We are exceptionally at La Soleiade in February this year! Our good friend and neighbor convinced us late last year to come in February to enjoy truffle season. We don’t usually come during the cold winter months as our old ‘mas’ was cold inside and the weather outside is pretty iffy, but if you read my last post, you know that we put in a fireplace 2 years ago and so now we can enjoy warm evenings with a cracking fire to stave off any cold.

The other good reason to be in France in February is that it is the month that the Seville oranges / bitter oranges are ripe. Seville or bitter oranges are what give classis orange marmalade its wonderful flavor.

As we are lucky to have these orange trees at La Soleiade, I took on the arduous task of making marmalade today. Every time that I make it, I always say “I am never doing this again”. Then, I taste it and I am so proud that I made it, I am inspired to take on the task again!

The fun part is picking the oranges from your own tree, but then the work begins. For my recipe, I needed to juice about 30 oranges. Then, you need to peel and cut the thin strips of orange peel that you find in all marmalades – this takes quite some time. Then, you take the seeds and pulp from the squeezed oranges and make a sac of cheesecloth to put in the mixture – these parts are what have the natural pectin. Add the sugar and then cook it all for about an hour or so. I can my marmalade so after it is ready it needs to be add to canning jars, boiled and then set aside to cool.