Mummy’s Marmalade/ Orange Jam

Chinese New Year in Malaysia intrigues me with all the customs, traditions and rituals this festival demands.  The food, the decorations, the lion dance all have some kind of significance and I love going to Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur to soak up the atmosphere and be a part of the excited, happy crowd.

Chinese New Year is also called “Spring Festival” and “Lunar New Year” because it comes in the springtime and is dated based on the Chinese lunar calendar. The date fluctuates, from a Western perspective, but comes in either January or February and is celebrated by a quarter of the world’s population.

Read all about it below

https://chinesenewyear.net/
Chinese New Year 2019 and 2020

Two of the most common food symbols of the Chinese New Year are tangerines and oranges. Whereas tangerines represent wealth, oranges are a popular symbol of good luck. The wet markets and stores are full of oranges of different sizes and you can see people buying them by the dozen and more.   Oranges are an absolute must for this festival and are exchanged and given as gifts to family and friends. They are also displayed as decorations around the home.     The Chinese word for mandarin—kam—sounds similar to the word for “gold.” So, having mandarin oranges around the home at New Year is said to bring riches into your life.  Keep in mind that oranges are a traditional favourite and can also represent happiness and abundance, as in an abundant harvest. If there are still leaves and a stem attached to the fruit, it also means fertility.

This is also the time I make Mummy’s Marmalade and orange peel for my Christmas Cake.  My Mum used to make jam throughout the year and we never ever bought jam.  In fact Mummy’s Marmalade become a byword in our family and people look forward to receiving these delectable jams every year.   Marmalades are usually made of citrus fruits and contain pieces of the peel suspended in a transparent jelly and my Mum excelled at making this.  In fact although we did not really liked it as children, we learnt to appreciate it as we grew older.  And my Dad loved eating it with his toast and egg for breakfast every morning.  Mummy’s Marmalade is very easy to make.  All you require is a large box of oranges and a recipe.  Make sure you follow the recipe precisely and you will have a jam worthy of any table in the world.

The Recipe: Mummy’s Marmalade

8 oranges; rind of 2 oranges; 2 limes; 4 cups water

Wash peel and clean fruit.  Discard pith and rind of 4 oranges.  Place seeds in a muslin bag ( to draw out the pectin). Pectin is the glue that sets marmalades and jams to a glossy gel. Slice rind uniformly and very fine.  Place in the pressure cooker with 4 cups water and pressure cook for 15 minutes.  The rind needs to be very soft before adding the sugar as it will not soften any more after the sugar is added. Cool and measure.  For every 3 cups of fruit add 2 cups sugar. Place everything including seeds/pips in a large heavy pan and bring to a boil.  Keep on high heat until it begins to froth.  Lower heat to simmer or jam will over flow.  Boil until jam consistency is reached.  Put quarter teaspoon of jam in a small bowl of cold water and drag a spoon through the mixture. A “set” mixture will hold a clean track behind the spoon.

Remove bag of seeds, squeezing any marmalade in it out and back into the pot before discarding the bag. Take marmalade off the heat and let sit 5 minutes.  Cool and bottle in sterilised jars leaving 1/2 inch of headspace at the top of each jar.  Place a square or round of cling film over the top of each jar. Put lids on the jars.

N.B.  Marmalade will keep a really long, long time.  It is all sugar.

Opened marmalade needs to be in the fridge, but unless you use a dirty spoon in the jar, it seems to last for ever and ever.  At least, that’s my experience with it.

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Recipe and Photographs by Ruth Isaac

Photographs of Marmalade by Anu Elisha