CLASSIC CHRISTMAS SPICED MARMALADE - "HOW TO MAKE" RECIPE FROM THE JAM JAR SHOP

The kitchen is always fully stocked at Christmas time. Once the festivities are over and we are getting back to normal, all the extra fruits and cupboard items can be blended together nicely to create a taste sensation. Cue our recipe for a Christmas spiced marmalade, complete with a tangy taste that deviates from the flavours you’ve been used to experiencing at this time of year. Our jam jars are the perfect container for housing the marmalade concoctions too!

Recipe Equipment

• Sterilised glass jam jar(s)
• 1 large preserving pan
• Juicer
• Stirring spoon
• 2 saucers
• Very large pot

Recipe Ingredients

• 2 Kg citrus fruit: 4x large oranges, 2x pink grapefruit, 2x lemons
• 30 cm cinnamon
• 3 star anise
• 10 green cardamom pods, bruised
• 1 tsp cloves
• 2,250 g caster sugar
• 250 g brown sugar
• 5 L water

HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS SPICED MARMALADE

• Ensure your jars are sterilised by washing them in hot, soapy water and drying properly in a warm oven.
• Leave them in the over for around 10 mins maximum.
• Use a vegetable peeler to peel the zest from the fruit but leave lots of white pith.
• Snip up the zest strips into think slices and set these aside for later usage.
• Juice all the fruit together using a juicer, food processer or high-power blender as appropriate.
• Chop the de-zested fruit roughly and add them all the pieces to a large pot, together with the seeds and pulp from the juicer.
• Add water and the whole spices too.
• Bring the pot to the boil, put the lid on and reduce heat.
• Simmer for 2 hours on a medium-low heat.
• Place 2 small saucers in the freezer to test later.
• Once the 2 hours are over, pass the water through a fine mesh sieve to discard all the water from the pith.
• Get rid of all the pulp, pith and spices.
• Add the water from the pith, fruit juice and snipped up zest to a large pan.
• Bring to the boil while stirring together.
• Add sugar to the mix while stirring to help it dissolve.
• Bring to the boil for 40 minutes.
• Test by spooning some of the marmalade onto a saucer from the freezer.
• Run your finger across and check if the marmalade crinkles – if so, leave it to set.
• If not, boil again for a further 10 mins or so and perform another test.
• Let the marmalade cool for a while before decanting it into sterilised jars.
• Put lids on the jars loosely and submerge the jars into a very large pot of water and bring to the boil.
• Allow to boil for half an hour before you remove them from the water and tighten the lids.

While you can eat your chutney straight away, the taste will naturally heighten after a few weeks. This recipe might be mind-bogglingly simple, but the power of the flavour is impressive, and nobody needs to know how long it took to make!

Browse our vast range of glass jars, bottles and preserving equipment, or visit our website and if you have any further enquiries, please contact us today.