Marmalade

[Erichalfbee]

Has anybody a nice recipe for marmalade using honey?
Thanks.

 

[JamezF]

Now there's an interesting idea. It's got to be tried. If you get no direct recommendations, perhaps this might be as good a place to start as any:

Easy honey marmalade - The Apiarist

James

 

[Jimmy]

I tried following David Evans's advice here
https://theapiarist.org/tag/marmalade/but I didn't enjoy the result but that could well have been due to user error.
I normally follow Dan Lepard's recipe which IIRC is 1:2:2 fruit:sugar:water. Using David Evans's rule of thumb that 5lb honey is 4lb sugar and 1lb water you could amend accordingly. I'd want to avoid excessive boiling so would be cautious with adding any water.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/medium-cut_seville_70291

 

[fian]

Has anybody a nice recipe for marmalade using honey?
Thanks.

It depends on how runny and sweet you want in the end result. The sweetness equivalency between sugar and honey is 4/3 with one serving of water added. To make it clear, 4 parts of sugar have the same degree of sweetness as 3 parts of honey with an increase in the liquid fraction (1/5 of the volume) since sugar is generally measured dry.
It also depends on the degree of ripeness of the fruit that I used and the fruit itself. More acidic and green fruits will need a greater amount to obtain the same sweetness point.
I recommend that you start some tests with a ratio of 2 fruit to 1 honey. Add 1/2 pint of beer and let steep overnight. Then cook the mixture (low heat and constant stirring) until it acquires an amber hue and the water has evaporated.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Just made some. Will last me and the family a couple of years.
Recipe has developed from a standard marmalade recipe reducing the water to allow for 20% water in the honey.
Family like it. Gutsy stuff. Probably the amount of HMF !
(quantities in original recipe with sugar)

3lbs seville oranges
3 lemons
2 1/2 pints water (5 pints water)
11 lb honey (9 lb sugar)

Makes 12lb marmalade. As it is boiling it will fill a maslin pan.

I'm guessing you don't want the whole process of boiling (90mins ish), pips and pith in a muslin bag, add honey, boil to setting point (varies, 15-30mins), etc. There's a lot of foam to skim off.

 

[JohnRB]

The easiest way is a tin of Mamade and substitute 5lb of honey for 3/4 pint water and 4lb sugar Very nice and very simple

 

[Erichalfbee]

Great suggestions. Especially the amount of honey I can add. I love the whole slicing of fruit in a warm kitchen thing.

 

[Amari]

Has anybody a nice recipe for marmalade using honey?
Thanks.

What a shame. I've just got back from Seville and could have brought back a hold-all full of windfalls for you!

 

[Erichalfbee]

What a shame. I've just got back from Seville and could have brought back a hold-all full of windfalls for you!
View attachment 34916

What a lovely sight. No....... Morrison's it will have to be
I've worked out a recipe....thanks @Jimmy I didn't realise I could replace all the sugar with honey but it makes sense.
I shall be adding a little whisky

 

[Jimmy]

What a lovely sight. No....... Morrison's it will have to be
I've worked out a recipe....thanks @Jimmy I didn't realise I could replace all the sugar with honey but it makes sense.
I shall be adding a little whisky

Will be interested to hear how it turns out., I've never tried using honey in a fresh seville recipe. My last batch of marmalade was made in late November with frozen sevilles and a grapefruit and was inferior to my normal recipe with a lemon. I picked up some sevilles yesterday (£2.50 per kg, pleasantly surprised that the price hasn't gone higher) and if that batch turns out well I might try a recipe with honey.
My experience with the David Evans recipe was with heather honey and ended up being too syrupy, not setting properly and a unappetising caramel note.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I’ll make a small batch and let you know.

 

[ericbeaumont]

ended up being too syrupy, not setting properly and a unappetising caramel note.

Agree. Got through it, but nothing beats plain. After many years of fiddling, I use a 2-2-4 recipe: 2kg fruit, 2kg sugar, 4litres water. Simmer fruit whole, leave to cool, chop and boil to set. Don't bother with straining the pips; make it asap as early season fruit has few and end of season is full of them.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Honey marmalade is a luxury only a beekeeper would make.

If it takes about a pound of honey per pound of marmalade how much would you sell it for?

. . .. Ben

 

[JamezF]

If it takes about a pound of honey per pound of marmalade how much would you sell it for?

Sell!? Never! It's mine! All mine I tell you!

James

 

[pargyle]

Honey marmalade is a luxury only a beekeeper would make.

If it takes about a pound of honey per pound of marmalade how much would you sell it for?

. . .. Ben

About £8.00 a pound ... say £5.95 for a 12oz jar ?

https://quincehoneyfarm.co.uk/shop/preserves/devon-honey-marmalade-340g/
But it is sold commercially - and the ingredients list sugar and only 8% honey. I make marmalade - but I've never used honey. I think 100% honey might be too much, I think what I would do is half and half sugar and honey (or even 75% sugar and 25% honey) with the usual recipe as you might find that 100% honey does not set as well and there is nothing worse than marmalade that slides off your toast and down your shirt !

Marmalade is hard enough to get to set with 100% sugar the honey might well not react to the pectin as well.

If you go down the honey route in it I would add in some extra pectin. I make my own from boiling down apples, cores, pips, peel - everything, the tarter the apple the better - and then pressing through a fine seive - produces a really good pectin and you can't notice it in jams or marmalade but it does a better job than most of the commercially sold pectin.

I only sell my jams and preserves direct - the food labelling regulations are pretty stringent and whilst weights and measures may largely ignore honey labels I suspect they would be more circumspect about marmalade sold in retail.

I get a premium price for all my preserves as punters know where the ingredients have come from and that there is nothing but fruit and sugar in them ... it's not high margin business, by the time you take into account the time involved and the energy cost, but I make enough out of the sales for my own and my family's needs to be free.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

The batch I made 2 years ago was a bit runny. I boiled it longer this year. Used the wrinkle test on a cold plate and I think it's more set this year but not much.
Squeezed the boiled pulp through a sieve to get as much pectin out but will try making my own pectin. Recipe also suggests leaving cut fruit and pulp overnight to extract more pectin but didn't bother.

and there is nothing worse than marmalade that slides off your toast and down your shirt !

I agree. That's why I like soft set honey.

 

[pargyle]

The batch I made 2 years ago was a bit runny. I boiled it longer this year. Used the wrinkle test on a cold plate and I think it's more set this year but not much.
Squeezed the boiled pulp through a sieve to get as much pectin out but will try making my own pectin. Recipe also suggests leaving cut fruit and pulp overnight to extract more pectin but didn't bother.


I agree. That's why I like soft set honey.

Marmalade is really unpredictable in reaching a setting point ... I've got my set recipe for quantities but the reality is that the Sevilles can vary from year to year and getting a firm but not rock hard set can be a bit hit and miss. It's why I add some apple pectin as it does make it a bit more reliable. A good sugar thermometer helps as well so you can be certain you've actually reached the setting point. The wrinkle test is a good indicator that you have a reasonable set.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Marmalade is really unpredictable in reaching a setting point ... I've got my set recipe for quantities but the reality is that the Sevilles can vary from year to year and getting a firm but not rock hard set can be a bit hit and miss. It's why I add some apple pectin as it does make it a bit more reliable. A good sugar thermometer helps as well so you can be certain you've actually reached the setting point. The wrinkle test is a good indicator that you have a reasonable set.

I did use a regular food thermometer and it was boiling at 107 - 108degC. Didn't really understand what that means though.

 

[pargyle]

I did use a regular food thermometer and it was boiling at 107 - 108degC. Didn't really understand what that means though.

The setting point of jams and marmalades is 104 to 105 degrees ... above this is not going to help your set. What you need is to get it to 104 degrees and then keep it at that temperature (what's called a rolling boil) for a period of time.

Initially, at this temperature, you will see that the bubbles in the jam are smaller and burst very quickly - you are evaporating the water off quite rapidly, after a while the bubbles get larger and the surface of your jam becomes less foamy with bubbles in the surface staying formed for longer. How long this rolling boil needs to be maintained is very dependent upon the water content of the fruit (and any added water) to start with. The Pectin is what holds the retained water in a sort of jelly like form in the final preserve and won't start to act until you reach 104 degrees.

Once you reach a rolling boil you need to test for your setting point regularly - have several plates in the freezer and as you see the bubbles getting more stable start your wrinkle tests - I've had jams that set within a minute or two of reaching the setting point and marmalade that took 45 minutes before a decent set was achieved.

So ... try and avoiding adding excessive water - fruit is 90% water and this is generally enough on it's own. The more water in the original mix the more you will have to boil off.

Boiling anything after setting has been achieved will reduce the flavour and brightness of the preserve ... it will darken marmalade and if your boil is well above 105 degrees it will taste of caramel - you are effectively caramelising the sugars and making fruit flavoured toffee or fudge ! Time at the rolling boil of 105 degrees is the key - not higher temperatures.

Sugar content is critical but bear in mind that some fruits contain a lot of sugar and take this into account.

A good jam thermometer like this that you can clip on the side of the maslen is a really good investment - some even have the setting zones marked in colour or a little pointer you can set at the temp you want to achieve ... BUT ... you have to watch the temperature and adjust the heat to keep your rolling boil.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tala-Therm...ds=jam+thermometer&qid=1673802326&sr=8-5&th=1

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Excellent. Thank you.
This year I got a lot of foam. Maybe temperature too high. Skimmed it off and jarred it.
My marmalade is dark and does have a caramel/tobacco/molasses taste but I like it. I may try half sugar/half honey. (But then I'll have to buy the sugar!!)
. . .. Ben