Orange Marmelade*

Categories:	English   17th century   fruit   oranges
Original Source:	Hugh Platt, Delights for Ladies
Secondary Source:
Cook:	Eudaimon
Meeting Date:	1975-05-18

To make marmelade of oranges or lemons
Take 10 lemons or oranges, & boil them with halfe a dozen pippins, and so draw them thorow a strainer: then take so much sugar as the pulp do weigh, and boile it as you doe Marmelade of quinces, and then boxe it up.

Steps

1. Pare the apples, quarter them and remove seeds and cores. Wash oranges and lemons, cut off the ends, and then cut them into thin slices. Place the fruit in a bowl, with the wine and spices, add several cups of water, and soak the fruit for some hours, or over night (see the Joy of Cooking).
2. Boil the mixture in a large pot for several hours (at least two), stirring frequently to prevent it sticking to the bottom. If a lid is used on the pot, less additional water will be needed. When everything is quite soft and mushy, add the sugar (essentially to taste--Sir Hugh's recipe would be sweeter than mine), and cook about 1/2 hour more; one can test for jelling by taking a small bit of the syrup on a spoon, cooling it slightly, an observing how it flows (again, see the Joy of Cooking).
   
   When the cooking is finished, ladle the marmelade into sterilized jars, carefully wipe the sides, and seal with liquid paraffin. The jars should be left undisturbed until cool.

Note

I took various liberties with the above recipe, based on my reading of the Joy of Cooking, and slight personal experience.

Apples' natural pectin assists the jelling.