Marmalade weekends

This year has been a tough one on the citrus fruit at Towerwater. Even the electronic beams installed alongside the citrus lane did not prevent the larger part of the crop from being stolen. The naartjies (tangerines) were almost all stolen apart from the few that I could rescue early in the season. The rescued fruit was zested for making a naartjie infused gin.

We did however rescue enough of the Valencia and Seville to cook seven batches of a variety of Marmalades. These included batches of Seville and Ginger, pure Seville, pure Valencia and an Earl Grey Valencia marmalade.  The Earl Grey marmalade was made using a loose-leaf premium black tea, loaded with extra Bergamot.

Loose leaf Earl Grey tea

Earl Grey tea with Bergamot

At least one batch proved to be particularly adventurous. Earlier, I had made a naartjie infused gin and a lemon infused gin for use in unique Towerwater cocktails during the summer. To ensure that we did not waste any of the naartjie peels, we decided to re-use the peels that had been macerating on gin for two months and make a gin infused naartjie marmalade.

Naartjie zest

Naartjie infused gin

For two weekends, the Towerwater kitchen became a Marmalade hotspot. A feature was the four pots of marmalade on the stove at different stages of the marmalade making process. From cooking the peels soft, melting the warm sugar into the juice, to the final stage of cooking the peels.

The historic kitchen was infused with the fragrance of citrus oils and the warm and comforting aroma of cooking orange peel. We prefer to cook the marmalade in small batches. We understand that our method of preparing and cooking the marmalade will not be commercially viable. The absence of the use of electrical appliances, and the use of fully organic vintage citrus varietals for these small-batch marmalades, would have to be priced at a premium to recover costs and still make a profit.

The batch of marmalade made the first weekend

The batch of marmalade made the second weekend

At this stage, the marmalades are a sheer indulgence for exclusive use at Towerwater breakfasts. The small-batch, hand-sliced, organic, preservative free artisanal marmalade made in the historic kitchen is so worth the effort. The result is naturally extraordinary. We appreciate our garden and its organic fruit each day. Breakfasts remind us of how blessed we are as we bite into the wholesome fragrant citrus peel spread on slices of toast.

The Seville oranges are a luxury we treasure as an indulgence of our one weakness, marmalade. We must agree that Seville oranges are simply the best for making marmalade.

Famed 19^th Century Cape cookery authority, Hildagonda Duckitt, in her book entitled ‘Hilda’s Diary of a Cape Housekeeper’, printed in 1902, mentions in regard to the fruit available in the month of August “…Seville or bitter oranges are now in season, which makes excellent marmalade, …” and on page 140 of ‘Hilda’s where is it? of recipes’ printed in 1891, she provides the following recipe for Seville orange marmalade.

Our trusted Towerwater marmalade recipe is one that has become second nature to us. However, we still look at other recipes and are sometimes tempted to make them. Perhaps next year we might again introduce a new recipe, or at least a new kind of marmalade into our vintage repertoire.

Towerwater Organic Seville Orange Marmalade

The planting of the Seville orange tree in the Towerwater garden was never planned. It could best be described as an act of the universe. The universe knowing that one day we would need a Seville orange tree.  A citrus tree, wrongly labelled by a nurseryman many years ago, has inadvertently become a great blessing.

It remains the one tree that supplies enough fruit for endless baskets of oranges. These organically cultivated oranges are our first choice for making our favourite breakfast condiment.

It is important for us to always use our own organic oranges. Doing so ensures that we always have the freshest and healthiest untreated orange peels with which to make marmalade.

 Towerwater Organic Seville Orange Marmalade Recipe

Ingredients:

1 kg organic Seville oranges (about 6 large Seville oranges)

1 large lemon

1.8 kg sugar

2.25 litres water

Method:

1. Halve and juice the oranges and lemon.
2. Cut the orange rinds in half. Remove extra pith and slice thinly.
3. Tie the seeds, pulp, extra pith and roughly chopped lemon peel in a muslin cloth.
4. In a large heavy base pot, combine the juice, thinly sliced orange rinds and 2.25 litres of water.
5. Tie the muslin cloth to the handle of the pot so that the bag hangs suspended in the juice.
6. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the peel is very soft. Stir occasionally.
7. While the peels are boiling, sterilize 6 to 8 medium jars and place in a low oven (210°F, 100°C) until dry.
8. Place two small saucers in the freezer.
9. Remove the muslin bag from the pot and set aside to cool. After cooling, squeeze as much of the liquid remaining in the bag as possible, back into the pot.
10. Heat the sugar in the oven and then add to the pot, stirring over a low heat until dissolved.
11. Increase the heat and boil the marmalade for 15 to 20 minutes or until it reaches its setting point. Do not stir at this stage. 
12. To test for setting, place a teaspoon of the boiling marmalade onto a chilled saucer. If, after a minute, the surface of the marmalade wrinkles when you push it, but doesn’t run, the marmalade is ready. If not, boil for a further few minutes. Retest using the second chilled saucer until the setting point is reached.
13. Remove the pot from the heat. Let it cool slightly to allow the peel to distribute evenly. Skim away any foam that may have formed from the surface. 
14. Fill your sterilized jars to 3mm below the brink. Seal tightly immediately and store when cooled.