This could be called "Making and Jarring Orange Marmalade" or "Things I may NEVER do again"

My friend Stacey sent me a a box of hand-picked oranges from California.  She literally picked these little orbs of sunshine and put them in a box and took them to the post office in California and mailed them.  I have never received a box of oranges in the mail before.  
You cut open the box and orange light radiates up at you and Cali sunshine warms your bones.  
*I am going to bet that the suitcase Marsellus Wallace sought after in Pulp Fiction actually contained hand-picked California Oranges.

They tasted like Pure Love.  Fresh and sweet.  
Yet, who can realistically eat an entire box of fresh non-pesticide oranges before they go bad?  My mind raced in fear that this gift of the Gods would rot in my hands.

So I decided to make marmalade.  
I am still not sure how I feel about this decision.  
Now that the project is over and I have these beautiful little jars of bittersweet oranges....I am still a little shaken up.
Making marmalade in itself is mildly tedious.  Even with my experience as a pastry chef.  I know how to manage boiling pots of sugar without melting my flesh but JARRING well it's just that.  Jarring.
This entire process took up most of the day with multiple phone calls made to whine and complain/brag about what I was in the middle of.
Like every epic journey it had it's moment of triumph and also it's moments of devastation. 
BUT our hero prevailed and marmalade was jarred in the land of Saskia.  Possibly for the last time.


Now that I have made this little project seem so appealing...let's talk about how you can do it too!
FIRST here are some do's and don'ts:
Do:
Buy your jars and candy thermometer in advance (I bought  mine at Crackerjack's in Rockport, MA.  Great little place!)
Make sure you have plenty of time.  It takes a while.
Empty the kitchen, put all the dishes away and have clear counters. 
Do not allow anyone else in the kitchen for the length of this project.  It requires focus and there is boiling water and sugar everywhere and children can be hurt.  Actually so can adults.
Isn't this exhilarating!? :-)
Don't:
Try to fit this in on a busy day or multitask around it.  It is impossible.

Now let's get down to business.  You will need:
18 8 oz Ball jars
Candy Thermometer
A pair of metal tongs
4 dishrags 
A large cutting board
3 large pots (pasta pots)
3 1/2 pounds of organic Oranges (I mixed in a half dozen clementines)
***I specify organic because you really don't want a waxed peel.  The peels go into the marmalade. Wax would be icky.
2 lemons
8 pounds of sugar (2 of the 4 pound sacks)
12 cups of Spring or Filtered water
2 ounces of fresh ginger (if ya don't like ginger, skip it)
1 cup of white vinegar
A soothing radio station

In a clean sink, stop the drain and put the oranges in.  Fill with luke warm water and add HALF the cup of white vinegar.  Rub down every orange to clean off the dirt. Pull the oranges out of sink in colander and pat dry roughly with a dish towel.  Rinse and refill the sink with the hottest water your tap will produce, add the other half a cup of vinegar and all the the jars and lids completely separated.  They can soak while you make the marmalade.  
*This sanitizes the jars and tempers the glass. WEEEEEEEE!
 
 
Set up a large cutting board and place a rolled up dish towel on both of the long sides. Orange juice is going to start to take over your life at this point and the towels will help you avoid too much of the juice pouring all over the floor.  Just like absorbent bumpers.
Using your sharpest knife, cut the ends from all the oranges and set aside.  You will be splitting this recipe between two pots for safety.  I would count out your oranges in advance so you know half the recipe is going into each pot.

  

Just for the fun of it I took the orange ends and spread them out on a cookie sheet, sprinkled them with cinnamon and cloves and put them in a 200 degree oven to dry out.  The smell is AMAZING!!!!! Just set a timer for about an hour and a half to remind yourself to pull them out.

NOW- 

Slice each orange into the thinnest slices you can manage without being scared you will cut yourself.  Stack each sliced orange and quarter the slices.

 

Add them to a pot.  Remember half of your oranges in one pot and half in the other.

*Once you are done, attempt to harness the river of orange juice left behind before it dries.  I can not emphasize how fast "THE STICKINESS" sets in.  If I stood still too long, I'm sure I would have been stuck to my kitchen floor all night.  

And "THE STICKINESS"is about to get worse...........in a good way.

Add six cups of spring or filtered water to both pots.  Add the zest and juice of one lemon to each pot (no seeds).  Skin and chop ginger and add half to each pot.

 
You will NOT be adding the sugar yet.   Bring the pots of orange, lemon juice and zest and water to a boil. Let it boil for about 10 minutes.  Skim the top to remove dark orange foam (this can contain left over dirt or contaminates).  At this point your whole kitchen and house will smell like ambrosia. 

  

After 10 minutes of boiling reduce to heavy simmer for 45 minutes to one hour until peels are soft enough to cut through with a spoon.  The water in the pot will have reduced.

 

NOW ADD THE SUGAR!!!! A four pound bag to each pot.  And stir to break up any big lumps of sugar.  Now bring it back up to a boil and insert the candy thermometer into one pot and leave it there.  
*Make sure it does not directly touch the bottom of the pot because it will not read accurately.
Place a small dish into your freezer.  You will use this dish to test if the marmalade is done once it reaches temp.

  

MUCHO IMPORTANTE!!!! Have a pair of oven oven mitts on hand.  If the mixture starts to boil up to the edge, pull off heat and reduce heat slightly until the mixture boils but does not rise to the top of the pot.
DO NOT TOUCH MIXTURE AND DO NOT LEAVE THE ROOM!

Once mixture hits 224 degrees, let it boil until the mixture turns a golden orange (about 10 to 20 minutes).  After 10 minutes test the mixture by placing a small spoonful on the frozen dish and waiting for 30 seconds.  If it turns into a thick gel-it's done.  If it is watery and runs too easily across the plate then give it more time and test it every five minutes.
Once it is done.  Remove from heat and set aside. Carefully.

Now take a quick break.  Return phonecalls, texts and do some jumpingjacks.  Take five.  Literally.

 

FINALLY!!!  ALMOST DONE!!!
1) Take the third pot and fill it with water and bring it to a simmer.
Remove jars and lids from sink with metal tongs and place on a cutting board covered in a dry towel.  Dip each jar in the simmering water with tongs or wire mesh strainer and count to twenty.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO POUR HOT WATER ON YOURSELF.  Place each jar upside down on towel and dip all the lids together and set them aside on dry towel.

2) Ladle the marmalade into each jar and fill them to just below the lip.  
*You want them as full as they can be with enough room to put on a lid without spilling marmalade over.
Wipe down the outside rim so that once lids are on they will not stick.  Tightly apply lids.  
*You will need to hold the jars with a dish towel as they will be very hot. 

3) Once all jars have their lids screwed on tight, you are going to re-dip them in the scalding water.
Place them in the mesh strainer, make sure they are completely submerged and then count to thirty.  Remove from strainer with towel and dry off the jar completely.  
*If you can fit them, you can do more than one at a time but don't let the jar sit on the bottom of the pot or it may explode.

4) Dry all the jars completely and set them aside overnight to cool off.
*I put mine back in the same box the jars came in to keep them from a draft and keep anyone from touching them.

YAY YOU ARE DONE!  Phew.
 A few things I would like to add:
CONGRATULATIONS! THIS WAS NOT AN EASY PROJECT!
The clean up is easier than it looks.  Just soak everything in warm water.
FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS you will hear little "POPS" as the lids on the jars create their seals.  This means they can be kept on your shelf FOREVER! 
Once you open a jar, keep it in the refrigerator.

You can put this on toast, mix it in cocktail or bake it in cookies or cakes.  Add it to maple syrup and put it on pancakes.  Mix it with your afternoon tea! 

Now go relax you earned it!  TTFN.