Seville Orange Marmalade.

Following the success of my christmas hampers last year I intend to make them again this year. However I thought that I would be a little more prepared this time and try to make things throughout the year rather then being limited by both time constraints in December and what ingredients I can get hold of. 


Therefore when I discovered seville oranges in my local green grocers I simply could not resist. For the princely sum of £2 I purchased a kilo of them. Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I am pathetically easy to distract, even at the best of times; so with great self restraint, but to my flatmates collective horror I froze my them, proceeding to take up the majority of our freezer space.


Society tells women that no matter how hard we try, we will all at some stage find ourselves emulating our mothers. On overhearing my father complaining about how my mother has filled her freezer with oranges that she is never going to get around to doing anything with I was filled simultaneously with a sinking feeling of panic and determination to do battle with marmalade! 


1kg seville oranges
1 lemon
2kg granulated sugar


Measuring 4 pints water into a pan. Squeeze the juice out of all the fruit. Add the juice to the water and place the pips and any bits of pith that cling to one side (don't bin them).


Cut the orange peel into quarters and then cut each quarter into thinnish shreds. As you cut, add the shreds to the water and any pips or spare pith to the pile you are saving to one side. The pith contains the pectin which will set your marmalade, so don't discard any and don't worry about any pith and skin that clings to the shreds – it all gets dissolved in the boiling.


Tie the pips and pith up loosely in the muslin to form a little bag, and tie this on to the handle of the pan so that the bag is suspended in the water. At this point I left it over night as I ran out of time to deal with it but this is not compulsory.


Next bring the liquid up to the boil and simmer gently, uncovered, for 2 hours until the peel is completely soft.


Remove the bag of pips and squeeze it between two saucers to get all of the juice and pectin out of it.. Then pour the sugar into the pan and stir it occasionally over a low heat, until the sugar has dissolved. Then increase to a high heat once the mixture begins to boil time 15 minutes.


Once it has boiled for this long test whether it has reached its setting point by spooning a small amount onto a cold saucer and let it cool for a few minutes in the fridge. Once it has cooled if when you push it gently with your finger it wrinkles across the top then you have succeeded. If not then boil it for a few minutes longer and try again.


Remove from the heat and scoop off any scum if their is any. Leave the marmalade to cool for 20 minutes or so before putting into sterilised jars as this stops all the peel from sinking to the bottom. This filled approximately 6lb jars.

Chilli Jam

This year I have been inspired by Vanesse Kimbell who is trying to get people to make Christmas. My mother has always been a bit of a grinch at Christmas complaining about the commercialisation of it. She threatens to cancel Christmas every year and work in a soup kitchen. I am beginning to agree with her, the celebration of the Christmas season should start no earlier than Christmas eve and end on January 6th. I hate that shops now sell Christmas decorations from August. (I am aware that I am becoming preemtively middle aged in supporting this sentiment).  I have always thought Christmas hampers were a bit naff, full of things that you would never normally choose to buy and are not quite sure what to do with. But in the spirit of making christmas I though I would make two one for a family friend and another for my father. I am only going to put things in them that I know they like and will actually use.

Makes about 3 jars.


400g cherry tomatoes
9 red peppers
9 red chillies
6 garlic cloves
a thumb-sized chunk of root ginger
700g sugar
200ml cider vinegar


Finely chop the tomatoes, peppers, chillies, garlic and ginger. Put the sugar and vinegar into a pan over a low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the tomatoes, peppers, chillies, garlic and ginger and simmer until the liquid has reduced and the mixture has a thick, sticky consistency. Bring to the boil, and cook on high for 1 minute, being careful not to let the jam boil over. Pour the jam into hot, sterilised jars; where it will keep for up to a year, or 1 month in the fridge once you've opened it.


I have already had to make a second batch as my flatmates have been hamper raiding!

Crab apple jelly.

There is nothing better than making something out of nothing while still avoiding the black banana syndrome. For those of you who have never heard of the phrase black banana it is the idea that when you find something about to go off you are so keen not to let the money you have spent on it go to waste that you buy a host of other ingredients to cook something you really don't need. I spent this last weekend making jellies out of ingredients I collected from around the farm.

Jellies all work from the same basic ratio. When using acidic fruit that has its own pectin in it you use 750g granulated sugar to 1 litre of juice. you can use any combination which you fancy. I made four different batches crab apple, crab apple and rowan berry, crab apple and blackberry and spiced damson.

Start by cooking the fruit in a large pan with water just covering the fruit. If you are using soft fruit such as damsons or apples it will have broken down enough to pass through the muslin on its own if you are using harder fruit such as haws or rose hips you will need to mash them with a potato masher. Next allow the fruit to pass through a jelly bag or a muslin suspended above an upturned stool. Traditional recipes will tell you not to squeeze the fruit as it will make the jelly cloudy. I always ignore this as it is such a waste of juice but I do put the juice back through another muslin to strain out any sediment which you have pushed through.

At this point you can put the juice in the fridge for a couple of days if you do not have time to deal with it now. 2litres of juice will make about 5 lb jars of jelly. Put the juice and sugar in a large pan over a low heat until the sugar has melted. Once the sugar has melted turn the heat right up so it reaches a rolling boil and spoon off any scum. Every recipe I have read says that once it has been brought to a boil it should only take about five minutes to reach  a setting point I have always found that it takes much longer than this. If you have a jam thermometer setting point should be 106c. If you don't have a thermometer boil it until it wrinkles when a small amount is put on a cold plate. 

Once this has been done put it immediately into clean jam jars covering the top with wax discs before putting the lids on. Try to put the lid on when the jam is still hot as as the jar cools the contraction will create a better seal. If you wish to flavour the jelly there are two ways I have made apple and rosemary jelly cooking the fruit before straining it with rosemary and then placing a fresh sprig inn every jar which looked very pretty through the clear jelly. Or you can add the flavour when boiling it up with sugar, this is what I did with the spiced damson jelly. I added star anise, a cinnamon stick and some whole cloves which I then removed before jarring.

Strawberry Jam.

Only my Father eats strawberry jam in our house so I have never bothered to make it before preferring raspberry instead. This year he convinced me to make a small amount for him. I think many people are scared of making jam believing that it is difficult and time consuming. This is so not the case you don't have to spend hours once a year making huge quantities instead spend half and hour making a couple of jars. I would like to know more about jam making though, what is the difference between normal caster and jam sugar. I have never used jam sugar but some recipes insist on it. The only piece of equipment I would advise buying if you are going to make jam is a jam thermometer as this does making it easier to know when you have reached the setting point.

I used equal amounts of caster sugar and strawberries. Approximately the juice of one lemon per 600g of fruit. If you prefer jam with large lumps of strawberries still in it the place all the ingredients in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave in a cool place over night. Before you start place a saucer in the freezer. Put the mixture in a large pan heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved bring it to the boil for about for minutes or until it has reached 104c. Spoon a small amount onto the saucer after a couple of minutes if the surface wrinkles when you put you finger in it it is ready. If not return to a boil and give it another couple of minutes. Skim off the scum and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before putting into sterilised jars. If you put it straight into jars all the fruit rises to the top.