Seville oranges

When it's as relentlessly cold as it has been all over Europe, the best place to be in just about any house is by the stove, where the endless stirring of stews and other warming foodstuffs at least keeps you busy and warm, especially if you've had the good sense to put the oven on at the same time. You might even find your children want to help, if you're clever enough to ensure that the rest of the house is woefully underheated. 

Making marmalade is an excellent means of staying warm, as it involves a goodly amount of stirring and you put the oven on to sterilise the jars. It is also madly seasonal, since Seville oranges are only in season for a couple of weeks in January and they don't keep. Apparently sales of marmalade are going down; one can only assume that it is because more and more people are discovering that there is nothing like surveying a dozen pots of home-made marmalade to fill you with the warming glow of domestic smugness.

 Seville Orange Marmalade (adapted from David Lebovitz's recipe)

Makes ten jars

10 Seville oranges

1 navel orange

15 cups water

pinch of salt


2.5 kg sugar

1. Wash oranges and wipe them dry. Cut each orange in half, crosswise around the equator. Squeeze the oranges, manually or mechanically, depending on how well your kitchen is equipped, and then set a wide mesh non-reactive strainer over a bowl and strain the juice to remove the seeds. Scoop out all the interior pith from each orange half, so you are left with just a shell. 


2. Tie the seeds and pith up in cheesecloth or muslin very securely.


3. Cut each rind into 3 pieces and use a sharp chef's knife to cut the rinds into slices or cubes as thin as possible. Or do what I do and put them through the slicer attachment of your food processor.


4. In a large stockpot, add the orange slices, seed pouch, water, and salt, as well as the juice from the oranges from step #1. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook until the peels are translucent, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove it from the heat and let the mixture stand overnight, to help the seeds release any additional pectin.


5. Stir the sugar into the mixture and bring the mixture to a full boil again, then reduce heat to a gentle boil. Stir occasionally while cooking to make sure it does not burn on the bottom. Midway during cooking, remove the seed pouch and discard.


6. Continue cooking until it has reached the jelling point, 104 degrees centigrade, if using a sugar thermometer. To test the marmalade, turn off the heat and put a small amount on a plate that has been chilled in the freezer and briefly return it to the freezer. Check it in a few minutes; it should be slightly jelled and will wrinkle just a bit when you slide your finger through it. If not, continue to cook until it is.


7. Meanwhile, put some clean jars into the oven at 125 degrees C. When the marmalade is ready, ladle it into the hot jars. Screw the lids on firmly and turn each jar upside down. Stored in a cool place, the marmalade will keep for months. 

If you have any leftover Seville oranges you can make a jar of vin d'orange to look forward to when the sun comes out. 

1 bottle rosé wine

5 Seville oranges

1 unwaxed lemon

200g sugar

150 ml vodka

1 vanilla pod

slug of brandy/rum/masala

Slice the citrus fruit thinly. Mix with the other ingredients and decant into a 2 litre mason jar. Refrigerate. Every couple of days or so turn the jar upside down so that the fruit comes into contact with all the alcohol. Leave for a minimum of 8 weeks, or longer. When you are ready to drink it, filter the wine (using a funnel lined with fine cheesecloth) into clean bottles. Serve chilled.