Mandarin & Cara Cara Orange Marmalade

I have loved orange marmalade forever. I never imagined that I would make it. It seemed time consuming, and I didn’t trust myself with the canning process. The more I have learned, through Ray Peat’s work the more I realized I need to learn to make marmalade. Besides the added pectin and citric acid that I don’t want in my jams, a good one cup jar of marmalade costs me around ten dollars. I go go through that jar in less than a week, and sometimes it is gone in a matter of days.

So I set out to make marmalade. I discovered that citrus fruits as well as other fruits have their own pectin. Cutting these fruits and soaking them overnight draws that pectin out. So to start this recipe you’ll need 3 medium to large oranges. Choose oranges with thinner skins. I made this batch, shown in the picture, with two Cara Cara oranges and, because I didn’t have a third I substituted two mandarins instead.

Slice the oranges fairly thin, and then cut those thin slices across the diameter of the slices. Transfer these slices into a bowl along with four cups of filtered water. Cover the bowl and let sit in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.

To finish making this marmalade, pour the soaked oranges into a non-reactive pot, and cook uncovered for a half hour on medium to medium high heat, depending on the pot you use. After that half hour, add in two to three cups of sugar, depending on the sweetness of your oranges. Cook for another thirty minutes, stirring here and there. At this point the marmalade is done. It can be canned, or just kept in the refrigerator. I have made this with a mix of citrus fruits, like Meyer’s lemon and pink grapefruit. You could add in vanilla, or other fruits as well. The batch I made before this one was a pink grapefruit and Golden Berry marmalade. I use marmalade to sweeten my chamomile tea, have it on cottage cheese and yogurt, or use it in savory dishes to make sweet sauces for shrimp, scallops and lamb. Oh yeah, and you could put it on toast, sourdough of course!

“When I get sour oranges I make marmalade from the peels, if they are organic. Shred, soak, cook slowly simmering in water for about an hour before adding sugar, and letting that simmer without boiling until it thickens a little. When it’s cool it thickens more. The peels are rich in anti-inflammatory chemicals, more than the juice, and the marmalade is a good way to get sugar with the cottage cheese or parmesan.“ -Ray Peat