After making many, many pots of Seville orange marmalade and spending countless hours plucking out the overabundance of seeds (the seeds provide the pectin so that the marmalade will set), I figured out a great trick for preparing the oranges quickly: Place a mesh strainer over a small bowl. Halve the oranges and firmly squeeze out their juice and seeds into the strainer. Add the juice to the marmalade pot and wrap the seeds in cheesecloth so that they can be easily retrieved after cooking. A sharp serrated knife works very well for slicing the oranges very thinly.

　　

Ingredients

makes 8 cups (2 kg)

　　6 Seville oranges or other sour oranges (2 pounds/1 kg total weight), preferably organic

　　1 navel orange, preferably organic

　　10 cups (2.5 liters) water

　　Pinch of salt

　　8 cups (1.6 kg) sugar

　　2 tablespoons (30 ml) Cognac or whiskey

　　

Step 1

Halve the Seville and navel oranges and squeeze out the juice and seeds from each half into a mesh strainer set over a small bowl. After all the oranges have been squeezed, place the seeds on a piece of cheesecloth, gather up the sides, and tie securely. Cut each rind in half and then slice as thinly as possible.

　　

Step 2

Put the orange slices in a large pot or a Dutch oven. Add the orange juice, water, the bag of seeds, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand overnight at room temperature.

　　

Step 3

The next day, stir in the sugar and set the pot over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then decrease the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture is not burning on the bottom, until the marmalade reaches the jelling point (use the wrinkle test, page 256, to judge when it’s done). If white scum occasionally rises to the top, skim it off with a large spoon.

　　

Step 4

Stir in the Cognac or whiskey and remove the bag of seeds, squeezing it with a pair of tongs to extract as much marmalade from it as possible. Ladle the marmalade into clean jars. Cover tightly, let cool, and refrigerate.

　　

Storage

Step 5

The marmalade will keep for at least 6 months in the refrigerator.

　　

tip

Step 6

The salt is said to help soften the fruit. I’ve not made two batches side by side to test this theory (16 cups of Seville orange marmalade is a bit too much to have on hand), but it certainly doesn’t hurt to add it, so I always throw in a pinch.

　　Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz. Copyright © 2010 by David Lebovitz. Published by Ten Speed Press. All Rights Reserved.David Lebovitz lived in San Francisco for twenty years before moving to Paris. He baked at several notable restaurants before starting his career as a cookbook author and food writer. He's the author of four highly regarded books on desserts, and has written for many major food magazines, sharing his well-tested recipes written with a soupçon of humor. His popular, award-winning blog, www.davidlebovitz.com, entertains readers from around the world with sweet and savory recipes as he tries to unravel the complexities of living in Paris.