Bitter Orange Marmalade

Jam with a subtle balance between the vibrant bitterness of oranges and gentle sweetness, ideal for spreading with a thick and aromatic texture.
boiled
dessert
preserve
sauce
vegan
vegetarian

Yield: 10 jars approximately

Ingredients
Measurement units

Ingredients

  • 3 kgbitter oranges
  • 5 litresmineral water
  • 1.5–2 kgsugar
  • 2 lemons (juice)
  • Pectin
Nutritional Information

Per jar

Yield: 10 jars approximately

Calories
790 kcal
Protein
3.9 g
Fat
0.9 g
Carbohydrates
196.9 g

Calculated from reviewed ingredient weights and pinned USDA FoodData Central records.

Step-by-step Guide

Day 1

  1. Wash the oranges thoroughly by scrubbing the peel with a new stainless steel fiber scrubber (ensure it is new and has not been used for dishwashing and contains no soap).
  2. Cut the oranges in half and squeeze them to extract the juice completely.
  3. Reserve the juice in a separate container.
  4. Reserve the seeds and pulp left in the juicer in another container.
  5. Reserve the orange halves in another separate container.
  6. Store the orange juice in the refrigerator until the next day.
  7. Retrieve the seeds that have stuck to the orange halves and add them to the seeds you have already collected.
  8. Boil the seeds with the collected pulp in 1.5 litres of mineral water over low heat, covered, for about 15-20 minutes.
  9. Once cool, store the pot with the boiled seeds in the refrigerator until the next day. The seeds contain the pectin needed to help thicken the marmalade, and their cooking water will be used.
  10. Boil the orange halves whole in 3.0 liters of mineral water (or as much water as needed to generously cover the oranges) over low heat in a covered pot. Cook them until the oranges are very soft.
  11. Once the oranges have cooled, store the pot in the refrigerator until the next day.

Day 2, the following day

  1. Remove the pots and the orange juice from the refrigerator. Note that the orange juice will not be needed until towards the end of cooking.
  2. Squeeze the lemons and Reserve the juice in a container; you will not need this until the end of the cooking process.
  3. Strain the seed water and reserve it.
  4. Strain the water from the pot with the orange peels and Reserve this water.
  5. Using your fingers, scrape the white pith from the inside of the halved oranges and return the pith to the pot.
  6. Place the halved oranges, now pith-free, in a bowl to later slice them into julienne strips.
  7. Cut the half oranges, already cleaned of their pulp, into thin julienne strips and return them to the pot where we left the pulp.
  8. Remove any pieces of orange peel that have black spots.
  9. Add 3.0 liters of the water from boiling the peels to the pot.
  10. Add 2.0 liters of the water from boiling the seeds to the mixture.
  11. If necessary, add additional water until reaching the 5 liters specified by the recipe.
  12. Boil the mixture for 20 minutes, stirring as the water evaporates.
  13. Add half of the sugar and boil for about 8 minutes.
  14. Incorporate the rest of the sugar and continue boiling until the mixture forms large bubbles. At this point, add the reserved orange juice and lemon juice.
  15. Continue boiling for about 15 more minutes until reaching the desired thickening point, stirring frequently.
  16. From here, monitor the temperature. Let it boil until it reaches at least 102ºC at sea level or 100ºC in Cerdanya.
  17. For a perfect jam, aim for a concentration of 32-34 degrees Baumé. This is achieved when the temperature reaches 104ºC-105ºC at sea level, which can take quite some time.
  18. Remove the foam from the surface before finishing the cooking.
  19. Fill the jam jars to their maximum capacity if you plan to turn them upside down.
  20. If the glass rim of the jar gets smeared with jam, clean it with a strong liquor or alcohol, never with water, as it could solidify the jam on the rim.
  21. If available, spray a white liquor on the surface to remove air bubbles. You can use a colored liquor, but it may leave stains.
  22. If you plan to pasteurize the jars, fill them leaving a little space at the top.
  23. Wait one minute, then close the jars.
  24. Allow the jars to cool down, and when the glass is warm to the touch, place them in a pot, separated with kitchen towels.
  25. Fill the pot with cold water until it covers the jars by about 3 cm, completely submerging them.
  26. Place the pot over medium heat and, once the water boils, boil the jars for 20 minutes.
  27. Turn off the heat and leave the jars in the pot until the water is almost cold.
  28. Label the jars with their contents and preparation date.
  29. Label them with the date and contents.
Recommendations & Tricks
  • This is a fairly long process: it takes 2 days.
  • Do not remove the white pith when making bitter orange marmalade.
  • Weigh the whole oranges before starting; that weight is the basis for the proportions of the other ingredients.
Original recipe
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    Bitter Orange Marmalade | The Catalan Table