Chilli Marmalade

This recipe actually came about because of two different recipes. . .and a whole load of oranges. I was given a huge amount of oranges off my uncle's tree. And one thing I will say: just because an orange doesn't look perfect on the outside doesn't mean that the orange is flavourless or juiceless on the inside. The oranges I was given had spots and marks all over them but, due to my uncle's good soil and organic principles in his garden, the oranges were the juiciest ones I had ever tasted.

Anyway; after looking up recipes for marmalade (there is only so much orange juice you can drink in any given week) I found a good one in the book 'A Year in a Bottle' by Sally Wise and I was happily boiling away, stirring the fruit in my overly large boiler when I began to wonder why was I making so much damn marmalade. I don't even eat jam at all. Sure I planned to give some away to friends and family, and I didn't want  to let the oranges go to waste, but I didn't eat jam. The only time I ever used any jam at all was for another recipe Sweet & Spicy Chicken from the '4 Ingredients Book' by Kim McCosker & Rachel Bermingham.

Sweet & Spicy Chicken was the only reason I kept marmalade in the cupboard; and I kept it in the cupboard because the recipe is so easy to do after a hard days work and you only need three ingredients. The recipe simply requires that you add chilli powder to a cup of marmalade and mix together. Place the mixture in a zip lock bag, add some chicken legs and mush all around. Take the chicken legs out and place them on a baking tray. Spoon over the chilli marmalade mixture and bake. It's a great recipe.

So I'm stirring away at my boiler thinking- well why don't I just add the chilli now. So I did. And hence Chilli Marmalade. I gave my mum a jar and told her how to make Sweet & Spicy Chicken. When she went to make it the jar of Chilli Marmalade was gone. My dad had eaten it on toast! I have since given away a lot more jars and while the women seem to use it for Sweet & Spicy Chicken, the men seem to prefer it on toast. Go figure!

So here is the recipe as found in the book 'A Year in a Bottle' plus my addition of Chilli.

Chilli Marmalade ( also known as Man's Jam)
500g oranges
1 Lemon Cups water
2 Cups orange juice
1.5kg sugar - I use raw sugar but white sugar works just as well
Chilli powder to taste- I use-for a double batch- 6 flat teaspoons. this gives it a decent bite without overriding the sweetness of the jam

Cut the fruit up very finely and place in a large pot. Add water and orange juice. Bring to the boil and cook until the fruit is soft. Add sugar and bring to the boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add chilli powder. Boil hard for 25 minutes or so until setting point is reached. Allow to stand for ten minutes before pouring into warm sterilised jars and then seal immediately.

I have a particularly large boiler so I often do a double batch or even a triple batch. I also have a preserving unit so I can seal the jars. However you can seal the jars quite easily without one. First you need to make sure the jars and lids are sterilised. (Reuse any jars that have that pop top type lid eg Dolmio). Sterilise the jars by placing them on a tray in a cold oven with a little bit of water in the tray. Turn the oven to 110 degrees and heat the jars until that temperature is reached. Then turn the oven off and let them sit until you need them. Boil the lids, boiling for a minimum of 10 minutes.

To seal the jars place them in a boiler and cover with water and boil. Remove them from the water and as they cool the lids should suck in of their own accord. Make sure you leave space in your jar between your jam and your lid.

This recipe is a nice, easy recipe. Even without the chilli it is a particularly nice marmalade. The chopping of fruit can take time and if you have mincer you could use it to save time and effort. If you make this marmalade try it on toast but make sure you try the Sweet & Spicy Chicken too.