Marmalade and a new kitchen necessity

I have been thinking about making jams, chutneys and marmaldes for awhile now and last night I had the oportunity to make some!
I met up with a bunch of crafty friends and we set about chopping up some delicious smelling lemons, grapefruits and oranges.
All were squeezed within an inch of their life for juice and the skins were sliced into small chunks (waste not want not)
We soon have the beginnings of our Marmalade! I know...very exciting!
This wonderfully citrus goodness was then put in a jam pan and boiled rapidly. The citrus smell slowely turned to an overpowering Lemsip smell (yak) which wasn't at all pretty but it's ok, this is what is meant to happen!
After adding the sugar and gratefully seeing it turn syrupy (2 hours of boiling later) these were poured into sterilized jars and cute little circles of material placed on top.

A sigh of relief came over me as I realised how easy it was to make. We did a drop test, which is just where you put abit on the plate and if it wrinkles its ready if it doesn't you need to leave it on the heat for abit longer, and dipped in our pinkeys to have a taste and........I forgot how much I don't like Marmalade! Gutted! It fools you into a false sense of sweet security with the amount of sugar until your taste buds alert you on just how tangy and sharp it is!Hopefully my Husband likes it!

I did realise however that as I fully intend to make Jam and Chutneys in my married life a NEED for my Kitchen is a Jam pan! a stock pot is just not big enough for that rapid boiling bit! I wonder if I can pursuade Robert with the fact that it would be alot less washing up???

Here is the recipe:

3 Fruit Marmalade

2 grapefruit

4 lemons

2 sweet oranges

6lb sugar

6 pints water

3 fruits add up to 3lbs of fruit

Scrub fruit and squeeze out juice & pips.

Cut peel into small bite size pieces, removing the centre and ends

Put in pan with juice and pips

Put pips in a bag

Add 6 pints water

Cook gently for about 2 hours until peel is soft and liquid reduced

Remove pips. Squeeze out the juice from the pips and add sugar

Stir until dissolved

Bring to boil

Boil rapidly for 15 - 20 mins until setting point

Pour into warmed jars

Cover with a wax disc seal when cold

Yield 10 lbs

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