Jam

t33

I'm an experienced jam maker but with jams made with citrus peel (I like jams with tang) either fine shred or sliced the peel is invariably tough and unpleasant though the taste is good. I've tried a bit of overnight soaking but seems to make little difference.

Anyone got a good method to make the peel intact but softish I guess more like marmalade peel texture.

Tks

ladruid

Not made any myself, but I remember my Mum used to long simmer the peel in water, 1-2 hours before adding any sugar. I believe the sugar can work as a hardening agent…

This was from a recipe (Marmalade) I found online which sounds similar to what my Mum used to do…

"It sounds like you haven’t cooked the peel enough before you added the sugar. It takes at least 2 hours and must be completely soft before you add any sugar. When you squeeze a piece of the cooked peel between your thumb and finger to test it, it should be so soft that it falls apart without any force.

For the colour, once the sugar has dissolved you need to turn the heat up high to get to a rapid rolling boil quickly. The longer you cook the marmalade after the sugar has dissolved the darker it will get."

bouicca21

long time since I’ve made marmalade but I remember having this exact problem and giving the peel an extra long boil. Since I made the marmalade with the oranges whole (for an Oxford marmalade style), it was quite easy but messy to scrape the innards out and end up with just the peel.

JIL

My granny used to say that you have to boil peel for a couple of hours, before adding sugar. She said once the sugar went it it stopped softening. It seems the previous posters agreed. Brought back a memory. Thank you ❤️

Viking_mfw

I pressure cook the citrus whole for 30 minutes, then when cool chop and transfer to jam pan with sugar. Use only the water and juice from the pressure cooking.

Viking_mfw

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81979682#Comment_81979682

I mean only that liquid. Obviously use the fruit and peel as well!

t33

Thanks for useful comments, there's a basic consensus so I'll try that. One other question though, after the simmering softening process, is the peel added to the beginning of the jam making process or towards the end or doesn't it matter? Tks

Nelliegrace

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81979361#Comment_81979361

I do the whole fruit method for marmalade too, 20 minutes in the pressure cooker and 20 minutes as it reduces pressure slowly, which is part of the cooking time. The recipe says the juice of two lemons but I cut the unwaxed lemon in half and bung it in too and add the fruit part to the marmalade. I use a soup spoon to scoop out the cooked fruit from the peel and then cut the soft Seville orange peel with a sharp knife, through several layers of peel, about an inch wide, at a time. It doesn’t take long.

A friend makes three fruit marmalade. When the fruit is cooked she leaves it in the pan for 24 hours before reheating it, then adding the sugar and completing the marmalade.

Sweet orange peel doesn’t soften as well as Seville orange peel. I save the peel of our breakfast shared orange to make Pam Corbin’s Compost Heap Jelly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jwQnlKSxQI

button_box

I make a lot of marmalade and jam with orange peel ( Rhubarb & Orange, Victoria Plum & Orange and Wild Cherry Plum with Orange). I tend to slice the peel with a sharp knife before I cook it and then depending on whether I am doing something else while it is cooking I will cook it in the pressure cooker, slow cooker or a pan in the Rayburn oven. Slicing it up prior to cooking just makes the process a bit quicker, although I cook whole Seville Oranges from frozen and then slice up and scoop out the pulp. I agree with other posters that it should be soft if you squeeze it between your thumb and finger. I add the softened peel at the start of the jam making process with the water/juice from the pan.

I am interested in what Jams you make, we also like jams with a tang! Depending on how much Blueberries (or wild Blaeberries ) I have I thought I might try a Lemon & Blueberry Jam this year,

t33

Thanks for extra info.

Some favourites: plum and orange, plum raspberry and lime, rhubarb ginger and orange, nectarine lime and lemon, black cherry and orange, mixed berry apple and orange.

CapricornLass

Oh yum! Trouble is there's only me to eat it….