I made it!!!

My first batch of marmalade: 17/3/12

2pm, on Saturday the 17th of March, I embarked on my challenge and at 7pm, the above was the result: 3 jars of Seville Orange Marmalade!  I am so pleased!!

 I wasn't slaving over the stove for 5 solid hours; I had time for a cup of tea and a short trip to a nearby gift-shop to find a present for my Mum for Mothers' day.  It was very satisfying, but tiring too.
I started off by juicing oranges and scraping the pith and pips into a bowl to keep for flavour.  Next task was to cut orange peel into strips and then the exciting part - all the juice went into a pan with the water, pith and pips in a muslin cloth tied to the handle, soaking in the juice to add to the citrus flavour.
It's all fairly straightforward until it gets to the crucial 'setting-point' - where you have to get the mixture just right  or you will end up with runny liquid (if you stop the boiling too soon) or hard stuff (if you leave it to boil for too long) - aargh!!  All this was happening with my dog and 3 children running around, and Felix (my eldest son) deciding that he would like to make leek soup for supper - a lovely idea but perhaps not what I needed when going through the tricky process of making marmalade for the first time.

Although I won't be able to live on homemade marmalade or manage to make it too often considering the time and attention it needs, it has made me reflect on how lovely it is to make things myself and that this challenge of living on a shoestring has just made me spend more time cooking and baking and making things by hand, which then slows the day down and makes me appreciate the simple things in life - a good change.