Bitter orange marmalade with rosewater and almonds recipe

The rosewater in this bitter orange marmalade recipe adds a unique and Middle Eastern flavour.

Preparation 15min
Cooking 2hr 30min
Skill level Mid

By
Greg Malouf & Lucy Malouf

Ingredients

6 oranges (about 1.5 kg/3 ½ lb whole weight)
2 lemons
3 ½ litres (6 pints) water
2.2 kg (5 lb) granulated sugar
60 ml (2 fl oz) rosewater
50 g flaked almonds, toasted in a dry pan

Cook's notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Instructions

Standing time 24 hours

Makes around 4 ½ kg (10 lb)

Slice the oranges and lemons very thinly, reserving the pips. Put the slices of fruit in a large bowl and cover with 3 litres (5 ¼ pints) of the water. Put the pips into a small bowl and cover with the remaining 500 ml (¾ pint) of water. Leave both to soak for 24 hours.

Put the fruit and its soaking water into a large pan. Scoop the pips into a small square of muslin and tie it loosely to form a little bag. Tuck it into the fruit in the pan. The pips’ soaking water should also go into the pan with the fruit.

Bring the pan to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for 2 hours. Remove the bag of pips and add the sugar. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and squeeze the bag of pips over the pan to extract as much pectin as you can. Stir well. Bring to a fast boil and cook for 20–30 minutes, or until the marmalade reaches setting point. While it is boiling away, place a couple of saucers into the freezer to chill them.

Test to see if the marmalade has reached setting point by placing a spoonful on one of the chilled saucers and returning it to the fridge to cool. It is at setting point if it forms a wrinkly skin when you push your finger across the surface. When it reaches setting point, remove the pan from the heat and skim the froth from the surface. Stir in the rosewater and almonds and leave to settle for 10 minutes. Skim off any more froth, then carefully ladle the marmalade into sterilised preserving jars. Seal while hot.

Recipe from Saha by Greg and Lucy Malouf, with photographs by Matt Harvey.