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I grew up making Orange Marmalade the old-fashioned way: soaking citrus overnight and boiling it rigorously to extract the natural pectin in the rind. When you follow my technique, you don’t need to add any store-bought pectin, and you get the best, cleanest-tasting marmalade.
Nearly 1,000 5-star reviews prove this unfussy technique is simple and easy to follow. I also include my handy “cold plate test” so you can know for sure whether your marmalade is done or needs a little bit more time on the stove.
Home cooks everywhere are putting their abundant citrus to use to make their own homemade marmalade, and now you can, too. This recipe makes about 3 quarts total, or 12 (8 ounce jars). It freezes beautifully or you can process it in a water bath for canning.
Table of Contents
Marmalade Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Oranges: This recipe is made with regular seedless oranges. You can definitely substitute Seville oranges if you can find them. They are only in season from the end of January to mid-February, but they have an intense flavor that is ideal for marmalade.
How to make Orange Marmalade
- Using a sharp knife, cut oranges and lemons in half crosswise, then into very thin half-moon slices. Discard any seeds. In a large pot (stainless steel), add the sliced oranges, lemons, and any fruit juice.
- Add water and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature.
- The next day, bring the mixture back to a boil in the pot or saucepan. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 2 hours. Turn heat up to medium and boil gently, stirring often, for another 30 minutes. Skim off any foam that forms on the top. Cook until it reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer (you must hit this temperature for the natural pectin to gel with the sugar).
- To test if the marmalade is ready, place a small amount on a plate and refrigerate it until it’s cool but not cold. If it’s firm (neither runny nor hard), it’s ready. It will be a golden orange color. If it’s still runny, continue cooking it; if it’s hard, add a bit more water.
- Pour or ladle the marmalade into clean hot mason jars (I use this wide-mouth jar funnel for this recipe and so many others). Wipe the rims thoroughly with a clean damp paper towel, and seal with the lids. Chill in the refrigerator. It may take 24-48 hours for the natural pectin to set up properly.
Orange Marmalade Recipe Variations
- Pectin: While many jam and jelly recipes require added pectin, you don’t need to add any here. Pectin is naturally concentrated in the pith of the orange (the bitter white part under the peel). This recipe coaxes out that natural pectin by letting the citrus soak overnight and then boiling it rapidly until enough water has evaporated that the mixture can reach 220 degrees.
- Agave nectar: Agave cannot penetrate and sweeten the peel as well as sugar can. When I tested it, the consistency was fine, but the rind tasted like raw rind. I don’t recommend this substitution.
- Low sugar: I haven’t tested low-sugar/alternative sweeteners in this recipe other than agave as listed above nor have I tweaked the amount of sugar in the recipe. I recommend seeking out recipes from experts in that area.
- Slow cooker: While it is technically possible to make marmalade in your slow cooker, it really depends on the power of your appliance. I no longer recommend that method because it isn’t reliable enough.
- Instant pot: Even with an overnight soak, the IP doesn’t break down the rind sufficiently. I don’t recommend this method.
Marmalade Recipe Tips
- Yield: This recipe makes about 3 quarts (96 ounces) of marmalade.
- If using 1/2-pint (8 ounce) jars, you’ll need 12.
- If using 1 pint (16 ounce) jars, you’ll need 6.
- If using the tiny jelly jars (4 ounce), you’ll need 24.
- Cold-plate test: To test if your marmalade is ready, spoon some hot marmalade on to a small plate and put it in the freezer to chill, or spoon some over an icy cold plate fresh from the freezer. If the mixture wrinkles slightly when you draw a spoon or finger across it, it has reached the setting point and is ready to go! If not, keep boiling and make sure the temperature reaches 220 degrees.
- Set-up time: Orange marmalade takes 24-48 hours for the natural pectin to set up completely. If it’s is still a little runny looking when it cools, check again in a day or two.
Storing and Canning Orange Marmalade
Storage: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Freezer: Pack in freezer-safe containers or jars leaving 1/2-inch of headspace for expansion. Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Canning: If putting up for storage, use a hot water or steam canner with a rack to properly seal lids on canning jars according to canning instructions. Otherwise, refrigerate and use within the month. Or, freeze for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pectin is naturally concentrated in the pith of the orange (the bitter white part under the peel), so you don’t need to add any here. This recipe coaxes out that natural pectin by letting the citrus soak overnight and then boiling it rapidly until enough water has evaporated that the mixture can reach 220 degrees.
While it is technically possible to make marmalade in your slow cooker, it really depends on the power of your appliance. I no longer recommend that method because it isn’t reliable enough.
Even with an overnight soak, the IP doesn’t break down the rind sufficiently. I don’t recommend this method.
Agave cannot penetrate and sweeten the peel as well as sugar can. When I tested it, the consistency was fine, but the rind tasted like raw rind. I don’t recommend this substitution.
I don’t recommend making this recipe in a regular cast iron pan. It should be made in a non-reactive pan. Enameled cast iron, stainless steel, and non-stick are best and will not affect the color or taste of the marmalade
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Orange Marmalade
Equipment
- Jar funnel (for wide mouth jars)
Ingredients
- 4 large seedless oranges scrubbed clean (about 3 pounds or 8 cups slices, see note 1)
- 2 lemons (about ½ pound or 1 cup slices)
- 8 cups water
- 8 cups granulated sugar
Instructions
- Cut oranges and lemons in half crosswise, then into very thin half-moon slices. Discard any seeds. In a large stainless steel pot, add the sliced oranges, lemons, and any accumulated juices.
- Add water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature.
- The next day, bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 2 hours. Turn heat up to medium and boil gently, stirring often, for another 30 minutes.
- Skim off any foam that forms on the top. Cook the marmalade until it reaches 220 degrees (you must hit this temperature for the natural pectin to gel with the sugar).
- To test if the marmalade is ready, place a small amount on a plate and refrigerate it until it's cool but not cold (see note 4). If it's firm (neither runny nor hard), it's ready. It will be a golden orange color. If the marmalade is runny, continue cooking it; if it's hard, add a bit more water.
- Pour the marmalade into clean hot mason jars; wipe the rims thoroughly with a clean damp paper towel, and seal with the lids. Chill in the refrigerator. It may take 24-48 hours for the natural pectin to set up properly.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Oranges: This recipe is made with regular seedless oranges. You can definitely substitute Seville oranges if you can find them. They are only in season from the end of January to mid-February, but they have an intense flavor that is ideal for marmalade.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 3 quarts (96 ounces) of marmalade.
- If using 1/2-pint (8 ounce) jars, you’ll need 12.
- If using 1 pint (16 ounce) jars, you’ll need 6.
- If using the tiny jelly jars (4 ounce), you’ll need 24.
- Storage: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
- Cold-plate test: To test if your marmalade is ready, spoon some hot marmalade on to a plate and put it in the freezer to chill, or spoon some over an icy cold plate fresh from the freezer. If the mixture wrinkles slightly when you draw a spoon or finger across it, it has reached the setting point and is ready to go! If not, keep boiling and make sure the temperature reaches 220 degrees.
I tried the recipe and the taste is good, however I wonder why the amount of water is not adjusted to the number of oranges. The calculator does not adjust the water if you use 8 or 4 oranges. Please confirm the correct amount of water for 4 oranges.
Thanks
Hi Erich, I’m really sorry about that! The slider only updates what’s in the ingredient list, not what’s in the instructions. Water isn’t listed as an ingredient so it’s not updating. I’m adding the water to the ingredient list now so it will update going forward. It’s 8 cups of water for 4 oranges, so it would be 16 cups of water for 8 oranges. I’ll fix it now. Sorry about that, thanks for letting me know! -Meggan
Thank you Meggan, starting now and let you know🤗
Hi Meggan, thank for your recipe :*
How many minutes to boil on the first step, before adding the sugar? Thank you ☺️
Hi Mihaela, it depends on how cold the water is that you add and how hot your stove top is! I’d say maybe 10 to 15 minutes to bring it to a boil? It wasn’t too long, but I don’t know for sure for your particular stove. But not too long? I hope this helps. Just let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂 -Meggan
Using water according to the ratio is way too much. I used 16 oranges and adjusted the water accordingly and it’s way too much water. My marmalade has been boiling now for 3 1/2 hours and it’s nowhere near done (still has way too much liquid). Also, I added less sugar because it seemed the adjusted sugar quantity would be too much and I am glad I used less otherwise it would have been way too sweet.
What type of sugar did you use? Was jam.sugar or ordinary sugar?
Hi Marina, I used just regular white granulated sugar. I tried it with agave one time too and it didn’t work very well. Thanks! -Meggan
Instructions were easy to follow and I DID think it was going to be too much sugar! But I stuck to the recipe as it was written, except I substituted 4 cups of ground cherry juice for that equal amount of water. I had it left over after making Ground Cherry Lemon Drop jelly and thought it would work. My marmalade reached 220 degrees well before the indicated time in the recipe. I did the cold freezer plate test and thought it should cook longer. When the final 30 minutes was up, my marmalade was up to 230 degrees. I’d rather it be a little too thick than too thin and runny anyway. I ended up with 8 half pint jars + about another 3/4 full jar that will go in the fridge to eat right away. Can’t wait to try some in the morning on my toast!
Instructions are very easy to follow. The jam turned out wonderfully!
Yoir recipe sounds amazing. Is there any way to make a batch with agave instead of sugar?
Hi Shari, I am going to test this out and let you know. I will likely cut the recipe in half because that would be a lot of agave. My understanding is I will use less water to compensate for the agave, but I’ll do all the conversions and figure it out and test it. And report back. It might take a few weeks but it’s on my list! Thanks. -Meggan
Hi Shari, I tested the marmalade with agave. I don’t think it works as well, flavor-wise. The texture was fine, but the agave didn’t penetrate the rind with enough sweetness, in my opinion. Sugar works much better. If you don’t mind the flavor rind, you’d be okay with agave. But personally, this isn’t a substitution I love. Thanks for the question! -Meggan
Never knew it could b so easy. I think I over boiled though. My jam is very stiff. Boiling to 220 deg f might b too long.
Hi Melissa, if it gets too stiff you should just be able to add more water and fix it. I just made this last week and I left it on the stove way too long, forgot about it for a while. It was fine! Just add a little more water. Thank you! -Meggan
I like the slider so you can change the size of the recipe and know the amount of fruit and sugar needed. However, in the cooking instructions, the amount of water stays the same regardless of the size of the recipe. Should I change the amount of water in proportion to the size of the recipe? I.e., if I double the recipe, should I cook with 16 cups of water instead of 8?
Hi Alberto, yes you should double to water. I should have the water listed in the ingredient list, I’m sorry about that, I’ll fix it. But no, the slider unfortunately won’t update the instructions (it’s not that advanced). Sorry for the confusion! Thanks. -Meggan
I am trying the crockpot version and have a question. After it boils down do u put it in storage containers & refrigerate for how long before its ready?