Brazilian Oranges, British Marmalade

Oranges at the Feira

Brazil might be the world's largest orange producer but it sucks at marmalade!  You can't beat the taste of a bittersweet Seville orange preserve with chunks of rind on buttery bread, so I set about making my own this week.


Bitter oranges are not readily available here.  Instead the popular types are Laranja Lima, Laranja Bahia, Laranja Pera and Laranja Seleta.  


The Lima orange is the one that the guy in the market will call out for you to buy when he sees you have kids.  It is the least acidic, and is actually one of the first weaning foods that Brazilians feed their babies.  I find it pretty bland, which I suppose is the point.  


Laranja Bahia is a naval orange, the best type for eating - easy to peel, no seeds, and delicious.  It's not that juicy so not the choice for freshly squeezing.  


Laranja Pera and Laranja Seleta are the ones recommended for juices and cooking, including for jams.  The Seleta always seem to be much greener in colour than the others, it is a surprise when you discover they are actually ripe.


In the market this week they didn't have Lima da Persia, which is a kind of lime that looks like an orange and might make a good marmalade...I'll try that when I see it.  In the meantime I just got a sackload of Peras and threw in a lime for good measure...


MARMALADE LIKE HOME - RECIPE

• You need a sack of oranges - if you can get organic, that's great - a lime and equivalent weight of sugar
• Scrub the skins in warm water
• Boil the oranges in their skins for an hour and a half.  I forgot to do this, which means although my marmalade tastes divine, the pieces of rind are still a bit hard.
• Chop oranges into pieces, with the skin too, and throw in a pan with lime juice and equal weight of sugar
• It is the pectin in the peel that helps the marmalade set.  If you want a chunk-free marmalade you can just put the peel wrapped in a muslin bag and remove it at the end.  I won't judge you.
• Add lime juice and equal weight of sugar
• Dissolve sugar and let boil rapidly until it sets (do the wrinkle test by putting blog on saucer and cooling in fridge.  The surface should wrinkle when you push it)
• Put in sterilised glass jars

Perfect breakfast - home made marmalade on home made bread...