France · Sweet Dishes · Vegetarian

Marmalade

Name: Marmalade
Prep time: 9 min
Cook time: 21 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 500 g fruit purée; 400 g sugar; 10 g gelatin or pectin; 1 tbsp lemon juice

Homemade marmalade is a delightful example of creating a real treat with simple ingredients — fruit purée set with gelatin or pectin into bite-sized jewels.

30 min 180 kcal 10 serves Easy🌿Vegetarian🇫🇷France★★★★★4.7· 6 reviews

Ingredients

ServingsMetric

500 gfruit purée
400 gsugar
10 ggelatin or pectin
1 tbsplemon juice

Note from Sergei

Sergei Martynov

“Making marmalade is an exercise in patience and understanding pectin — the natural gelling agent in citrus peel and pips. The peel must be sliced thin and cooked long in water before adding sugar, because sugar toughens the peel and stops it from softening. Always add the juice of a lemon for extra acidity, which helps pectin gel properly. The setting point is 105°C on a candy thermometer, but the old-fashioned wrinkle test is more reliable: drop a spoonful on a cold plate, wait 30 seconds, push with your finger — if it wrinkles, it's done. Under-cooked marmalade is syrup; over-cooked is rubber.”

Soak the sliced peel in water overnight — this dramatically reduces cooking time the next day and extracts more pectin. Save all the pips in a muslin bag and boil them with the peel for maximum gel strength.

Method

Prepare the purée: peel fruit, remove seeds, cook with a little water until soft. Strain through a sieve or blend.
In a saucepan, mix fruit purée and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Add gelatin or pectin (pre-diluted if required by instructions) and cook, stirring, for 5-10 minutes until viscous.
Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice.
Pour into molds or onto a parchment-lined baking tray and spread evenly. Leave at room temperature for a few hours (or overnight) to set.
Once set, remove from molds and cut into bite-sized pieces. Dip in sugar or coconut shavings if desired. Refrigerate until fully set.

FAQ

Gelatin gives a soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture but cannot be boiled. Pectin (plant-based) gives a firmer, chewier texture like classic marmalade sweets — it can be boiled and holds its shape at room temperature. For candy-style marmalade, pectin is preferred.

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Comments (1)

Sergei Martynov✍ Author
29d ago
This marmalade rewards patience. The cooling or setting time is there for a structural reason — cutting corners creates a result that looks the same but tastes disappointing. Let it rest fully.