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It takes a bit of effort, but Seville orange marmalade pays you back with sweet, sour, bitter, sticky zing that makes your tongue tingle and offers plenty of toothsome texture.

Ready Time: 2 to 2 1/2 hours

Ingredients

10 Seville oranges

2 lemons

Water, if needed

7 cups granulated sugar

Method

Cut clean oranges and lemons in half crosswise and, using a reamer or a fork, squeeze all their juice into a saucepan lined with a fine mesh strainer. Remove membranes from citrus shells with your fingers and set aside, along with any pits and flesh collected in the strainer.

Using a small sharp knife, cut the top and bottom off of each fruit shell, then cut peel into thin pieces about 1 inch long. Place reserved pits and membranes in a clean jelly bag or a double layer of cheesecloth tied into a bag with cotton string. Measure orange and lemon juice and add water until you have 12 cups of liquid. Combine water and juice, sliced peel pieces and cloth bag in a large bowl or deep container, ensuring cloth bag is saturated. Leave in a cool place for 8 hours or overnight.

Transfer everything to a deep saucepan and again make sure cloth bag is submerged. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a lively simmer for 40 to 90 minutes, or until peel pieces are very tender. Remove cloth bag and set aside. Stir sugar into saucepan and bring marmalade mixture to a boil over medium high. As soon as the cloth bag is cool enough to handle, knead and squeeze it, allowing the pectin release by the pits and membranes to drip into the simmering marmalade. This will help your marmalade to thicken and set.

Boil marmalade 10 to 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally and skimming any foam that collects on top. To test for doneness, drop a spoonful of marmalade on a plate and chill in fridge for a few minutes. If it had a jellied texture, it’s ready. If it still runs, continue boiling and test again every 10 minutes until it reaches the right consistency. Using a ladle or a funnel, transfer hot marmalade to sterilized canning jars and cap tightly.

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