Thick-cut Marmalade

Make your own home-made marmalade.

Ingredients

Method
Wash the fruit, removing the stalk ends, and put into a large saucepan.
Cover with the water and bring to the boil.
Simmer gently with the lid on the pan till the fruit is soft enough to pierce with a fork, which will take from 2-3 hours.
Remove the pan from the heat, and leave until the fruit is cool enough to handle.
If it's more convenient, you can let the oranges get quite cold and continue marmalade making the next day.
The next operation is a messy one, so do it on a very large board, or on a board sitting on a large bowl.
Cut each orange in half, scoop the seeds back into the pan in which the fruit was cooked, and slice the tender peel into small chips, using a sharp knife.
Unfortunately electric slicers tend to reduce the peel to pulp, so this has to be done by hand.
Boil the water with the pips for 10 minutes, to extract the pectin, then strain the liquid into a preserving pan.
Add the sugar, the lemon juice and the sliced peel with its juices.
Stir over moderate heat until the sugar is completely dissolved, then boil rapidly until setting point is reached (approximately 20 minutes).
Leave to cool for 20-30 minutes, until a thin skin begins to form on the surface of the marmalade.
Stir gently to distribute the peel. (If you pot it while it's still very hot, the peel will rise to the surface.)
Ladle into pots, and cover immediately with discs of waxed or greaseproof paper. Tie down at once.