Wake up your taste buds with a breakfast of homemade bread, butter and a thick coating of marmalade.
In addition to toast at breakfast, bitter marmalades are also very good with cheeses, particularly aged Cheddars.
Servings: Makes about seven 500-millilitre Mason jars
Ingredients
5 pounds Seville oranges
10 cups water
7 pounds sugar
Method
Cut the peel from the oranges and set to one side.
Slice the inside of the oranges into rounds and place in a large, non-reactive pot. Using your hands, crush and squeeze the fruit to release as much juice as possible.
Pour in the water, set over heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and leave to stand for about 20 minutes.
Cut the peel into strips, thick or thin as you prefer. Place into a suitable preserving pan. Using a medium-meshed strainer, drain the liquid from the fruit through it, over the peel. Press on the solids to remove as much liquid as possible without pushing the fruit through. Discard the solids.
Place the pan of peel and orange water over heat and bring to a boil, cooking the peel until just tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for an hour or so.
Pour in the sugar and stir to dissolve. Cover and leave in a cool spot overnight.
Place the pan over heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat to maintain a steady simmer, skimming foam as necessary. Cook until a spoonful of the syrup jells firmly on a cool plate, about an hour.
Pour into clean glass jars and seal.
Keith Froggett is co-owner and executive chef of Scaramouche in Toronto.