t
o
n
y
a
n
g
'
s
 
w
e
b
l
o
g


for lunch i made a ham-egg-avocado everything bagel sandwich along with a glass of chocolate milk. my mother called me to tell me that their eastern european tour group company booked them the cheapest international airfare on lufhansa, ones that don't include checked seats or luggages. i ended up going online and reserving seats for them for a $35 fee/person/flight.

at 1pm i started the 2nd day of marmalade making. i didn't start boiling the orange peel slices until 1:20pm. a cool thing that happened is i could see condensation forming on the outside of the stock pot, showing me how high the liquid was. i was worried there might not be enough head space, but i was only at 1/3 level. i started on high heat, but once it started to boil, i lowered it to low-medium heat to a gentle simmer for the next 2 hours, with intermittent stirring every 15 minutes or so. i watched as the peel slices slowly turned translucent and soft. the steam from the simmering made the house smell like oranges and windows on the other side of the house were starting to fog up. i tasted the spoon a few times, wasn't anything special, like a watered down sour citrus flavor.

at 2:20pm i checked my phone and noticed amazon had sent me e-mail saying my canning funnels had been delivered. they actually arrived around 1:40pm, i only noticed it now. i bought these for $7. they're supposed to be for wide and regular mason jars, but the larger funnel fit a regular mason jar perfectly, while the smaller funnel seemed too small.

i finally stopped boiling by 3:30pm. my peels were translucent, but there was still some attached pith. i think next i'll scoop the juiced peels with a spoon to remove any excess pith. i removed the cheesecloth bundle and put it in a bowl to cool, while i put a cover over the stock pot to keep the marmalade warm. i also put some plates in the freezer so i can do the plate test to check if the marmalade is ready later.

while waiting for the cheesecloth bundle to cool, i took that time to sanitized my canning jars. there are various methods - baking, microwave, boiling - but i went with boiling, because i could keep the jars warm while they remained in the hot water. i took down my other larger 20 oz. stock pot. this one didn't have a thick base, so i was afraid the jars might crack if i put them directly on the bottom, so i found a large plate and put it on the bottom first instead. as for jars, i went with 8 pint-size jars (16oz, the ones i got from market basket yesterday), 3 half-pint jars (8oz), and 2 jelly jars (4oz). it equalled to 10 pints. i figured if i still needed jars, i could just quickly dip more in hot water to sanitize. as for the metal canning lids, i boiled them in a smaller pot of water then covered with a lid. the glass jars took longer to boil. i didn't exactly boil them anyway, since they're liable to crack at that temperature. instead once the water temperature reached 180°F, i turned off the heat and kept the lid on the stock pot.

once i had my jars sanitized, it was time (4:30pm) to squeeze the last bits of pectin mash out of the cheesecloth bundle. i wore gloves and it was a messy affair. i milked the cheesecloth bag so hard, seeds were starting to coming out. i did the best i could, figured that was enough. cheesecloth can be reused, but i figured that one was probably ruined from all that squeezing, so i threw it out in the compost bin.

at 4:45pm i started dumping the two bags of sugar (8lbs. total) into the marmalade. i was worried the marmalade level was now too high (1/2 mark) and it could boil over. i heated it at medium heat to dissolve the sugar. once that happened (15 minutes), i turned the heat to high to begin boiling the marmalade. i tasted the wooden stirring spoon: sweet, sour, bitter, with a tongue numbing aftertaste like eating sichuan peppercorn. very tasty!

i clipped my candy thermometer to the side of the stock pot to monitor the temperature. i've had my share of jelly experiments (quince jelly, grape jelly, turkish delight, membrillo), and i remember it's a combination of science and patience. boiling is where the science comes in. at first the marmalade wasn't boiling, but once it reached 100°C, that's when the boiling started. it makes sense, because at that point it's essentially boiling off the water, leaving behind the marmalade. as the marmalade continued to boil, the temperature slowly went up. i was afraid the foam would overflow the pot, but it only came up a few inches, i was totally safe with my large 16qt stock pot. i noticed the marmalade was darkening, and the orange peels became even more translucent. jelly making also requires patience, as i sat next to the stove, watching the thermometer, waiting for the marmalade to set.

at the 30 minute mark was when it was supposed to reach the jelly stage - 220°F or 105°C. but because i working with a larger portion than most recipes, it took a bit longer, nearly an hour (6pm), before the candy thermometer finally reach 220°F. i turned off the heat and did a plate test by scooping a bit of marmalade on a cold plate and putting it back in the freezer. when i took it back out, i ran my finger through the marmalade. it formed a thin skin on the surface but was still watery.

so i continued boiling the marmalade. only for a few minutes, before i turned off the heat again and did another cold plate test. this time the marmalade actually formed into a jelly but was still a little runny. i decided to boil the marmalade for 10 more minutes before calling it done. i noticed the temperature was now slowly reaching above 220° so i was afraid i'd gone over the limit. i turned off the heat and did one last plate test. this time the marmalade totally solidified.1 actually i probably could've stopped after the second plate test, didn't need to boil for another 10 minutes, because i rechecked the 2nd plate (i also put it back into the freezer) and that had solidified as well, though it was a bit softer.

i took out the candy thermometer and left the marmalade to cool while i started taking the canning jars out of the other stock pot. i began to scoop the marmalade into the jars with a ladle and the canning funnel. canning is so much easier with a funnel! in the past i'd just do it with a spoon, which made a mess and afterwards i had to clean off all the excess jelly on the outside of the jars. using a funnel, no mess, and allowance for a greater margin of error in filling the jars. i had just enough marmalade to fill 8 pint jars, 2 half-pint jars, and 2 jelly jars. i had one half-pint jar that i didn't use. there was nothing left over in the stock pot other than some residue marmalade that i scooped out with a spoon and ate. maybe because it was leftovers but it wasn't that tasty, just a very sweet jelly. a little hard too, maybe i boiled it too long. i won't know for sure until i try one of the marmalade from the jars.

i was worried about the orange peels floating to the top of the jar, but my marmalade was thick enough that the peels were held in suspension. while cleaning up the equipment, i could hear the lids on the marmalade jars popping from the vacuum seal. even hours after i finished jarring the marmalade, the jars themselves were still warm.

seville bitter orange marmalade
9-1/2 pints

4 lbs. seville bitter oranges
8 lbs. water (15 cups)
8 lbs. sugar (2 bags)
juicer
cheesecloth
gloves
large stock pot
candy thermometer
canning jars & lids
canning funnel
ladle

use 1:2:2 ratio (weight) for orange/water/sugar. slice oranges in half and juice in juicer. wear gloves to avoid touching citric acid if you have cuts on your hands. save pith and seeds, wrap in cheesecloth. cut orange peels in half and cut into thin strips. add peels, juice, cheesecloth bundle, and water to stock pot. let soak overnight.

next day simmer for 2 hours uncovered until peels turn soft and translucent, break easily with a spoon. liquid in stock pot should be reduced by half. remove cheesecloth bundle; once cooled to touch, squeeze mash (pectin) into pot while wearing gloves. sterilize canning jars and lids using method of choice (boil/bake/microwave).

add sugar, cook on medium until sugar dissolved, then turn on high heat to boil. clip candy thermometer to stock pot. make sure pot has enough head space to account for rising bubbles (few inches). once temperature reaches 220°F (105°C) (about 30 minutes), turn off heat and test on cold plate. if marmalade doesn't set, boil on high for 10 minutes and test again until it does.

let marmalade cool for 10 minutes (to solidify slightly for even orange peel distribution) before scooping into jars with ladle and canning funnel. seal jars, wait for vacuum seal to pop.

i finally finished making my marmalade by 7pm. i basically spent the whole day just making it. i had some ebay-purchased chinese screw hot pepper seeds that needed to be planted that i never got around to doing.

i didn't have dinner until 9pm. i ate a package of instant korean jjajangmen my 2nd aunt give me more than a year ago. the package had already expired back in november but i was eating it now. it was okay, but the bean sauce was a little sweet for my taste. i added some daikon kimchi i had in the fridge for some more korean authenticity. i ate while watching a bunch of NBA playoff games. 76ers beat the nets (philly up 3-0 in the series), warriors trounced the kings (series 2-1 sacramento leading), and suns defeated the clippers (2-1 phoenix lead). celtics play the hawks tomorrow night in atlanta. speaking of which, malcolm brogdon won the 6th man of the year award, which was presented to him live on inside the NBA which is broadcasted from atlanta, which he happened to be there in preparation for tomorrow night's game.


1 that the marmalade solidified is a relief. a lot of online marmalade recipes i found added fresh lemon juice. they never properly explained why, i read it's to add more pectin, but the amount is always so negligible, i doubt it made any difference. citrus fruits (like oranges) already naturally contain high amounts of pectin. i also read adding lemon juice increases the acidity, but once again oranges are already pretty acidic. it didn't make sense so i didn't add lemon to my recipe. instead i just relied on a purely orange marmalade, with no additional ingredients other than sugar and water. but i was worried that somehow the marmalade wouldn't set. well, i'm hear to tell you that adding lemon juice has no effect whatsoever on orange marmalade setting. marmalade of other fruits however - like those naturally low in pectin - might still need some additional pectin boost.