My wife is the jelly jam authority in our house but she just refuses to double recipes. She says it isn't just a matter of doubling the ingredients but the difference in the jelly temp cooking time required for the larger pot that causes her the problems. It just never sets. And since setting is a problem with all marmalades anyway it isn't worth the risk to here.

Try is once but she suggests using a thermometer and doing a freezer test too.

As for floating peels, letting it cool more so it is thicker and better distributed peels before filling the jars helps some. She says inverting the jars a few times as they cool also helps. Otherwise we just stir up the jar after opening.

Dave

I was just going to say the same. The bigger the quantity the harder it is to get the temperature up to setting point. There is also the problem of having a pan big enough to accommodate the rising contents when it is at a full rolling boil. That said I usually make mine with a kilo (2.2lb) of fruit and a kilo of sugar. I have a large preserving pan and a large wok burner but it is still sometimes a struggle and I need to put a tray over the pan to raise the temperature. I also use a jam thermometer.

Thank you both! I don't think pan size will be an issue. I have a giant maslin pan in which I did an 8 jar kumquat orange marmalade on the same day. Frankly, the 3 jar lemon marmalade seemed a bit puny in the pan!

I make marmalade this way: Mandolin thin and chop in 8ths, removing seeds. Add sugar and water and let stand overnight or more, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Bring to boil and cook on med-hi stirring often, to 220F, for me it takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour. It will change color to richer not darker and reduces by about 1/4 of original volume. If it darkens a lot the heat is too high and you will have gum. And, It may take a week to set up after jarring, so be patient. My combo: 7 oranges, 3 lemons, 8C sugar, 8C water makes 8 half pint jars.

I am interested that you add the sugar before you have cooked the peel. Everything I have read says that makes the peel tough. And the one time I did it myself it certainly did. Can you clarify what you mean by 'mandolin thin and cut in 8ths'? At what stage do you cut up the peel?

Nancy, I also let my marmalade macerate overnight before making jam, and I have a pear preserves recipe that calls for the same technique. I have taken your advice and thinly sliced the fruit with a mandoline, then chopped into pieces. I tried just chopping it up in the food processor but I like the look of the longer shreds of peel.

I combat the "floating peel/fruit" problem by bringing the marmalade up to temperature (and I ALWAYS use the frozen plate test, no matter what my thermometer says), then turning off the heat and waiting 5 minutes before ladling into jars. Carol/Readinglady suggested this and it does help. If I still have floating peel I rotate the jars carefully while they are setting up, to distribute the peels back into the jam.

I normally do not double jam recipes either, for reasons above. I'm seldom successful. Your batch is so small, though, that I'd probably try to double, and see how it goes.

Annie

Thanks everyone!

Vivian Lloyd writes the following and I quote: "A marmalade with true fruit flavour, a bright colour, tender peel and a
gelled consistency calls for a balanced recipe. The best ones have
double the weight of sugar to citrus fruit and sufficient water to
soften the peel, preferably 2.25 litres for each 1kg of fruit". Her process is to juice the fruit and cut the peel. The membranes are removed after juicing, and cut fine, then put in cheesecloth with any seeds and boiled with the peel/juice/water for 2 hours at a simmer with the lid on. Only then, when the peel is soft, do you add the sugar and boil as hard as you can stand (given the size of your pot and level of lava eruptions). I have used this on my last 12 batches (I have a small jam business) and find it really works well.

In answer to your question about doubling, this method makes about 6-7, 250 ml jars of marmalade. In terms of how long it takes to get a big volume to the right temp, I am at 3300 feet above sea level, so it takes a longer cooking time to get a set than Vivian Lloyd suggests. I am thinking as she lives in the UK, it is unlikely she is much above sea level.

P.S. Never use navel oranges. Or perhaps it's the ones we get up here in Canada. They have very low in pectin which could be a problem if you are depending on them alone for a set.