High Fructose Corn Syrup Free Orange Marmalade
Store-bought marmalade almost always contains high fructose corn syrup hiding in plain sight on the label, which makes finding a clean jar genuinely frustrating. This homemade version uses nothing but fresh citrus, water, and plain granulated sugar — exactly the kind of transparency that makes cooking from scratch so satisfying. The process is a proper old-school preserve: you simmer the peel until it turns tender and translucent, coax natural pectin out of the pith and seeds using a cheesecloth bundle, and boil the whole thing to a glossy, jewel-toned set. That frozen-plate wrinkle test is one of those small kitchen rituals that feels almost magical when it works. The finished marmalade has that perfect balance of bitter, sweet, and bright that no commercial jar ever quite nails. Sealed properly in a water bath, you'll have shelf-stable jars ready to spread on toast, swirl into yogurt, or glaze a roast for months to come.
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Learn more →Ingredients
48 servings
- 2 lbs navel or seville oranges (about 4 medium), scrubbed
- 2 lemons, scrubbed
- 8 cups water
- 6 cups granulated sugar
Instructions
- 1
Halve all the oranges and lemons. Squeeze the juice from each half into a large heavy-bottomed pot (at least 8-quart), catching the seeds and any loose pulp in a fine-mesh strainer set over the pot. Transfer the seeds and strained pulp to a double layer of cheesecloth; set the squeezed halves aside.
- 2
Using a spoon, scrape the white pith and any remaining pulp from the inside of each squeezed orange and lemon half and add it to the cheesecloth bundle — this pith is rich in natural pectin and is essential for the set. Tie the cheesecloth into a secure bundle with kitchen twine, leaving a long tail to tie to the pot handle.
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