Failed Marmalade experiment - Please help

DrDaz

Hi all, I'm fairly new to the money saving old style way of life but I'm trying to embrace it as fullly as I can.

I decided to find a use for my orange peels instead of throwing them away. I did a little digging on the net and found lots of uses from making air fresheners & cleaning stainless steel sinks to insect repellant.

But the one that caught my eye was a very vague recipe for orange jam (which I guess is marmalade?). The only ingredients apart from the peel were sugar & water , no orange juice or flesh, so I thought I'd give it a go.

However the recipe was very vague (just bung the peel in some water, add some suger and boil for some time), no quantities, or times etc.

Undeterred I guessed at the quantities and then boiled the mixture until it had started to foam.

I put it in to a jam jar (I'd been saving them for a while but for no real reason - must be the inner OS in me lying in wait).

While the mixture was still warm I tried a little of the peel, the orange flavour was just wonderful. So off I went to bed feeling quite good. However in the morning when the mixture had cooled, the sugar had recrystallised and I was left with a solid orange peel/sugar block in the jar.

I had to reheat the jar in the microwave to get the contents out. It flaked out in seperate strands covered in sugar (a bit like candied peel I guess).

Does anybody have any ideas/jam making knowledge to help me create a marmalade/jam from the peel ?, just basic quanties would be an improvement over my failed attempt.

DrDaz

sandraroffey

my daughter tried something similar and also failed.

her kids wont eat jam that has bits in!! so she had tons of oranges, a grapefruit and some lemons, chucked them in a pan water and boiled til soft and soggy then strained it (like making a jelly). boiled again with sugar for AGES and the b*//^r still wont set. its going to be an orange sauce i think!!!

Penelope_Penguin

DrDaz wrote: »

Hi all, I'm fairly new to the money saving old style way of life but I'm trying to embrace it as fullly as I can.

I decided to find a use for my orange peels instead of throwing them away. I did a little digging on the net and found lots of uses from making air fresheners & cleaning stainless steel sinks to insect repellant.

But the one that caught my eye was a very vague recipe for orange jam (which I guess is marmalade?). The only ingredients apart from the peel were sugar & water , no orange juice or flesh, so I thought I'd give it a go.

However the recipe was very vague (just bung the peel in some water, add some suger and boil for some time), no quantities, or times etc.

Undeterred I guessed at the quantities and then boiled the mixture until it had started to foam.

I put it in to a jam jar (I'd been saving them for a while but for no real reason - must be the inner OS in me lying in wait).

While the mixture was still warm I tried a little of the peel, the orange flavour was just wonderful. So off I went to bed feeling quite good. However in the morning when the mixture had cooled, the sugar had recrystallised and I was left with a solid orange peel/sugar block in the jar.

I had to reheat the jar in the microwave to get the contents out. It flaked out in seperate strands covered in sugar (a bit like candied peel I guess).

Does anybody have any ideas/jam making knowledge to help me create a marmalade/jam from the peel ?, just basic quanties would be an improvement over my failed attempt.

DrDaz

A couple of things spring to my mind:

• you may not have enough pectin in orange peel to set the marmalade (I boil the flesh and pips in mine)
• without testing for a set, you'll not be sure of whether you've cooked the marmalade enough or too long
• without quantities you won't be sure how much sugar you need

I started off using Delia's recipe - if you try that you won't go far wrong

Why not start a compost heap for your orange peel and make marmalade from whole oranges?

Penny. x

thriftlady_2

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

I started off using Delia's recipe - if you try that you won't go far wrong

I agree with PP and Delia's a great teacher for this sort of thing, I follow her method too.

Sandra I often make marmalade jelly as you describe. If you're worried about setting use some jam sugar (the kind with pectin added).

Penelope_Penguin

sandraroffey wrote: »

my daughter tried something similar and also failed.

her kids wont eat jam that has bits in!! so she had tons of oranges, a grapefruit and some lemons, chucked them in a pan water and boiled til soft and soggy then strained it (like making a jelly). boiled again with sugar for AGES and the b*//^r still wont set. its going to be an orange sauce i think!!!

Do you know how much sugar You need about double the weight of sugar as fruit to get a good set.

Penny. x

sandraroffey

think she did equal amounts . mmmmm. maybe that the prob. thanks all. will pass it on.xxx

lbt_2

I think you were very brave to give it a go anyway - especially without any quantities

Skintmama

Generally the crystallising is (I think) due to the mixture having boiled before the sugar had completely dissolved.........I am no chemist but believe there is then a chain reaction which results in the whole lot becoming crystallised. Unfortunately as far as I am aware there is no cure........you can make some lovely cakes by adding in the those crystallised peels though!
Whenever you make sweet preserves make sure that the heat is kept low until there is not even a single grain of undissolved sugar. This does take longer than you would think! It helps to warm the sugar up in a very low oven as it tends to dissolve faster.
To begin with it is best to use a well tested recipe as the ratio of liquid/fruit and sugar is crucial to success.
Better luck next time!

Debt_Free_Chick

O/T but .... it won't be long before we have Seville Oranges available

floyd

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

O/T but .... it won't be long before we have Seville Oranges available

They are in shops now

Debt_Free_Chick

OMG :eek: I always think of "February" for Sevilles.

Which probably explains why I'm usually too late and they've sold out :rotfl: