Homemade orange marmalade
( Marmellata di arance )

Orange jam recipe

Preparation and cooking

• - The day before
• - Peel oranges and then remove all traces of white pith.
  The white part of the peel is tasteless and spongy.
• - You should have about 1.7 kg (3 3/4 pounds) of peeled oranges.
• - Squeeze lemons.
• - Cut peeled oranges into pieces, remove their seeds and put them in a deep saucepan.
  Save any juice that may leak out!
• - At this point add lemon juice and sugar too.
  Stir very well, cover your saucepan and let all rest for 24 hours.
• - Meanwhile get jars washed and well dry.
• - The day after
• - Stir very well and bring your orange mixture to a boil in the same saucepan.
• - Then add vanilla beans, lower the flame and simmer for about 90 minutes, stirring frequently, or until sugar starts forming threads.
• - Meanwhile peel organic oranges.
  Remove all white part of their peel with a small, sharp knife.
• - Bring a small pan of water to a boil, add the peel of organic oranges and cook for about 15 minutes.
  Then drain and cut them into thin strips.
  Add them to your jam 15 minutes before turning off the stove.
• - Ladle your jam into glass jars and let them sterilize at least 30 minutes.

Just before serving

• - Preserve your jars in a cool, dry place until serving.
• - Eat your jam preferably within a year.

Note

Tips

• - Choose the quality of oranges very well: they must be very sweet and with few seeds (tarocco, called also Italian blood oranges or tarot oranges are the best).
• - The doses are enough for 5 eight-ounces jars.
• - The oranges from which you'll get your zest must be organic.
• - Some will ask certainly why I use the preliminary stage in which I soak orange pulp with lemon juice and sugar. Very simple. So I can use less sugar. Besides I'm very careful to sterilize all jars before filling them and sterilize for 30 minutes them, once filled, to avoid any problems. In many other pages I have already given several explanations on the subject. For example the page of mushrooms in oil.

Menu planning

• - Orange jam is very versatile for me. I use it in many different ways. Here they are.
• - I like to spoon orange jam ( moderate amounts of) on wholemeal bread slices at breakfast.
• - It is enough only a teaspoon of jam to sweeten low-fat plain yogurt.
• - When I make apple tart I spoon orange jam on the shortcrust pastry before adding apple slices. My tart is particulary tasty when I sprinkle apples with cinnamon too.
• - I fill sponge cake with this jam especially when I make it for children. In this case I add some tablespoons of milk so that I can better spread it on the cake layers.
• - I make traditional jam tart.
• - I use orange jam in my clementine-and-chocolate tart.

Healthy eating

• - Making jam at home ensures that you can choose ingredients and decide their dose in a balanced way.
  I think it is essential when there are kids at home. Besides the time is not so long to be an obstacle. Ask for help from them. Engaging them in small works in cooking empowers them!
• - I didn't calculate calories and sugar because in reality it is difficult to know real portions. As I have already told you the amount of sugar is limited compared to most recipes. As regards the portion, adjust according to common sense. Use teaspoons on bread and biscuits not tablespoons ;)))

Loretta