foodbeam - 100% sweet

Monday, February 05, 2007

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir, says the bitter orange – Sexiest marmalade

Sometimes seducing a guy is a very easy task: you think, you wink, you double blink - dans la poche [easy peasy].
And other times it just isn’t; no matter how hard a girl tries, nothing happens.

Back in 1998, I remember this boy in my class whose hair definitely recalled Son Gohan’s (as a Super Saiyan – c’est evident).
It seemed he fancied anything but me; well he must have changed his mind.
Two years later, when I brought him a jar of some marmalade I had made I saw sparkles in his eyes.
I will never forget that day, the day he fell in love with me.
See! All it needs to win a guy’s heart is a jar of marmalade.

That day was now more than six years ago; though, whenever I try to play the lovely-and-adoring-girlfriend and bring breakfast to bed, I can get two different faces: either the as – grumpy – as – usual or the I – love - ~~you~~ marmalade – so – much.
You’ll guess the latter is only found when a fat pot of marmalade is sitting on the tray.
Hopefully I can never run out of it. Indeed I’m a very lucky girl and have a beautiful bitter orange tree in my garden, which gives dozens of oranges every other year.

Bitter oranges
The oranges from my garden are slightly smaller than regular oranges and thus are perfect for jam making as the pith isn’t too big.
If making marmalade, you must use organic non treated oranges.
Even though my oranges are 100% organic I wash them to get rid of bugs or earth/sand traces.

How does marmalade solidify? – Pip is the word
What I really like about this marmalade is that you don’t have to use any extra pectin as the pips provide enough of this gelling substance.
Pectin is a molecule made of different groupings of polysaccharides (complex sugars) and allows the formation of a gel.
There are two types of pectins: HM and LM which indicates the degree of etherification of the molecule. The higher the etherification, the faster the gel will set.

Bitter orange’s pectin and more generally, citrus fruits’ pectin, is HM (High Methoxyl) and can only form a gel in presence of acid (orange) and sugar. What a lucky (and delicious) coincidence!

Here we enclose the pips in muslin bags and soak them in the orange/water mixture so they release their pectin.

Bitter orange marmalade

This is not really a recipe as the quantities of water and sugar are utterly dependent upon how many oranges you have.
What you have to remember is that you’ll need:
1,8kg of water for each kg of orange
1,3kg of caster sugar for each kg of the orange/water mixture
Then you all you have to do is follow the steps. Easy!

Note - the marmalade will look runny at first but will solidify when resting.
It’s quite unusual to let the jars sit, open until the jam is set, but it allows the gel to form evenly.

Note bis - I just love this marmalade spread on hot crusty bread!

Note ter - Take in consideration the fact that this marmalade is made over three consecutive days.

Sexiest bitter orange marmalade

organic bitter oranges
water
caster sugar

Wash the oranges, slice them as finely as possible and save the pips.
Enclose the pips in some muslin squares (fanny: I used 10x10cm squares and made three bags for 1,5kg of oranges) and tie securely.

Weigh the oranges and write down the weight.
You’ll need orange weight x 1,8 = water weight in kg.
Place the orange slices, water and muslin bags in a large plastic bowl, cover and refrigerate for 24h

Boil the mixture for an hour and transfer back into the bowl. Let in a cool place for another 24h.

Weigh the mixture and write down the weight.
You’ll need mixture weight x 1,2 = sugar weight in kg.
Ok it sounds a lot, but hey, you’re making jam out of bitter oranges.
Discard the pips bags and mix in the sugar.
Boil for an hour and pour into sterilized jars.

Allow to set at room temperature. Close the jars and keep in a cool place.

Labels: favourites, jams and preserves, recipe inside

sweet link | posted by *fanny* at 16:09

21 sweets:

Anonymous said something sweet:: C'est vrai qu'elle est aguicheuse, je suis sous le charme!; 06 February, 2007 08:14
David said something sweet:: it used to be hard to find Seville oranges in Paris, but now they're everywhere! My only problem is it takes so much time to seed them-it takes me a wholel afternoon. Thankfully, the reward is lots of jars of the most delicious jam ever.; 06 February, 2007 08:46
leonine194 said something sweet:: you are really so lucky to have oranges in one's garden , you made me laugh with your story ! boys boys....; 06 February, 2007 11:46
Anonymous said something sweet:: Fanny,

It seems we made marmalade almost at the same time...but you've got your own oranges..how wonderful is that! I love all the pictures too!; 06 February, 2007 15:16
Unknown said something sweet:: A l'heure du goûter, elle me fait très envie cette marmelade...; 06 February, 2007 17:55
Anonymous said something sweet:: Gorgoeous! I have some Sevilles still sitting around, perhaps a marmalade is in order. You've inspired me!

-L; 06 February, 2007 18:41
Anonymous said something sweet:: a good idea for the valentine day, my husband is so crazy about this marmalade.Your photos are so pretties.; 06 February, 2007 22:35
Caty said something sweet:: Wow, that looks absolutely delicious!; 07 February, 2007 00:28
Anonymous said something sweet:: made by oranges grown from your garden. So amazing and blissful...; 07 February, 2007 05:38
*fanny* said something sweet:: Coucou Maya - merci.

Hi David - thank you so much for making me realise seville oranges ARE bitter oranges. I am so ignorant...

Hi Leonine - oh yes! boys...

Hi Marieke - seems we had the same idea at the same moment. Yours definitely looks delicious and very tempting.

Coucou Milie - une petite cuillere, un pot de marmelade, un bout de pain... Le meilleur (enfin un des meilleurs) gouter du monde.

Hi Lara - well I'm really touched. Can't wait to see what you'll make out of your seville oranges.

Hi Valerie - if your husband likes marmalade, then it would definitely make a great Valentine present.

Hi Caty - thanks for the nice words.

Hi M - I love it when I can use homegrown vegetables/fruits. Such a satisfaction!

Love
- fanny; 07 February, 2007 11:55
Scribbit said something sweet:: I'd love to try this, I've done lots of jam and plenty of crab apple jelly but not marmalade.; 07 February, 2007 19:40
Tea said something sweet:: This is such a lovely post, Fanny. While all your posts are sweet, I like this one in particular. And the photos are gorgeous. I can almost taste the marmalade!; 08 February, 2007 02:32
Anonymous said something sweet:: hi fanny, your oranges are gorgeous, your marmalade looks marvelous! i love the logo on the jar...very genuine!; 08 February, 2007 04:06
Anonymous said something sweet:: If you close the jars after the jam has set, you can skip the whole sterilizing process (of the glasses) before, because it became useless. This jam won't be proberly preserved. Nice label copy, similar to one available at our supermarche.; 09 February, 2007 13:25
Anonymous said something sweet:: Bonjour Fanny! Wow, I absolutely love marmalade, and this looks so delicious! Thanks for the tips about the pips!; 09 February, 2007 17:55
Catherine said something sweet:: Great piece!; 10 February, 2007 04:34
*fanny* said something sweet:: Hi Scribbit - I'm curious, what are crab apples? (such a cute name)

Hi Tea - thank you, i'm really touched.

Hi Eliza - the label is inspired by welovejam.com I simply loved it and couldn't resist

Hi Radutte - I always prefer to sterilise the jars. Better safe than sorry.
And yes, this marmalade keeps really well (we've have jars sitting in the cave for two years and be as delicious as before).

Hi Gilly and Catherine - thank you both for the nice words.

Love
- fanny; 10 February, 2007 08:04
emeliehealy said something sweet:: Hi fanny, What and adorable site! i'm just about to venture into making my own bitter orange marmalade as my tree is exploding! i'm wondering how many jars your 1.5kg recipe made?
Thanks!
Emelie; 19 February, 2007 16:10
L Vanel said something sweet:: Fanny dear, I love the labels on your orange marmelade. You are a true artist. Will you be making vin d'orange as well?; 22 February, 2007 09:35
*fanny* said something sweet:: Hi Emelie, i think that basically you get one small jar per orange.

Hi Lucy, i won't be making vin d'orange but my mum certainly will be.

Love
- fanny; 22 February, 2007 11:45
Anonymous said something sweet:: Your packaging is so delightful - I love the circle cut-out. So clever! This looks delicious. I still have yet to find Seville oranges in New York, sadly...; 15 March, 2007 17:41