Dark muscovado & whisky marmalade

Dark muscovado & whisky marmalade

A real grown-up marmalade – rich, dark and just a hint of boozy flavour

Difficulty and servings

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

Method

  1. Place the whole oranges and lemon juice in a large preserving pan and cover with 2 litres/ 4 pints water. If this is not enough to cover the fruit, put it in a smaller pan. If necessary, weight the oranges with a heat-proof plate to keep them under the water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer very gently for about 2 hours, or until the peel can be pierced easily with a fork.
  2. Warm half of the white and dark 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 the cooking liquid to the pan. Leave the oranges to cool until they are easy to handle, then cut them in half. Scoop out all the pips and pith and add these to reserved orange liquid in the pan. Bring to the boil for 6 minutes then strain this liquid through a sieve into a bowl, pressing the pulp through with a wooden spoon; the result is high in pectin, which helps to ensure the marmalade has a good set.
  3. Pour half this liquid into a preserving pan. Cut the peel into chunky shreds, using a sharp knife. Add half the peel to the liquid in the preserving pan with the warm white and dark muscovado sugars. Stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil and bubble rapidly for 15-25 minutes until setting point is reached. Stir in half the whisky.
  4. Take the pan off the heat and skim any scum from the surface. (To dissolve any excess scum, drop a small knob of butter on the surface, and gently stir.) Leave the marmalade to stand in the pan for 20 minutes to cool a little and to allow the peel to settle, then pot in sterilised jars, seal and label. Repeat for the remaining batch.
Try

Make it your own

Replace whisky with Grand Marnier, Drambuie or Cointreau. Instead of muscovado sugar, use 2.6kg/6lb granulated or preserving sugar and add 2 tbsp black treacle (adding 1 tbsp per batch). This will darken the marmalade.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2002.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo Jenny

    08 January 2008

    Jenny rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Hilarity

    31 January 2008

    Hilarity rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I've just made this marmalade and it's fabulous. I made the whole recipe in a 15 pint maslin pan; if you do this you don't need to make it in half batches, but you do need to double the time it takes to reach setting point. Mine set beautifully in 40 minutes. I particularly like the way this recipe extracts the pectin from the pips and pith - it's efficient and really ensures that no pips stray into the finished marmalade. It also does away with the need for that irritating pip bag and I shall certainly use this method from now on. This marmalade is an unctuous and luxurious treat !

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  • Binder photo Beckie

    26 September 2008

    Beckie commented on this recipe

    How important is it to use Seville oranges? Can I use any type?

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  • Binder photo Neil

    16 November 2008

    Neil rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I followed the recipe exactly and have had the marmalade setting in the fridge for a couple of hours, but it hasn't really started jelling at all- The small amount on the spoon started setting ok- which is strange! anything I can do to re-boil it again if it doesn't set? I used a jam thermometer which registered 220f and the mixture wouldn't go any higher without boiling over the sides of the pan... any help would be most appreciated.

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  • Binder photo stonyhurst1

    04 January 2009

    stonyhurst1 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I have just made a batch of this and I now have 15 small jars. Only thing took longer to set about 40 mins

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  • Binder photo PetefromBristol

    03 February 2009

    PetefromBristol commented on this recipe

    One query. The recipe talks about adding HALF the whiskey but doesn't mention what to do with the other half. Do I drink it???

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  • Binder photo LV20000

    27 February 2009

    LV20000 commented on this recipe

    "Warm half of the white and dark sugar" What about the rest of the sugar??

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  • Binder photo Luscokitty

    25 January 2010

    Luscokitty rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Silven71

    04 March 2010

    Silven71 rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Sho

    05 December 2010

    Sho rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I've never made marmalade or jam before, and although it was a lot of work, it was definitely worth it. I only had single malt whisky, which has come through quite strong, but is a nice compliment to the sweetness of the marmalade, if I make this again I will probably just use a blended whisky. Also I used a 15pint pan, and therefore didn't need to make in half batches but it take take about 40-45mins to get to setting point. All in all, I'm very please with myself and this recipe, but I now hate the smell of oranges.

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  • Binder photo jules

    06 December 2010

    jules commented on this recipe

    This has made the whole house smell very Christmassy! I just wished I had known that the recipe is only instructing you to do half the amount at the start when you could double up and do it all as one batch if you have the right sized pan. Some of the instructions are a little unclear as they only state using half the amounts but do not go on to say when to use the remainder.

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  • Binder photo Chris

    17 January 2011

    Chris commented on this recipe

    Can Marmalade be frozen?

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  • Binder photo fifilatour

    22 January 2011

    fifilatour rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Had two Seville oranges left over from main marmalade making so topped up the weight with a couple of clementines to make half the amount. Clementine peel too squishy so discarded without slicing. Used just a small amount (about 100g) of light muscovado sugar as we don't like dark marmalade. Perfect colour and wonderful taste. So much easier sieving pips etc so much easier than squeezing muslin bag

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  • Binder photo Irene

    27 January 2011

    Irene rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Best marmalade, but I think its just as nice without the whisky

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  • Binder photo biggles2009

    02 February 2011

    biggles2009 commented on this recipe

    I agree that the instructions are rather vague, as regards the half measure; need re-writing. I made the resultant error of not cooking for long enough, as did the correspondents above! Otherwise, a good product, which would not have required re-cooking, had the recipe been written with the correct timings!

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  • Binder photo Mike

    20 February 2011

    Mike rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Having reached setting point, adding the cold whisky caused problems with the set - having bottled it we had to reboil to get a good set. Next time I'll try warming the whisky before adding it. Despite this it tastes delicious!

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  • Binder photo Rowena

    11 December 2011

    Rowena rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    Followed recipe exactly but like others, , mine has not set. Any reccomendations? Would adding gelatine help? Very reluctant to start again as the cost isnt cheap but really want it to work as was planning on jarring up and giving as christmas prezzies. Please help!

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  • Binder photo Rowena

    15 December 2011

    Rowena commented on this recipe

    Made this for xmas prezzies and it was SUCH a hassle to make! Like others it didnt set properly so i had to add more jam sugar which then made it far too sweet so I had to add more whisky. Im still not happy with the consistency. It turned out more like a really thick syrup, not really like marmalade at all. What was more, I had to watch it like a hawk during the simmering process to ensure that it didnt bubble over and go everywhere making my kitchen a huge sticky mess (which it did!) Not to mention scolding myself on the boiling water when transferring it! Huge, huge hassle and I probably wont be making it again unless people like it so much they ask for more

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  • Binder photo Marianne

    17 December 2011

    Marianne commented on this recipe

    Reenapegg, I'm so sorry for you that this didn't work for you! It sounds like you've ended up with too much sugar making it syrupy, you should have just boiled it up again until it reached the right consistency, it doesn't matter than you had tried to set it already. If you still need christmas gifts the fruity christmas biscotti on this website is really nice and quite quick and easy to make!

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  • Binder photo ladynellington

    10 January 2012

    ladynellington rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I certainly should have let it boil for another 10 minutes, but boy-oh-boy was it good! I made it as a Christmas present for friends and family, and have had fantastic feedback too. Lovely and easy recipe for wintery marmalade.

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Difficulty and servings

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

Rich and boozy

Ingredients

  • 1.3kg Seville oranges
  • 2 lemons , juice only
  • 2¼kg granulated or preserving sugar
  • 450g dark muscovado sugar
  • 150ml whisky
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