This deliciously tangy, Simple Shredless Orange Marmalade is easy to make and doesn’t require any specialist equipment.
It can be made all year round with ordinary oranges and a lemon. You can even leave the shreds in if you prefer!
If you loved Robertson’s Golden Shredless Marmalade as a child or still love it now, then this is the perfect preserve for your breakfast table!
Background
I like recipes to be simple and straightforward and had therefore never got around to making marmalade back in 2014 when I developed this recipe.
I’d had this preconceived notion that you needed a muslin bag and Seville oranges at the very least.
So, after a Twitter chat with Sarah Churchill over at The Artisan Kitchen, I discovered that you can make marmalade out of ordinary oranges and not just Sevilles!
If you’ve never made marmalade before then I think Simple Shredless Orange Marmalade is the perfect recipe to start.
This marmalade can’t actually go wrong because even if your orange and lemon rinds haven’t quite softened enough (gone totally pulpy) it doesn’t matter as you’re not eating them but discarding.
You may be shocked by the amount of sugar in marmalade as it’s double the number of grams of fruit! Don’t be alarmed, this much sugar is normal for marmalade which is different from jam which often has a 1:1 ratio of fruit to sugar.
My family loves my Simple Shredless Orange Marmalade which is both sharp and tangy so I’m sure you’ll love it too!
Can you leave the orange and lemon peel in?
Yes, you can leave the sliced lemon and orange peel in the marmalade if that’s your preference and make a classic Orange Marmalade. You could also make a mixture of shredless and with shreds marmalade.
What types of oranges can you use to make Orange Marmalade?
You can use any oranges, I used Jaffa oranges but you can use Seville oranges (usually available in January) or even blood oranges.
Just make sure that your oranges are fresh and flavourful for the best-tasting marmalade.
Ingredients
Oranges – unwaxed preferable and as fresh as possible.
Lemon – adds tang. Again, unwaxed is preferable.
Granulated sugar – no need for jam sugar as plenty of pectin in the orange and lemon rinds.
How to make Shredless Orange Marmalade (brief summary)
- Pierce a hole in the end of the oranges and lemon.
- Place them in a pan with water and boil for 1 ¾ hrs under a lid.
- Once fruit can easily be pierced with a skewer, cut into quarters, remove pips, and slice up.
- Add cooking water and fruit pulp to a pan and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and add sugar, stirring to dissolve.
- Once sugar is dissolved, bring the pan to a rolling boil and time for 13 minutes or until 105C is reached on a digital thermometer.
- Test a few drops on a chilled saucer to see if the setting point has been reached, the jam should slightly crinkle when pushed with a finger.
- If not boil for another 2 minutes at a time until set reached.
- Place a large sieve over a bowl and pour marmalade in to strain out the shreds (or skip this step to keep shreds).
- Push any scum to the side of the pan and remove it with a metal spoon.
- Pot up marmalade into hot jars and screw lids on immediately.
How long will Shredless Marmalade keep?
This orange marmalade is shelf-stable and is best eaten within 12 months.
It will, however, keep for years if stored in a cool, dry, dark place.
Once opened, store it in the fridge, where it will keep for several months.
Serving Suggestions for Shredless Orange Marmalade
This child-friendly marmalade can be used in so many more ways due to being shredless.
- Use as a breakfast preserve spread on sourdough toast, croissants, crumpets etc.
- Stir into porridge or yogurt.
- Add to cakes and cookies such as my Chocolate Chip Marmalade Cakes.
- Use in desserts eg Marmalade Bread & Butter Pudding.
- Use as a glaze for joints such as Marmalade Glazed Gammon.
- Stir into gravy.
- Shake into a Marmalade Cocktail.
More Breakfast & Orange Preserves
For more breakfast preserve ideas check out the following:
- Pumpkin & Ginger Jam
- Peach & Apricot Jam
- Granny’s Quick Lemon Curd
- Granny’s Quick Blood Orange Curd
- Mirabelle Plum Jam
- Easy Kumquat Jam
Do leave a comment and rating below when you’ve made this recipe as I love getting your feedback! You can also share your pictures by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram.
Pin Simple Shredless Orange Marmalade for later!
NB: Recipe originally published 13/03/2022 and updated 22/9/2023
Simple Shredless Orange Marmalade (or with shreds)
Equipment
- 1 Preserving pan or similar sized pan
- 1 Slotted spoon
- 1 long wooden spoon
- 1 Metal sieve
- 1 jam funnel
- 1 ladle
- 4 x 280 ml Jam jars and lids (or your choice of sizes)
Ingredients
- 670 grams oranges I used Jaffa
- 1 lemon weighing about 125 grams
- 1.59 kilograms granulated sugar can be warmed in oven to speed dissolving
- 1.15 litres water
Instructions
- Before you start, place 2 saucers in the freezer and sterilise jars (see notes).
- Wash the oranges and lemon to get rid of the wax coating (if not using unwaxed fruit). I use a dab of washing up liquid and rub all over each fruit, rinse with boiling water and then rub with a scouring sponge until clear, then give a final rinse.
- Pierce a hole in the end of the oranges and lemon (I used a large metal skewer).
- Place the fruit and water in as small a pan as they will fit and cover with a lid.
- Bring to the boil and then boil gently until soft (about 1 ¾ hrs) and test with a skewer. Do not lift the lid at any point before the end.
- When the fruit is easily pierced with a skewer remove from pan with a slotted spoon. Cut fruit it into quarters, remove pips and slice thinly.
- Transfer the hot liquid to a large preserving pan and add the cut up pulp.
- Place a few saucers in the freezer to test for set.
- Bring the liquid and pulp to the boil, then turn down heat to low and add the sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolved (until no crunching sounds can be heard).
- Then bring mixture to a rolling boil and time for 13 minutes (or reaches 105°C on a digital thermometer), still stirring. You can tell when jam is nearing readiness as a drop of marmalade will cling to wooden spoon as you pour it off.
- Test a few drops on a chilled saucer and put in the fridge for 30 seconds. If it forms a gel like crinkle when pushed it is ready. Otherwise carry on boiling for 2 minutes intervals and re-testing (mine took 15 minutes).
- Strain the marmalade through a large metal sieve placed over a clean bowl, squeezing the rinds with the back of a spoon. Or skip this step for marmalade with shreds.
- Push any scum to the side of the pan and remove with a metal spoon.
- Use a ladle and jam funnel (if you have one) to fill the hot sterilised jars and screw on lids immediately.
- Makes at just over 3 x 280 ml (9 oz) jars.
Claire
Rather than do the set test, is there a temperature that should be reached?
Camilla
Hi Claire, officially the setting temperature of marmalade/jam is 105C but the type of set you like is a personal thing so I would be inclined to test on a chilled saucer from 104C.
Maria
My first time making marmalade and this was so good, the recipe was easy to follow and hubby loved it. I even added some gin to the left over rind – yum! Many thanks for yet another fab recipe.
Camilla
So glad you like the recipe Maria, I must make some soon myself:-)
Rosemary Ogilvie
I like this recipe for simplicity. But I have to ask: you do realise Seville oranges are used for a reason? Unlike ordinary sweet oranges, Sevilles have a sour/bitter taste that gives the marmalade that special edge.
Camilla
Thank you Rosemary. If Sevilles were available all year I’m sure I’d have use them, so that’s why I asked a professional small scale marmalade manufacturer (Sarah or Artisan Kitchen) if one could use normal oranges and she said you could. I think it’s nice to be able to use a more common ingredient when the specialist one isn’t available and in turn share that knowledge. Nothing stopping people using Sevilles in this recipe, it is after all just a starting place and once it enters people’s homes it takes on new life. A mangled requote of Nigel Slater:-)
J brooks
Great find so simple and easy great instructions too fantastic thanks for sharing
Camilla
Thank you so much, so glad you like the recipe:-)
Jen
Yes I’m making another batch now but adding a little single malt as I’m making it for Christmas gifts when would you suggest I add it when I’m making jams I add it at the point I put it in the jars
Camilla
I’ve only used alcohol in my Rhubarb & Gin Jam where I added it from the start but you can also add alcohol at the end I’ve seen. I imagine it has more of a hit and more alcoholic if added at the end.
Kenny Corris
First time with Marmalade, but this recipe was easy to follow and tastes wonderful. Having just been given 20 kilos of freshly picked oranges and with lemons growing on the tree outside the house, all I had to buy was the sugar! Thank you.
Camilla
Excellent Kenny, so glad you liked the recipe and that you had success with your first marmalade:-)
Rita Nicoll
Thank you for your advice Camilla, I had done something wrong on hindsight I didn’t add a lemon and on doing g further research I realised the lemon juice is the setting agent, once I had rebooted with the juice of the lemon it has set. And it now have a happy husband thanks again.
Camilla
Aah, great, it’s not easy to trouble shoot on the other end of a computer:-) Glad you figured it out and saved your marmalade and your husband’s taste buds:-)
Rita Nicoll
I I made the marmalade and had to continue boiling for a further 3 minutes and it hasn’t set can you please tell me where I have gone wrong. Thank you my husband is so disappointed as we cannot buy shreddless marmalade here in Spain.
Camilla
Hi Rita, you just keep boiling and testing every 3 minutes, maybe less towards the end until your marmalade forms a crinkle, you don’t stop after 3 extra minutes. So you haven’t done anything wrong. If you’ve potted it up just pop it back in the pan and continue boiling and testing until it’s ready. Good luck!
Janet Matthews
wow What an awesome recipe, so easy you can’t go wrong .
Going to make more than one batch that’s for sure.
Thank you thank you .
Camilla
Yay, so glad you like the recipe, thank you for your feedback:-)
Jan King
Would this recipe convert easily to make a lemon and line shredless marmalade please.
Camilla
I can’t say for sure as I haven’t done that, but the only thing I could think that would be different is that oranges yield more juice than limes weight for weight.
Philippa
I have tried a number of shredless marmalade recipes and none have been very successful – until I found this one! I had to make it over 2 evenings as I have an Aga which tends to run out of enough steam if you use the hottest hob for long periods of time, so I did the 1.75 hours simmering one day and then the remaining 12-15 mins the next. Works really well and I’m very happy! I used slightly less sugar as we like it slightly less sweet and it was still fine and thickened really easily.
Camilla
So happy you like my recipe Philippa, thank you for leaving your feedback it means a lot:-)