some of the marmalade on one of the saucers by placing a spoonful and replacing the saucer in the fridge.
- You can test the marmalade by touching with the fingers. If the marmalade is runny, it's not ready. If it sets like jello then it's ready.
- If the marmalade is not ready then keep checking every 10 - 15 minutes. Do not over boil the marmalade or it will burn
- When the marmalade is ready let sit for a few minutes then remove scum if there is any.
- Using a clean ladle, spoon the marmalade into the jars. Seal immediately.
Seville Orange Ade
Here we have the seville orange version to lemonade, here in Jamaica we still call this drink lemonade. Here is the recipe.
2 - 3 medium to large seville oranges
3/4 cups brown sugar
6 cups water
Method
Wash and halve your seville oranges. Squeeze the juice out and pour in a jug. Pour on your water and add sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. What I would suggest doing is using 2 oranges to start, taste then adjust your taste with more. This drink can be quite sour if you aren't careful about the quantity of seville oranges you use.
Next, strain the drink into a pitcher and chill. Serve over ice.
Some variations:
- Add fresh mint
- Add ginger
- Kick things up with some rum
- Mix equal parts of beer for a beer cocktail
- Use sparkling water for a refreshing sparkler
Enjoy!
