Sauces, conserves & preserves
Slow cooker marmalade
An adaptation of our Seville marmalade recipe to allow for a more leisurely process, or to save the expense of a having a pan on the hob for a couple of hours. The amount of liquid has been reduced to account for the lack of evaporation in a slow cooker – the lid traps the moisture as well as the heat. You’ll need a sizeable slow cooker for a batch this size, 4-6 litres should do. Anything smaller and you may need to consider cooking it in batches. Some people claim you can cook it to a setting point along with the sugar directly in the slow cooker, however we’ve found that you still need to transfer it to the pan for the final boil to get a proper set.
Cook's notes
Make sure your jars are properly clean before you use them. Lots of hot, soapy water and a good rinse followed by drying them out in a low oven (140°C/Gas 1) for 10-15 mins, or a trip through a very hot dishwasher cycle.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg Seville oranges
- 2 lemons
- 1.8 litres cold water
- approx 2kg granulated sugar
- muslin cloth & string
- sterilised jars with screw top lids
Method
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Step 1
With a sharp knife or potato peeler, peel the skin from the oranges and lemons, leaving as much white pith on the fruit as possible. Chop the peel into 3mm strips.
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Step 2
Line a large bowl with a piece of muslin, leaving plenty to overhang the sides of the bowl. Cut the oranges and lemons in half. With your hands, squeeze the juice from the fruit over the bowl, dropping the leftover squeezed fruit (pith, pips and flesh) into the muslin. Lift the muslin out of the bowl, gather the sides and squeeze any remaining juice into the bowl. Tie the muslin together with string to keep the fruit in and form a bag.
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Step 3
Place the muslin bag in the slow cooker along with the peel. Add the squeezed fruit juice and 1.8 litres of cold water. Pop on the lid and cook on high for 6 -8 hour or on low overnight, until the peel is soft and tender.
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Step 4
Remove the muslin bag and squeeze all the sticky juice from the bag into the cooker. (An easy and safe way to do this is to put the bag in a colander and use a spoon to press it out).
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Step 5
Transfer the contents across to a large pan, measuring it as you go (include the shreds and liquid). Add 450g sugar for every 500ml liquid.
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Step 6
Gently heat on the hob for 15 mins, until the sugar crystals have dissolved. Increase the heat and boil rapidly for about 15 mins. Test that the marmalade has reached setting point by putting a teaspoon of the liquid on a cold saucer and gently pushing with the back of the spoon. If the liquid starts to wrinkle, setting point has been reached. If no wrinkling happens, keep boiling and re-test every 10 mins. Alternatively, if you have a sugar thermometer, the setting point for marmalade is 105°C. Turn off the heat as soon as you reach setting point.
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Step 7
Skim any scum from the surface. Leave the mixture to stand for 15 mins. Stir gently, then carefully spoon into warmed sterilised jars (use a jam funnel if you have one). If using screw top lids, put the lids on while the marmalade is still hot and turn upside down for 5 mins to sterilise the lids (or boil the lids for a few minutes and leave to dry before use). If using cellophane, put a wax disc on the marmalade while warm, then seal with cellophane and an elastic band.