Marmalade and toast is something we all grew up with and most of us never outgrew. But who first made it – and when? The word itself is derived from the Portuguese word ‘marmelada’ which is a thick and dense  paste made from cooked-down quinces and sugar- nothing like the Seville preserve we know. Apparently, 1524, Henry VIII received a gift of a ‘box of marmalade’ but this was, probably, the quince paste we mentioned above and Mary Queen of Scots was one of the earliest lovers of the marmalade we know because when she was experiencing a bout of really bad seasickness on a trip from France to Scotland,

the sugar in the marmalade helped with the nausea. For this reason the the The ‘invention’ of marmalade is generally credited to the Scots – not really because of the Janet Keiller legend and whether it’s true or not, story bears scrutiny or not,  the Keiller family did build the first marmalade factory in 1797 and Dundee became the ‘home of marmalade’. There are many different kinds of marmalade, ranging from the kind with a jelly consistency to the through the shredded peal kind to the darker, thicker kind known as Oxford-style marmalade. Under European law, the word ‘marmalade’ can only be applied to fruit preserves made from citrus fruits. A product made with any other kind of fruit must be called ‘jam’ and things like onion marmalade shouldn’t really be called a marmalade.

SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE

Ingredients

• 3 kg Seville oranges
• 3 lemons
• 2 kg preserving or granulated sugar

Method

• Prick the oranges with a skewer,  put in a large pot, cover completely with water and simmer for 2 hours – then allow to cool in the liquid.
• Once cool, remove them from the water, cut them in half and scoop out the pulp – please keep the pips.
• Finely shred the orange halves, keeping any juice.
• Boil the pips in the cooking water for 15 minutes and then strain out all the pips, pouring the liquid back into the pot with the fruit, all the orange juice and the lemon juice.
• Add the sugar and start to heat the mixture slowly, stirring well until everything has all dissolved.
• Bring to the boil and boil for 20 minutes – it should take the marmalade to setting point so check, if it hasn’t keep on boiling.
• To test if it has reached setting point, drop a spoonful onto a side plate that has been chilled in the fridge for the past 30 minutes (you could also put the plate in the deep freeze for 15 minutes), leave the spoonful of marmalade on the plate for a minute and then run your finger through it – if the surface wrinkles, it is ready.
• Pour the marmalade into sterilised jars and seal properly.