Easy Orange Marmalade Recipe

This orange marmalade recipe is the perfect combination of sweet and citrusy to pair with everything from english muffins or toast, to pork roast.

If you love preserving food when it’s in season, this is the time of year to make citrus recipes. I love how delicious and juicy oranges are in the winter, and always have a list of things I want to make with them while I can.

This year, orange marmalade was right at the top of that list. This pairs really well with orange-cranberry scones, and cranberry-orange muffins, to enhance the citrus flavor that’s already there.

Ingredients for Orange Marmalade

This is easy recipe that, yes, requires a little bit of patience, but also only three ingredients.

• Oranges
• Lemons
• Sugar

I like the simple, bright flavor of orange marmalade made this way, but you can also add some spices, such as cinnamon or cloves, to put your own twist on it.

There are a number of different types of oranges you can use, which will result in slightly different flavors. Seville oranges will result in a more bitter marmalade, blood oranges have a more fruity taste, along with some bitterness. If you like, you can also use other citrus fruit, such as grapefruit if you really want to lean into the bitter aspect, or a lime if you want to make a multi-fruit marmalade. 

How is Orange Marmalade Made

It’s very simple with this easy marmalade recipe.

1. Start by slicing your oranges and lemon into thin (1/8 inch or less) slices using a mandolin slicer, or sharp knife.
   
2. Next, but the slices into quarters, so that you all your rind pieces are fairly short.
   
   
3. Add water to the fruit, and simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes until the rinds are just tender
   
   
4. Add sugar, and stir until dissolved, then bring to a simmer, and simmer until the mixture reaches 224º on a candy thermometer. This should take roughly 20 minutes. You can test the marmalade without a thermometer if you desire, by freezing a plate while the marmalade simmers. After 15 minutes or so, place a teaspoon of the mixture on the chilled plate and let sit for 30 seconds, When ready, the mixture should be a soft gel. If it’s thin and runny, continue simmering, refreeze the plate, and try again in a few minutes.
   
   
5. When the marmalade is ready, remove from heat and jar.

How to can orange marmalade

1. Sterilize jelly jars and lids. You can do this by preparing a hot waterbacth canner, with jars in it, bring to a boil for ten minutes, and then remove the jars. I usually use half pint jars for my marmalade, since we typically don’t use a large amount at one time.
2. Fill sterilized jars with the hot marmalade, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
   
   
3. Wipe rims of jars with a soft cloth to remove any drips, then screw down lids and bands firmly.
4. Return the jars to the water bath canner, being sure the jars don’t touch each other, and your canning rack is inserted into the bottom.
5. Make sure the water covers the jars by at least an inch.
6. Bring to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
8. Remove jars from canner, and cover with a towel. Let sit at room temperature for at least 24 hours, then test for seals, wash jars if needed, and store in a cool place out of direct light.

Pro tips for success

Making marmalade isn’t complicated, and you almost can’t mess up if you keep an eye on it, but there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure your success:

Don’t skip the lemon. The lemon makes a big difference, and cuts down he sweetness a bit. You may be thinking, then why not just skimp on the sugar if it’s so sweet? We’ll get to that.

Let your fruit cook until tender before adding sugar. The rinds won’t get as tender once the sugar is added.

You’re basically making candy. While oranges do have natural pectin, The thickening of your marmalade largely depends on the sugar/water ratio. As the marmalade cooks, water evaporates, leaving a higher concentration of sugar, and allowing the temperature to rise. So, if your marmalade isn’t getting thick enough, the solution is to just keep cooking it. This, by the way is the reason you will want to cook your marmalade with the lid off; the evaporation is essential to your success.

With that in mind, some oranges may be juicier than others, which will affect your cooking time, If your oranges are drier, you may find your marmalade to be thickened after 15 minutes as you’ll have less liquid overall, but juicier oranges may take closer to 25. But regardless, they will get there. Science demands it.

Other recipes you’ll enjoy

• Orange jam recipe
• Simple orange curd
• Easy cranberry jam
• Carrot cake jam
• Simple Strawberry Jalapeño jam

 

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