Ultimate Seville orange marmalade

Ultimate Seville orange marmalade

The original, and classic, English marmalade, as made famous by Paddington Bear

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Makes about 4.5kg/10lb

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr 15 mins - 1 hr 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 30 mins

Vegetarian

Vegetarian

Method

  1. Put the whole oranges and lemon juice in a large preserving pan and cover with 2 litres/4 pints water - if it does not cover the fruit, use a smaller pan. If necessary weight the oranges with a heat-proof plate to keep them submerged. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer very gently for around 2 hours, or until the peel can be easily pierced with a fork.
  2. Warm half the sugar in a very low oven. Pour off the cooking water from the oranges into a jug and tip the oranges into a bowl. Return cooking liquid to the pan. Allow oranges to cool until they are easy to handle, then cut in half. Scoop out all the pips and pith and add to the reserved orange liquid in the pan. Bring to the boil for 6 minutes, then strain this liquid through a sieve into a bowl and press the pulp through with a wooden spoon - it is high in pectin so gives marmalade a good set.
  3. Pour half this liquid into a preserving pan. Cut the peel, with a sharp knife, into fine shreds. Add half the peel to the liquid in the preserving pan with the warm sugar. Stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved, for about 10 minutes, then bring to the boil and bubble rapidly for 15- 25 minutes until setting point is reached.
  4. Take pan off the heat and skim any scum from the surface. (To dissolve any excess scum, drop a small knob of butter on to the surface, and gently stir.) Leave the marmalade to stand in the pan for 20 minutes to cool a little and allow the peel to settle; then pot in sterilised jars, seal and label. Repeat from step 3 for second batch, warming the other half of the sugar first.
Try

Make it your own

Fresh ginger marmalade: Peel 100g/4oz fresh root ginger and slice thinly. Tie in two muslin bags and bruise with a rolling pin to release its natural juices. Add one bag to pan at step 3, once sugar has dissolved. Continue as before with the second ginger bag and the second batch; remove ginger just before potting.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2002.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo Nancy Rowland

    24 January 2009

    Nancy Rowland commented on this recipe

    I found 1 hour enough to soften the fruit.I then scooped the fruit out of the liquid let them cool, cut in half and scoop out the pips and pith and put them in to a muslin bag and submerge in the liquid. Cut the peel in to thin strips and put into the pan with the muslin bag and liquid. Return to the heat and boil for 1/2hour. Remove the bag and add the warmed sugar and boil till setting point. A very good recipe and almost fool proof

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  • Binder photo Libby44

    31 January 2009

    Libby44 commented on this recipe

    Next time I will not divide recipe ino 2 parts as there was plenty of room in preserving pan to bring the whole recipe to a rolling boil so saving time. Don't push too much pulp through the sieve as I did as it gives a slightly bitter taste from the pith. Apart from all that a good recipe

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  • Binder photo bubblefish

    20 June 2009

    bubblefish rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This makes a delicious marmalade. It was my first attempt at making preserves, so I was extremely happy.

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  • Binder photo kittyphysio

    01 February 2010

    kittyphysio rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    We tried a couple of recipes last year and this was definitely the best. We have had many compliments from those we have given jars to. Just bought more sevilles and we'll be using this recipe again.

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  • Binder photo Karen

    10 February 2010

    Karen rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo AntiMetric

    11 February 2010

    AntiMetric rated this recipe

    1 stars

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  • Binder photo Karen

    08 January 2011

    Karen commented on this recipe

    I have now done this recipe three times and am planning on doing it again with Sevilles just arriving on the market. This is the best marmalade recipe I have done. Just have to be careful not to boil away too much of the liquid otherwise it ends up pretty chewy, if you don't do that it is delicious. I even froze some sevilles to do a batch half way through the year last year when we ran out of marmalade as this goes very quickly in our house. I also put the skins in my processor and pulsed into small chunks as get a bit fed up of fine shredding, worked just as well and equally delicious.

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  • Binder photo Katy s

    09 January 2011

    Katy s rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Easy to make and delicious! Two things to considder however, it makes about 12 jars, so you might wanna half the ingredients if u do not want that much. It is not very sweet, so if u have a super sweet tooth add a bit more sugar. Other than that fantastic.

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  • Binder photo Sue

    26 January 2011

    Sue commented on this recipe

    I use kitchen scissors to snip the rinds when cooked - takes only seconds!

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  • Binder photo Mary

    31 January 2011

    Mary commented on this recipe

    Having had a disaster with a previous recipe, this worked a treat. But like katy s I was surprised at the quantity of marmalade - I also ended up with 12 jars and had to scrabble around for extra jars.

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  • Binder photo downonthefarm

    03 February 2011

    downonthefarm rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have made orange marmalade for years, mostly using Delia's method. This is the first time I have tried this method and I am delighted with the result. It was so easy - much less mess and elbow grease than previously, and the marmalade is the best ever, though this may in part be due to using Waitrose organic sevilles. I also stood the oranges in water on a warm aga overnight at just below simmering point; they didn't need much boiling to cook the peel. Why cook in two batches - unless you're nervous of overboiling or haven't got a preserving pan/big saucepan? Thoroughly recommended!

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  • Binder photo alisongf

    05 February 2011

    alisongf rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    I struggled to get this to set and I have carmel marmalade, made a second batch as I thought i must have done something wrong but it also didn't work, used organic seville oranges so expensive waste for me, will possibly used the result to make a sauce but can't call it marmalade back to Delia's recipe for me tomorrow with my last bag of oranges!

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  • Binder photo Sarah

    15 February 2011

    Sarah rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    I couldn't get this to set either, so I tried not stirring it for a few minutes and it burnt........twice!

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  • Binder photo Lavender

    07 July 2011

    Lavender rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this in late February, and the flavour seems to have deepened in the jar, This is a lovely marmelade. I made it in two batches, adding ginger to the second batch.(Perhaps I'll try a dash of Drambuie next time!) I don't think one can find a better basic recipe for Seville orange marmelade.

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  • Binder photo Hills

    24 September 2011

    Hills commented on this recipe

    I've just finished my last jar of this marmalade... everyone loved it and so gave loads of jars away.. won't next year!!...

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  • Binder photo kaytecustard

    18 January 2012

    kaytecustard commented on this recipe

    For the second year running, I have followed this recipe to the letter, and have not got a good set. I repeated the recipe this year, just in case I had not done it properly last year, but it turned out the same. Last year, I poured it all back into the preserving pan from the jars, and added another pound of sugar. That worked, so it looks like I'll have to do it again this year. Time consuming, and messy to have to do this. Will try another recipe for the next batch. I am not an amateur cook, so very disappointed with this.

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  • Binder photo iain

    02 October 2012

    iain commented on this recipe

    I have seen that some people find it difficult to get a set. This is true for any jam making not just marmalade. Yet if the recipe is followed, the amount of pectin should guarantee a set. I suspect that many modern stoves simply cannot generate sufficient heat to obtain a rolling boil when trying to do this with several litres of material. An easy solution is to simply finalise the boiling with reduced quantities,(step 3) i.e. split into 2 or 3 batches for the rolling boil. This should guarantee a successful outcome.

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  • Binder photo gingery

    24 January 2013

    gingery commented on this recipe

    There is NO problem getting marmalade to set. Use JAM SUGAR !!

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  • Binder photo Glibster

    27 January 2013

    Glibster rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Works a treat and I've never made marmalade before. I used golden granulated sugar and Nancy's suggestion of putting all the pith in muslin bag. Tops!

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  • Binder photo Ferret Racer

    29 January 2013

    Ferret Racer rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I thought this recipe was great. I have made jams, conserves and Apple Butter before but never marmalade. As marmalade is a favourite of my husband I thought I would try my hand at it once the Seville oranges came in. I only made half the recipe and the results were stunning first time, beautiful colour, the right amount of bitterness and sweet and a good set. I followed the instructions to a T. Just before I put the warm marmalade into the jars, I added one tsp of Brandy to each jar, I must admit it did worry me because it might not set but no worries, it did and the flavour is great. I have now bought the ingredients for a whole batch and this recipe has converted me into a "Marmalade" person.

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Makes about 4.5kg/10lb

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr 15 mins - 1 hr 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 30 mins

Vegetarian

Vegetarian

Ingredients

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