Orange Marmelade with Chili

Recipe for a very delicious, non-bitter orange marmelade with chili

Ingredients for 20 180 ml jars

• 2.5 kg organic oranges (the best quality that you can find)
• 2.5 kg sugar
• 250 ml water
• Juice of one lemon
• Chili at your own discretion (in our case 3 fresh Habanero chillies, which we removed after 30 minutes)

Preparation:

Wash and separate the oranges into quarters. We use organic oranges from Italy, not bitter oranges like in the original recipe. The bitter taste of normal oranges is perfectly adequate in our opinion. We cut the oranges into approx. 2 mm wide slices with a very sharp knife. Alternatively, you can use a sharp planer or a food processor.

Put all the ingredients in a large pot and let them simmer at a low heat with the lid on for approx. 3 hours.

After 30 minutes we removed the 3 Habanero chilies to ensure that the orange marmelade is not too spicy.

Let it stand for 24 hours. On the following day, gently bring the orange marmelade to the boil. Caution: Stir regularly, otherwise the contents may burn. If this happens, immediately transfer the contents to a different pot. The burnt pieces on the bottom of the old pot will only transmit a slightly burnt flavour.

When the orange marmelade has boiled, perform a setting test. Since the orange peel contains pectin, no gelling sugar needs to be used. Put one tablespoon of marmelade on a plate and place it in the fridge for several minutes. If it becomes solid, then the marmelade can be put in the jars. Orange marmelade is never completely solid, instead it is rather viscous. Sterilise the jars with hot water or heat them for 15 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees. Fill the glasses with marmelade, tighten the lids and turn the jars upside down. Excess marmelade on the jars can be washed off with some lukewarm water. It is best to do so when the jars are no longer hot, but lukewarm.