Accidental Marmalade

[rolycat]

Bought a net of cheap oranges a few days ago and discovered they were Sevilles: only good for marmalade. No cooking thermometer to hand, so:



12 pounds of marmalade currently awaiting distribution to friends and family, cost of ingredients less than 25p per jar 

[German_EE]

A friend of mine spent a number of years in the British Army but although he was a soldier he did mechanical work, servicing everything from tanks to the commanding officers car. At one point he was sent to Pakistan to train a group of officers in the servicing and maintenance of an armored personnel carrier but the visit did not go well (bear with me here)

Starting with the basics they covered everything associated with the vehicle, from changing the tires to stripping down the engine, and throughout the four weeks the group of twenty officers just sat there at their desks, nobody said a word. On the last t day my friend had had enough so he closed his course material and spoke to the group:

"I've had enough of you guys", he said, "for the last month we have covered everything to do with this vehicle and NOBODY has asked a single question! Surely one of you has something they need to know".

At the back one guy slowly raised his hand.

"Yes! Please tell me what you want to know, what is your question"?

"Please Captain Smith, why is it in England orange jam is called marmalade"?

[rrinker]

 Is it? In the US, jam/jelly and marmalade are two different things.

[Macbeth]

Marmalade is not orange jam because it is made with whole oranges including the skin / pith. I suppose that's a bit like Chutney isn't jam either.

Having said that, I don't recall seeing any orange jam and lemons are usually turned into Lemon Curd (yum!).

Never been much of a fan of jams, but marmalade, chutney and lemon curd are all delicious.

[rrinker]

 Ok, that's the same then as (at least my part) of the US. Jams are smooth, marmalades have the skin and all that.

Grape I prefer jam, orange I prefer marmalade. And apricot marmalade. I think I need to stop at the store on the way home now. Thanks....

[Macbeth]

Grape jam? Sounds delicious. I'm afraid my jam experiences all date to the Robinsons "Golliwog" and Hartleys stuff from the 70's/80's we had as kids - all red berry products mostly. I have a slight aversion to it.

[rolycat]

To buy good traditional jam in the UK, your best bet is to visit a W.I. stall or similar. Can be a bit of a lottery, though.

Decent "jam" in UK supermarkets is typically not sold as jam at all but as "conserve" under "premium" brands like Tiptree and Bonne Maman.

I dunno why it's so hard to find grape jam (or grape jelly) in the UK.

[Macbeth]

To buy good traditional jam in the UK, your best bet is to visit a W.I. stall or similar. Can be a bit of a lottery, though.

Hmm... I guess I could find one of them at somewhere like Goldsmiths, University of London? 

[rrinker]

To buy good traditional jam in the UK, your best bet is to visit a W.I. stall or similar. Can be a bit of a lottery, though.

Decent "jam" in UK supermarkets is typically not sold as jam at all but as "conserve" under "premium" brands like Tiptree and Bonne Maman.

I dunno why it's so hard to find grape jam (or grape jelly) in the UK.

 Do grapes grow well in the UK climate? Concord are the variety used for most grape juices and jellies here, quite sweet. Fun (but potentially messy) to eat, too. Some wineries will make wine from them, for those that like a very sweet wine.

[Zero999]

To buy good traditional jam in the UK, your best bet is to visit a W.I. stall or similar. Can be a bit of a lottery, though.

Decent "jam" in UK supermarkets is typically not sold as jam at all but as "conserve" under "premium" brands like Tiptree and Bonne Maman.

I dunno why it's so hard to find grape jam (or grape jelly) in the UK.

 Do grapes grow well in the UK climate? Concord are the variety used for most grape juices and jellies here, quite sweet. Fun (but potentially messy) to eat, too. Some wineries will make wine from them, for those that like a very sweet wine.

The UK climate isn't best suited to grapes but they grow much better in the UK than oranges do.

Grapes can be grown outdoors in southern England but oranges need to be kept indoors, unless grown in a well sheltered spot on the south-west coast.

[Cerebus]

Grape jam? Sounds delicious. I'm afraid my jam experiences all date to the Robinsons "Golliwog" and Hartleys stuff from the 70's/80's we had as kids - all red berry products mostly. I have a slight aversion to it.

Go to the supermarket and hunt out Tiptree preserves (from Tiptree in sunny Essex) and give them a try, your taste buds will thank you. A million miles away from crap like Hartley's. I too was raised on the like and thought I didn't like preserves, then a friend at University virtually forced me to try his Tiptree jam. Wow, what a difference. It doesn't take too much explanation once you've read the typical ingredients list - Hartleys and the like 40-50% fruit, Tiptree 80-110% (Yes, some start out with more weight of fruit than the weight of the finished product).

[Stray Electron]

  The town that I grew up in huge a huge Minute Maid orange juice plant. After squeezing the juice out of them, they cooked the oranges and made cattle feed out of them.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that sometimes you could smell those cooking oranges 60 miles away!  The smell was delicious!

  I LOVE marmalade and I'll eat it straight out of the jar.  I don't care for most jams, too sweet.