Warm café au lait, raisin toast kissed with salted butter, and topped with marmalade— this was the weekday breakfast at my grandmother’s house. The smell of toasty cinnamon raisin bread would coax me awake.The promise of “chunks” and hot coffee for dunking lured me from my cozy bed.
At home, I eschewed marmalade in favor of my dad’s preferred strawberry jam. Somehow, the marmalade was always better at my grandmother’s house. It was sweet and tart and excitingly bitter to my young palate. At my grandmother’s house, I wouldn’t have dreamed of choosing any jam other than marmalade.
It’s been more than 30 years since my grandmother died, but all it takes is the whiff of cinnamon and marmalade to bring me back to that big table. It is remarkable how quickly I’m transplanted to a time when my feet dangled and my head was far below the apex of tall-backed dining room chairs.
When I set out to make this batch of blood orange marmalade, I was unprepared for the flood of emotions that struck me as I smelled it bubbling away on the stove. Scent and memory are intertwined in our brains and I am so grateful for the memories of marmalade and raisin toast and coffee and love.
Honey Sweetened Blood Orange Marmalade
I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe for honey-sweetened blood orange marmalade. It’s gluten free & paleo-friendly. The traditional way of making marmalade means soaking and blanching the orange peels to take away the bitterness. I wondered what would happen if I avoided the bitter white pith in the first place. I hypothesized that removing the pith would allow me to skip the blanching and the waiting. That hypothesis was correct.
This blood orange marmalade is so much quicker than the traditional recipe and still shines with the sweet, tart, bitter notes that I love in a great marmalade. It is fantastic on raisin toast and mind-blowing on a crostini with goat cheese, rosemary, and black pepper. I even paired it with a piece of cold roast chicken to great success.
For this recipe, you can mix and match any kind of citrus, though if working with grapefruit or lime, I recommend tempering those sharper flavors with sweet oranges like cara cara. Also, if you’re using grapefruit or lime, go gentle on the peel of those fruits. You can always add more. I have made this marmalade with vanilla bean, with black pepper, and with rosemary. All are equally delicious.
Here’s a little refresher on how to segment citrus.
- ¼ cup blood orange peel, white pith removed
- 3 lbs blood oranges segmented and juiced
- 1 large meyer lemon segmented and juiced
- 1 ¼ cups honey
- 1 vanilla bean (optional)
- pinch of salt
- Add all ingredients to a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium low heat. Reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is mostly evaporated and it easily gels when it hits a cold spoon (about 40 minutes)
Here are some gorgeous recipes using blood oranges
Candied Citrus
Beet and Citrus Salad with Kale and Pistachios
Blood Orange and Blueberry Macaroons
Roasted Salmon with Citrus and Fennel
Small Batch Blood Orange Marmalade
Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Blood Orange Gele
What lovely memories of your grandmother. Amazing ideas to add black pepper and rosemary as well. I’m definitely going to try this recipe.
Thank you Kate! My grandmother, though French, was raised in the UK. I suppose that’s why marmalade played such an important role in breakfast and often at tea time. Cheers!
Sabrina,
It’s odd, but the scent of paper mills and cow manure are what evoke my grandmas. One lived in a town with a mill, and I always associate that smell with her. The other lived on a dairy farm. Now, most people do not care for the smell of a paper mill or cow manure, but to me that’s grandma + love.
I’ve never made marmalade, only jams and chutneys, but I imagine the process is similar. What lovely photos you have–so artistic and also so helpful in conveying the process.
Thanks!
Aw thank you Kirsten. While I can’t say I like the smell of paper mills, I do love the smell of a good clean dairy farm. I agree that smell is like love. Thank you so much for your kind compliments. I hope you’ll try making marmalade. It’s really nothing like the store bought stuff- I suppose just like all the things we love so well. 🙂
ah, I love when foods evoke such strong memories! I have many, and orange marmalade always makes me think of my dad. I will have to make this in his honor <3
That’s so nice, Kristina. So many of my memories are tied to food and time around the table. I suppose that’s what happens when you grow up in a food-loving household. Here’s to your dad. 🙂
I love the color of this marmalade! Looks delicious 🙂
Ah thank you Ashley. I had a couple of blood oranges in this batch that were close to black. Just beautiful.
I’m only a recent convert to marmalade. Honey sounds like the perfect way to go — mellows out the bitter edge nicely.
That’s right, because you don’t love oranges! I always think of that when I have a particularly great orange. I think, I wonder if Sean would like this…
The great thing about this marmalade is that there is no pith, so no bitterness- only the taste of the orange oil and juice 🙂
Thanks so much for linking to my recipe! This marmalade looks perfect! I’ll be whipping up some muffins to smother with this soon!
Naw, I love hearing stories like this- My grandma (she’s currently here from Iran) would have Persian flatbread with feta cheese, salted butter and homemade rosepetal jam every morning.
…..And here in Australia, we give her processed bread and IXL jam. Fail. This looks delicious and I LOVE blood orange!
This marmalade looks delicious, and I love that it is sweetened with honey rather than white sugar. Is this safe for canning? Thanks!
Hi Jane,
I did not develop this as a canning recipe, so I didn’t follow the USDA guidelines. I was actually wondering the same thing since I’d like to make a big batch for canning before citrus is out of season. I will reach out to my canning experts and see what they have to say.
Sabrina
Thanks for your quick reply, Sabrina! If your recipe makes the amount shown in the beautiful photo it’s probably not worth canning anyway…I’ll try it this week, thanks again!
Hi Jane, it makes just about double the amount. I did get word on canning marmalade and was told that marmalade is so acidic that any marmalade recipe should be safe to can.
A great dessert for a party would be to fill ramekins with ricotta that just had a little of this marmalade mixed in, then top the cheese with the marmalade. Good for breakfast too. 🙂
I’ve been mixing Sean’s lime marmalade with ricotta that way and I can’t get enough!
That sounds incredible! I’ve actually been eating it with ricotta and prosciutto or goat cheese and prosciutto. So good.
Confession: I’ve never made a marmalade before. It looks like I need to do it!
That looks so good, I make loads of jam at home but never get round to marmalade, gotta give it a try.
I’ve never tried my hand at making homemade marmalade! I always enjoy it at restaurants, but somehow it’s never occurred to me that I should try it at home. Your recipe seems totally do-able and delish!
That simple breakfast sounds AMAZING! So much so, it’s definitely what we’re having this weekend! I totally agree with you about how food can remind us of times long passed. It’s wonderful how something as simple as marmalade almost helps you connect with your grandmother.
Blood oranges always remind me of my time living in Sicily! This looks delicious and would make a lovely gift too!
What a hearty and yummy way to use blood oranges!
Mmmmmm just the smells of those peeled citruses … heaven. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Would make a great holiday gift, too!