Seville Marmalade

I bought some Seville oranges from Tadley Market a few weeks ago. I have had previous, unsucessful attempts at making marmalade. I made a batch that tasted great, following a Delia Smith recipe, but it didn't set at all so I was keen to try and do a better job this time. 

I bought a preserving pan from Newbury Car Boot sale for £1. It did have a dent in the side and my husband wasn't convinced of it's usefulness but after a trip in the dishwasher, it looked the business. As an aside, I read somewhere that preserving pans have had a renaissance at Lakeland, with credit crunched housewives, making their own jams and pickles. I'm not all that sure it's cheaper to make your own preserves but it is fun and they do taste better.

Anyway, I digress. I made the marmalade using said preserving pan and I also used preserving sugar. I followed the amounts of ingredients suggested in Delia's How to Cook 3 (traditional Seville marmalade). I pretty much followed the recipe as stated and I did go to the bother of squeezing the pectin from orange skins and pith tied in a muslin bag but I confess, I also added some pectin too.

The result was pretty good. The marmalde was softly set, and as I didn't have to boil it for so long, so it tasted lovely and fresh. I'm pleased with the result and I do think the preserving pan made a difference but I'm not sure that I'd want to stump up £20 odd pounds to buy one new, since I don't make that much in the way of preserves. I think it you were really keen on making jams etc. it would be worth it.