marmalade making

this is what i remember of the process (not a recipe)

buy a box (20 pounds) of bitter seville oranges at the farmers' market (talk about flowers, food, plans, shoes with three friends).

in a small, beautiful kitchen inside an apartment filled with treasures at every turn...

rinse oranges, wash jars, cut oranges in half, juice, save pips, save peels, scrape out white from peels (save both), cut scraped peels in half, scrape down even more (compost white parts), slice peels into thin strips. (laugh hard at the pain of all the scraping and the bossiness of the generous teacher-friend, consume adult beverages. pet sweetest visiting neighbor dog who watches the marmalading process patiently. marvel at labor of ancestors.)

boil juice and strips of peels with cheesecloth bag for a long time in a large, non-reactive pot (bag contains pips and first round of scrapings from peels), boil until pectin does its thing (while simmering, go down the street and eat some food {somewhat ravenously}).

return to the calm of the now heavily orange-scented apartment.

boil jars and lids for 15 minutes, air dry, funnel marmalade into jars, wipe jar rims so seals will be secure, put lids on, lower into boiling water, boil for 15 minutes, remove from bath, listen to lids popping (now sealed!). admire deep amber color and rows of filled jars, now cooling. clean stickiness from everywhere.

sleep deeply despite tugging burn in shoulder and neck.

gratefully enjoy beautiful marmalade on toast with cheese.

my photos

jen's photos