My Orange Marmalade

My husband had a craving for scones for breakfast, with orange marmalade and a big cup of tea. I decided to bake some - not a big deal - but I couldn't find an orange marmalade I wanted at the store so I figured I'd just make my own.

You can adapt this recipe - just use about equal amounts of oranges (or other citrus fruits) and sugar. I used homemade vanilla sugar for part of it, which is just regular sugar with a few spent sticks of vanilla bean. I always keep my scraped-out beans in a jar of sugar - it's a smart way to get every last bit of flavor out of those expensive beans!

If you don't have any, just use a vanilla bean, cut in half and with all the little seeds scraped out into the oranges. I also used light muscovado sugar, which is a raw sugar with hints of caramel. Very yummy, and it gave the marmalade it's deep, dark color.

My Orange Marmalade

575 g oranges (that was the weight of the three I had)
1/2 lemon, juice
water
300 g light muscovado sugar
300 g homemade vanilla sugar (or caster sugar plus a vanilla bean)

Scrub the oranges in hot water. Cut each into eight wedges, and thinly slices each wedge. (I remove the seeds at this point.) Place in a wide thick-bottomed pot and add the lemon juice. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until the orange peel has softened - about 20 minutes.

Add the sugar. Bring to a boil again, and cook for 30-40 minutes - this will depend on your pot as well as on your amount of water. Make a "marmalade test" - use a small, cold saucer (place it in the freezer beforehand) and add a spoonful of hot marmalade. Run a spoon through it. If the marmalade runs together, it needs more cooking. If the spoon leaves a clean trail, you're done.

(Despite this, mine turned out a little thick - but that's not a big problem.)

Pour into clean jars with tight-fitting lids.

Recipe in Swedish:
Min apelsinmarmelad