The Catalan TableIngredients
Servings:
4
Ingredients
- 3 bitter oranges
- 5 mineral water
- 1 sugar
- 2 lemons (the juice)
- Pectin
Nutritional Information
Per Serving (Approx.)
Calories
147 kcal
Protein
1 g
Fat
0 g
Carbohydrates
39 g
Disclaimer: These values are estimates based on ingredient types and may not be precise.
Step-by-step Guide
Pectin
- Ensure you use high-quality pectin to achieve the best results in your preparations.
- Dissolve the pectin in a small amount of warm water (approximately 40-50°C) to prevent lumps and ensure even distribution. Stir until completely dissolved.
- Add the pectin solution to the main mixture, making sure to stir continuously for at least 1-2 minutes to integrate it well with the other ingredients.
Day 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).
- Cut the oranges in half and squeeze them to extract the juice completely.
- Reserve the juice in a separate container.
- Reserve the seeds and pulp left in the juicer in another container.
- Reserve the orange halves in another separate container.
- Store the orange juice in the refrigerator until the next day to preserve its freshness.
- Retrieve the seeds that have stuck to the orange halves and add them to the seeds you have already collected.
- Boil the pits along with the collected pulp in 1.5 liters of mineral water over low heat in a covered pot. Cook for about 15-20 minutes.
- Once the liquid has cooled, store the pot with the boiled pits in the refrigerator until the next day. The pits contain the necessary pectin to help thicken, and we will utilize the cooking water.
- 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.
- Once the oranges have cooled, store the pot in the refrigerator until the next day.
Day 2, the following day
- 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.
- Squeeze the lemons and Reserve the juice in a container; you will not need this until the end of the cooking process.
- Strain the pit water and Reserve this water for later use.
- Strain the water from the pot with the orange peels and Reserve this water.
- Using your fingers, scrape the white pith from the inside of the halved oranges and return the pith to the pot.
- Place the halved oranges, now pith-free, in a bowl to later slice them into julienne strips.
- Cut the half oranges, already cleaned of their pulp, into thin julienne strips and return them to the pot where we left the pulp.
- Remove any pieces of orange peel that have black spots to ensure a uniform and pleasant taste.
- Add 3.0 liters of the water from boiling the peels to the pot.
- Add 2.0 liters of the water from boiling the seeds to the mixture.
- If necessary, add additional water until reaching the 5 liters specified by the recipe.
- Boil the mixture for 20 minutes, stirring continuously to allow the water to evaporate evenly.
- Add half of the sugar and let it boil for about 8 minutes, stirring to dissolve it well.
- 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.
- Continue boiling for about 15 more minutes until reaching the desired thickening point, stirring frequently.
- From here, monitor the temperature. Let it boil until it reaches at least 102ºC if you are at sea level, or up to 100ºC if you are in Cerdanya.
- 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.
- Remove the foam from the surface before finishing the cooking for a better final result.
- Fill the jam jars to their maximum capacity if you plan to turn them upside down.
- 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.
- If available, spray a white liquor on the surface to remove air bubbles. You can use a colored liquor, but it may leave stains.
- If you plan to pasteurize the jars, fill them leaving a little space at the top.
- Wait a minute before sealing the jars to ensure a proper seal.
- Allow the jars to cool down, and when the glass is warm to the touch, place them in a pot, separated with kitchen towels.
- Fill the pot with cold water until it covers the jars by about 3 cm, completely submerging them.
Recommendations & Tricks
- Note: This process takes approximately 2 days, so plan ahead to allow for proper maceration and cooking.
- Do not remove the white film (muslin) when making bitter orange marmalade, as it provides a characteristic and necessary bitterness.
- Weigh the oranges with the peel before starting. This weight will be key to calculating the correct sugar ratio, ensuring the perfect balance between sweetness and bitterness.
- Prepare about 10 sterilized medium-sized jars to preserve the marmalade, ensuring they are airtight to maintain freshness.
- Scrub the oranges with water and a new, unused stainless steel fiber scrubber to remove all impurities without damaging the peel.
- Mix the juice of 2 lemons with the water and sugar mixture during cooking to enhance the flavor and help thicken the marmalade more quickly.