Photography: Alan Benson
“The way I like to make marmalade takes two days,” says Jane Barnes in Seasons Where the River Bends, her second cookbook with Jimmy Barnes — but she promises the process is completely worth it. “We end up with a year’s supply of Jimmy’s favourite breakfast spread.” This lemon, orange and whisky marmalade is wonderful for stockpiling, or making in a big batch to share with the people you love.
One fan who made the recipe shared her verdict on Instagram: it was the best marmalade she’d ever tasted. “I’m not giving any of my jars away!”
Watch: Fan makes Jimmy Barne’s favourite lemon and orange whisky marmalade:
Ingredients
Method
On day 1, peel the lemons and oranges with a sharp vegetable peeler. Don’t worry if a bit of white pith stays on the pieces. Cut the peel into very fine strips (the finer the better) and place in a large bowl. If you prefer medium or thick cut marmalade, just cut it as you like it.
Cut most of the remaining pith from the fruit and set aside. Cut the fruit into chunks, squeeze the fruit into a jug and set the juice aside. Make sure to collect the seeds. Chop up the fruit pulp (discarding any coarse membranes) and add to the bowl of cut peels. Wrap the seeds and chopped pith in pieces of muslin and tie them to make pouches. This will give added pectin, which will help with setting the marmalade. Add the muslin pouches to the bowl, cover with water and leave to soak overnight.
On day 2, remove the muslin pouches and strain the water from the mixture. Measure out the peel mixture in cups and transfer to a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the same number of cups of juice and the same number of cups of sugar (we like to use 1 cup less of sugar to make it less sweet).
Stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and let the mixture bubble until the peel is soft. Cook over medium-low heat for another half hour or so, or until reduced and thick. Meanwhile, put a couple of small china plates in the fridge to chill.
To test if the marmalade is ready, drop a teaspoon of the mixture onto a chilled plate and cool for a minute or so. If it stays put on the plate when tilted, it’s ready. If it hasn’t set, you can add some Jamsetta at this point.
Add 1–2 generous nips of whisky and cook for a further 15 minutes.
While the marmalade is cooking, preheat the oven to 160°C/ 140°C fan-forced. Wash, rinse and sterilise your jam jars thoroughly. I usually place my jars in the oven for a few minutes to dry and heat. This will remove all the moisture from the jars and stop them from cracking when you add the hot marmalade.
Ladle the marmalade into the jars and twist the lids on tightly. Leave to cool.
This is an edited extract from Where the River Bends by Jane and Jimmy Barnes, published by Haper Collins, $59.99.
