Orange Marmalade Jelly

*coooooough* *hack* *SNEEZE* 

It's been a mighty sick few weeks around here. First, The Bean caught something at day care. She was sick for 2 and half weeks. Then she gave it to me. I am still sick and have passed it on to Mr. S. We're quite a sight now, let me assure you. The cough drop wrappers are almost visible from the windows. 

But before then - before the plague came upon us - we made marmalade. 

Well. It was supposed to be marmalade. Having never made marmalade before, we let it go a hair to long and it became jelly. Not that I'm complaining. The thicker it is, the higher you can pile it. 

Perhaps I should crack open a jar right now and pile it high on a piece of toast. Oranges are supposed to help cure colds, right?

And why did we make marmalade? 

Well, our tree got ripe!

Mr. S is taken ladies. This orange picker belongs to moi. *Miss Piggy hair toss*

Once we got the beautiful oranges (and a few lemons too),

There was slicing to be done. Use a mandolin, with a safety glove, and the work goes much faster. 

Into the pot they go, with a bit of water, for a 5 minute simmer. Then they sit overnight. That's when the magic elves make merry in the jam pot. 

The next day, back up to a boil and add a ton of sugar. Well, just cup for cup of your orange mixture. Still a lot of sugar. 

After that, it boils again. Just to the point where it's almost jelly. Remove from the heat quickly.

Pour into cleaned and boiled glass jam jars. 

Secure the lids to finger-tip tight and then process (aka, put in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes).

They are now ready to sit on the shelves of your friends and family until devoured. Refrigerate after opening, of course. 

Orange Marmalade Jelly
From the Ball Blue Book guide to preserving

5 medium-large oranges
2 lemons
1 1/2 qts water
white sugar (buy a big bag)
12 glass jelly jars with lids

Wash the oranges and lemons. Using a mandolin, slice the oranges and lemons into thin slices, removing seeds as you go. Place fruit into a large stew pot and add 1 1/2 quarts of water. Simmer for 5 minutes. Cover, and let sit overnight. The next day, bring to a boil and cook until peel is tender. Measure out the fruit/liquid. Add 1 cup of sugar for every cup of fruit stuff. All goes back in the pot and gets well stirred. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir constantly. Cook until almost at the gelling point (gelling point is 8 degrees above boiling, so you're looking for 6 degrees) or to the gelling point if you like a more jelly-like spread. Remove from heat and ladle into hot, just boiled jars. Screw lids on to finger tight and then process in boiling water for 10 minutes to secure the lids. 

Gratuitous Bean Photo!