Updated May 2020
Vintage family favorite recipe from my husband's grandmother. It's a wonderful combination of fresh peaches,
oranges and cherries. There is no pectin used, you simply cook low and slow,
stirring often, until the marmalade thickens naturally.
Wonderfully delicious spread on top of toasted English muffins or scones, and equally good spooned over top of vanilla ice-cream or pound cake.
- 12 fresh peaches
- 3 oranges
- 1/2-1 cup sweet cherries (optional)
- sugar
- butter
- a LARGE stock pot
- a food processor (or you can hand chop)
- time - marmalade can take up to an hour to thicken
Ingredients
12 good sized peaches
3 oranges (I used naval oranges)
1/2-1 cup sweet cherries, pitted and petite diced (optional)
Sugar equal to the amount of fruit, 1:1 ratio
1 tbsp. butter, to prevent foaming
Method
Blanch peaches 30-60 seconds in boiling water. Immediately plunge peaches in ice water to stop cooking process. Slip skins off peaches, remove pit and dice or process peaches in a food processor.
Cut oranges into wedges, rind and all, and process using the "pulse" setting on your food processor until pieces are quite small.
Dice the cherries into small pieces, if using (I almost never add them)
Combine peaches, ground oranges, and diced cherries and measure to see how much fruit you have.
Place fruit mixture in a large stock pot and add 1 cup sugar for every cup of fruit. Stir well and bring to a boil over a medium-high heat. Add butter, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often to prevent sticking. Be careful, the marmalade will bubble up a lot so you need a very large pot!
Marmalade will thicken as it cooks, and reduce down. This process can take an hour, and possibly longer.
How to tell when your Marmalade is ready?
Use a candy thermometer. When you’re making jam with traditional amounts of sugar, you’re aiming to cook it to 220°F. That’s the temperature at which sugar forms a gel. Monitoring the temperature can give you confirmation that you’re on the right track.
Use the freezer test. At the beginning of cooking, put two or three small plates or bowls in the freezer. As you begin to approach the end of cooking, pull one out and put a small dollop of jam into the middle of the dish. Tuck it back into the freezer for two or three minutes (take your jam off the heat during this time, because if it the test tells you it’s done, you will have just spent three minutes overcooking your jam).When the time is up, pull the dish out of the freezer and gently nudge the dollop of jam with the tip of your finger. If it has formed a skin on top that wrinkles a bit when pushed, it is done. If it is still quite liquid and your finger runs right through it, it’s not done yet.
Give it time. Marmalade can take several days to achieve its finished set. Don’t declare it a failure ten minutes out of the canner.
*Recipe is easily doubled since there is no added pectin. Simply keep your fruit to sugar content equal.
Yield: approx. 6 - 8 oz. jelly jars or 3 pint jars
Enjoy,
Mary
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