Absolutely Fail Proof Easy Marmalade Recipes

Steps:

• Boil the whole oranges in 2 litres water until very soft - it will take about 2 hrs. Pour the liquid into a preserving pan or a large saucepan.
• Cut the oranges into wedges, flick out the pips with the point of a knife then gently squeeze the wedges over the pan as they'll be very juicy. Thinly slice them, then add to the pan with jam sugar. Dissolve over the heat then boil for 7-10 mins, stirring occasionally, until a little of the mixture dropped onto a chilled plate sets and wrinkles when you push your finger through. Leave to settle for 15 mins before potting into sterilised jars.

Steps:

• Put the whole oranges and lemon juice in a large preserving pan and cover with 2 litres/4 pints water - if it does not cover the fruit, use a smaller pan. If necessary weight the oranges with a heat-proof plate to keep them submerged. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer very gently for around 2 hours, or until the peel can be easily pierced with a fork.
• Warm half the 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 cooking liquid to the pan. Allow oranges to cool until they are easy to handle, then cut in half. Scoop out all the pips and pith and add to the reserved orange liquid in the pan. Bring to the boil for 6 minutes, then strain this liquid through a sieve into a bowl and press the pulp through with a wooden spoon - it is high in pectin so gives marmalade a good set.
• Pour half this liquid into a preserving pan. Cut the peel, with a sharp knife, into fine shreds. Add half the peel to the liquid in the preserving pan with the warm sugar. Stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved, for about 10 minutes, then bring to the boil and bubble rapidly for 15- 25 minutes until setting point is reached.
• Take pan off the heat and skim any scum from the surface. (To dissolve any excess scum, drop a small knob of butter on to the surface, and gently stir.) Leave the marmalade to stand in the pan for 20 minutes to cool a little and allow the peel to settle; then pot in sterilised jars, seal and label. Repeat from step 3 for second batch, warming the other half of the sugar first.

Steps:

• Slice the grapefruit very very thinly with a sharp knife, into flat slices. then cut these into strips, and cut the strips into smaller bits. Keep all the juice that flows out, if it's a juicy grapefruit.
• Bring 6 cups of water to a boil, and then add the grapefruit slices and juice.
• Keep at a low boil, adding the sugar. Continue boiling for quite some time (20-30 minutes), until it begins getting thicker.
• The tricky part is knowing when to stop boiling. If you wait too long, it will become too thick when it cools. The important thing to know is it thickens a bit when cooling, so you have to stop it before it reaches the desired consistency. I put a porcelain dish in the fridge, then pour a little onto the dish - if it congeals a little, then it's ready.
• Before you bottle it, eat it with bread while it's still warm - it's delicious!
• Pour in any clean bottle, and refrigerate.