Marmalade

Here's an article that might be helpful.

1lb seville oranges (= 3 approx, cost around 40p)
2lb bag of sugar
2 pints water.

Simmer the oranges whole in the water until soft (hour & a half). Cut them in half & get the pips out. Put the pips back in the water & boil for 10mins, then throw them away.

Cut up the orange peel into marmalade-like strips & add to the water with all the orange pulp. Bring to the boil, add the sugar, stir to dissolve, then boil hard until set: around 30mins, but start testing after 15 (put a teaspoon of m'lade on a plate in the fridge for a few mins to see if it sets).

maybe i shld make this! i really like marmalade these days

My mother does this orange/lemon/grapefruit marmalade. Very nice, but a real slog to prepare all that fruit.

sort of what im afraid of, dont know if i have the commitment

have you ever made love on marmalade?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/jan/20/how-make-perfect-orange-marmalade

I made some mandarin marmalade because it's incredibly easy, use the whole (seedless) fruit with no peeling or juicing, and it's fantastic. Much more bitter than storebought, and for me that's a feature not a bug. I overcooked it a bit, will go to 218˚F instead of pushing it to 220˚ if I ever make any more, but it's still spreadable.

It's tricky: the less you boil, the fresher the flavour, but it's runny. It you boil hard, it's thicker, but you risk it acquiring a burnt sort of barley sugar flayour.

maybe not traditional, but i made fig jam with chia seeds last year. they are a great thickener, but also add a wee bit of their own character.