Although I have a jam thermometer, I like to be doubly sure of a set, so I do the wrinkle test too. I put 2 small plates into the freezer at the start so I can test for the setting point as soon as I need to. Steve Kendall on Working hard on the cottage My heart sank when I read the words "put the cottage on the market", felt very sad for you. Our cottage too will become my wife's pension after I've g… Tie up the muslin from corner to corner and add the muslin pouch to the pan – it is the white pith that contains a lot of the pectin in the fruit, which is what makes the marmalade set. Scrub the limes and lemons to remove any wax. Put the fruit in a large heavy bottomed saucepan with a tight fitting lid and cover with the 4 pints of water. Put the lid on and bring to simmering point. Then turn the heat down very low and slip a piece of aluminium foil under the lid to ensure a good seal.

She was heroic and made a vast batch of Oxford style marmalade every year for the family. I never wanted to be a hero. Just dreamt of making a great marmalade without fuss. Towards the end of the simmering time pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3, 325°F (170°C). Pour the sugar into a roasting tin, lined with foil, and place it in the oven to warm gently for 10 minutes. At this point pop the saucers into the freezing compartment of the fridge. Add 450ml of the poaching liquid to the pips and flesh in the saucepan and simmer this for 45 minutes. Place a saucer in the freezer. Pour soaked fruit into a large wide based saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Somehow I have to find time for my other projects which revolve around renewable energy and trying to revive technology and medical treatments which have been hidden by the bad guys.Pour the juice/water into the preserving pan and push the muslin bag down into the peel and liquid. Cover and leave to soak overnight to help soften the shreds. Although I’ve made plenty of jam before, I absurdly pleased with my first marmalade. Thank you, again, for sharing. Now, which one to make next….?!

For me it’s all about God’s larder and finding wonderful things to cook for the family and friends. It really doesn’t get any better than that does it! Peel the zest from the limes and the lemon, using a potato peeler (it is easiest to do this from top to bottom, rather than trying to peel around the fruit horizontally). You will get a thin layer of pith attached to the zest, but that’s fine, it will just dissolve. The heavy rain storms played played havoc with my cherries this year, lost the bloomin’ lot which was really a bore!Juice the fruit and pour the juice with the water into a large, lidded pan with a capacity of 7 litres. Remove the inner membranes and pips from the fruit with a sharp knife. Leave the pith attached to the peel. Put the membranes into a food processor or mini-chopper and chop finely. Simmer very gently for 2.5 hours until the lemons are soft. Remove the lemons with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add the juice to the water, and place the pips and any bits of pith that cling to the squeezer on the square of muslin (laid over a dish or cereal bowl first). Now cut the lemon and lime peel into quarters with a sharp knife, and then cut each quarter into thinnish shreds. As you cut, add the shreds to the water and any pips or spare pith you come across should go on to the muslin. Using a very sharp knife, shred the zest into very thin strips. If you prefer, you could cut it into larger pieces and put them into a mini food processor – it will taste exactly the same, but the finished marmalade won’t look quite so pretty. Put the shredded zest into your saucepan. The next day, slowly bring the pan to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the peel is very soft. If you don’t have a sugar thermometer or if you want to be doubly sure of a set, put a couple of small plates in the freezer (see Cherie’s tips, right).

Remove the pan from the heat and give the marmalade one last skim. Leave to stand for 15 minutes – this ensures the peel is evenly distributed throughout the preserve (see Tips).Today Rose’s put all sorts of crap in their marmalade, presumably to increase shelf life, all of which is totally unnecessary and could not possibly have been in the original 1930’s recipe. Living in a town where oranges are one of the main crops is an ongoing trial for me – even the shade trees in our main shopping streets are Seville orange. When I first lived in Turkey, I lived in a place called Turunc, which is the Turkish word for bitter oranges – you couldn’t make it up!

Just before the marmalade reaches setting point it moves from forming thousands if tiny bubbles to a much more gloopy boil. When the marmalade has reached setting point let it stand for 12 minutes to enable the slices of lemon and lime to sit evenly in the jars. Then stir well and using a ladle and a funnel pour into hot sterilised jars and seal immediately. If your peel wants to rise to the top of the jars keep on turning the jars every ten minutes or so and the peel will settle evenly distributed within the jar.So over the years, I’ve devised a simple system that makes making marmalade easy and straightforward. I always poach the fruit the night before I make the marmalade. This means that the next day you are half way through the process already. Best of all the softened skins of the citrus fruits are a doddle to cut. I also heat sterilise my jars by placing them on a large baking tray in the oven and keeping them on the tray when pouring the marmalade into the hot jars. Most marmalade drips are caught on the tray. If there’s a stretch between the jars and the preserving pan, I make a newspaper bridge to protect the gap. Simple. This is a zingy marmalade that can be made at any time of year – a sweet gel with tangy strands of lemon and lime. Be warned it’s very moreish – whilst Danny was on a conference call this morning I slathered it on slice after slice of toast. A jar of this superb marmalade would be a perfect in a Christmas hamper or just produced with a flourish as a present for someone very special. A few jars kept at home on a larder shelf would give you a taste of summery freshness during those short dark winter days. Add the rinsed slices of lime and lemon and the bicarbonate of soda to the poaching liquid and bring the liquid to up to gentle simmering point. Add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved completely. It is important to make sure that this has happened as undissolved crystals can ruin the marmalade. Tip: Initially the undissolved sugar makes a scraping sound like sand on the bottom of the saucepan. When you think that it is dissolved there should be no crystals left on your wooden spoon when you’ve scraped the bottom of the pan. Veronica on Working hard on the cottage We are still happily settled in our little house in France, but have taken to spending a few months in Spain in the winter. At first we tried differen… Your recipe, like my own is just lime juice, pulp, pips, finely cut peel, sugar and water. I can leave it in the cellar for years and my chums are always delighted when I give them a pot. No need for additives, colourings, E this and E that nonsense!