In the field of marmalade cookbooks, this book remains at the top of the heap. It’s an excellent primer on the basics as well as an opportunity to go deeper.
Last fall, when I was still trying to pick myself up from the blow of being laid off from my job, I got a email from my editor at Running Press. She was working on a marmalade project and wanted to know if I’d be interested in making a sampling of recipes from book for the photo shoot. My need for work, coupled with the fact that I was very much excited to see a world of new-to-me marmalades, meant that I said yes within moments of receiving her note.
In early January, I spent about two weeks digging deep into the world of marmalades. I simmered, sliced, grated, and jarred up 12 recipes from the book. I went crazy trying to find yuzu, passionfruit, and Seville oranges in Philadelphia. Without question, I got far more than my daily recommended dose of vitamin C during that period.
Now, many months later, Marmalade
is here and it is gorgeous. Written by food writer and marmalade obsessive Elizabeth Field and photographed by award winning food blogger and photographer Helene Dujardin, this book is a pleasure to hold and use. It contains a variety of marmalades (sweet, savory, citrus, and beyond), as well meals that can incorporate these spreads and baked goods that can serve as vehicle for them.
Of course, I get particular pleasure flipping through this book, because nearly every preserve and spread pictured is something I made in my own kitchen. It’s ridiculously satisfying to look at the photos and recall the flavors and aromas of each recipe.
I’m also happy to have this volume in my hands, because while I made a dozen of the recipes it contains, I didn’t actually get to keep any of them. I’m very much looking forward to revisit the Tangerine and Vanilla Marmalade, as well as the “In the Pink” variety made from ruby red grapefruit.
Recently, I queried my Twitter followers, asking what they were looking for in a preserving book. An internet acquaintance of mine said that she was looking for something that would allow her to push her preserving skills and move beyond the basic “Canning 101” recipes that are so readily found. Happily (at least, if she likes marmalade), this is a book that might serve her well. While it’s plenty accessible for new canners, there’s also plenty here that will satisfy those looking to broaden their canning.
I’m afraid that I’m responsible for this variation on the Passionfruit Marmalade recipe in this book. When I tested these recipes, I marched up and down the length and breadth of Philadelphia, trying to find passionfruit. I came to the conclusion that it was impossible to source in January.
Instead of admitting defeat, I created a version that used dragon fruit, in the hopes that it might trick the camera. It didn’t, but instead of tossing that batch, the powers that be decided to add a variation to the book, in order to make the photo work. I was greatly relieved that my efforts weren’t wasted. It’s also fun to see the small impact I had on this delightful book.
I am not a fan of marmalade course I have only ever had the orange kind ~ my father always ate it & it was part of the regime growing up. I have made it for my family because they love the jams.jellies and marmalade’s …I am always searching for beautiful food books for my collection …and I also like to find new flavors for the family as well. (I made pear jam this fall – which was new & I got my recipe from Food in Jars Facebook page)
i feel my knowledge of marmalade is limited… but i am discovering i need more of it in my life!
Last year my sister and I made orange marmalade for the first time. Since bitter oranges aren’t typically carried in the supermarket here in Baltimore, we had to go to Rockville (suburban Washington) to get them from a regional wholesaler, which means we had to get a whole case. So we had a lot of oranges (even after we couldn’t use a good portion of the box – it was the last case of the season in the warehouse), but the many people we gave jars to were quite appreciative.
I haven’t been that adventurous with marmalade, so trying to make marmalade would make me try new and exciting things. Plus, the pictures you show make it look like these would be EXCELLENT as presents to friends/family.
I’ve trying making a few marmalades, some successful, some not so much. I add the not so much ones to my morning oatmeal to sweeten it. Would love the book so I can improve my techniques.
Always troubled by the little bits, but with a great book like this, I think I could overcome my childhood aversion!
I grew up thinking marmalade was a special treat – because sometimes my greatgrandmother would share some of her special marmalade with us at breakfast when we were visiting. My husband also loves marmalade so I’ve decided it is one of the things I need to learn to make in retirement (which will be next year – YAY).
I have never made marmalade either and would love to! I remember eating it as a
kid when we visited my great – grandmother in Florida ! Would love to try and make some!
my favorite thoughts on marmalade? childhood memories of Paddington Bear of course!
I’ve only tried to make marmalade once and realized once I was already committed that I didn’t have enough sugar, so I tried to use Splenda and ended up with marmalade that never set. It does, however, make a fabulous glaze for chicken, especially if you mix it with horseradish or mustard.
I also love marmelade and have not yet been adventuresome enough to try to make it. This book could certainly change that!
I have never had marmalade before. I think this looks like a great book to get me started.
My grandmother made groundcherry marmalade…..it was lovely. I have not been able to grow the groundcherries, so have not had the chance to try to make it as they are hard to find to purchase.
I love the sweet, tangy taste of Marmalade. It is the right balance of bits of fruit, juice and sugar. I think I just said that. I make Julie Child’s crepes and fill then with sweetened cream cheese and top the whole thing with warmed orange marmalade. Yummy
We winter in Florida and have access to all kinds of citrus. We love marmalade!
I’ve never made marmalade, but I’m so ready to! These recipes sound delicious.
I love marmalade but it is so expensive at the store. I would like to make my own n be able to give some as gifts and not feel guilty. I also have a very good recipe for little turnovers that are filled with marmalade and they are always the same because I usually pick the same orange because its the cheapest. Thank you for chance to win.
Ah for the love of marmalade! I’ve batch upon batch and after 20 years I am still the only one in my house who will touch it… be it blood orange, seville, or grapefruit… they all turn their noses up. But I won’t be discouraged… one day they will discover they love marmalade and I will be vindicated. Until then I will continue my quest… and share the fruits of my labor with those who do love it.
This is my first year of putting up, so I’m a pretty new canner and haven’t made too many types of preserves yet, but I did attempt a batch of concord grape jelly (which turned out great, purple and trembling!) and also whipped up some sweet-and-spicy tomato jam, which is much like a marmalade and made with maple syrup, cinnamon, cloves, &c…mmm!
Thanks so much for putting out your blog about putting up!
I LOVE marmalade! I have found that for outright experimentation, it is a very forgiving medium. I work in a specialty produce market, so I have a lot of opportunity to experiment…orange habanero, anyone??
i tried my first marmalade last year (meyer lemon and kumquat) and overcooked it while i was testing to see it was done… devastated, I couldn’t throw it away so I poured it onto a sheet pan and popped it in the fridge. A few hours later, I had marmalade jellies!
Oh my gosh what a beautiful book!! Marmalade is one of my all-time favorite things (in fact, I may have just put a ridiculous amount of the stuff in my oatmeal…!), but I’ve never made it. Definitely on the to-d0-asap list!
I’ve delved into the realms of Marmalade ever since moving to SoCal and it’s been a fun journey. This book looks like a beautiful resource!
I love marmalade’s tarty sweetness. My favorite is an orange marmalade with Jack Daniels. It is great baked in a cake!
Love marmalade! And make a couple different batches each winter. Of course, I’m the only one in my family who eats it so it does last me quite some time. And seville oranges in DC in winter? please. I order from the Orange Shop in FL! Price is great and you can order large quantities.
Personally I’m not crazy about marmalade, but my Granny loves it and that’s why I make it. This year I hope to make her some kumquat marmalade–it’s her favorite.
What a neat opportunity to make some of the items from the book!
I like marmalade but have never tried to make it… but I think I’d like to!
What a lovely book! I am not a eater or jams or jellies, but I do mkae them for my husband. BUT, I do eat marmalade and I love making it. a lot of love goes into a jar of marmalade. My favourite so far is Blood Orange and Tangerine. I would love to expand my “marmalade horizons” .
love marmalade, on toast with a little cream cheese, yum!
Strawberry-Lemon Marmalade is definitely my favorite! This winter I’m definitely going to try making Blood Orange or Passion Fruit marmalade as well—those sound amazing!
As a child I hated marmalade. I’ve developed a real love of the stuff as I’ve aged. Last year I made my first attempt to make some. It was a tasty but a bit of a disaster. I will try again this year.
Made my first Meyer lemon marmalade last year and just finished making a batch last week. I have to search for these delightful little lemons because the supermarkets around Cape Cod do not always carry them. It was so delicious and turns out to be one of the only things that my aging father-in-law can still taste. Needless to say, I get one jar and he gets all the rest. My first batch, I burned the sugar a little bit, and he thought it was wonderful and wanted to know how I got that ‘great, smoky taste’. Next time I will try adding a little liquid smoke; I do not want to ruin my marmalade!
My favorite marmalade is apple lemon marmalade from the book 250 Home Preserving Favorites by Yvonne Tremblay.
I was JUST talking to a friend about how we should get together and experiment with come more complicated jams and preserves for canning. This sure fits the bill! What a gorgeous book!
I am such a marmalade junkie. My family doesn’t share my passion though so I usually buy precious little jars when I find them instead of making a batch that I’d have to eat all by myself. But you know, maybe I just will.
This book looks really lovely. I’ve never made marmalade, but I would like to try.
I love the challenge of making marmalade, and I use the multiday technique that makes the process more time friendly. I started making marmalade earlier this year when we were gifted bags after bags of grapefruit, tangerines, lemons. Excellent practice for when all the citrus trees in our back yard start to produce larger quantities. I have made kumquat, meyer lemon, mixed citrus, tangerine and orange elderflower marmalades. My husband’s favorite though (and was this because he helped?) was chocolate orange marmalade. My husband also loves to give them away to customers at his work, and I know the customers like to get them! I can’t wait to add this cookbook to my collection, and I will make sure that “Santa” knows to put it on my Christmas list. I cannot wait to see the varieties that are in the book and get inspired to come up with my own combinations… Thanks for the giveaway!
What is dragon fruit? I’ve never heard of it. My favorite spread is a Damson plum blueberry conserve I’ve made for decades. It’s rather sweet tart and deep, rich purply blue…just beautiful against home made biscuits!
My husband is Scottish and grew up eating all sorts of lovely marmalades and we have not found any store-bought marmalade that satisfies him. I am anxiously awaiting for Seville oranges and Meyer lemons so that I can make him his own batch of marmalade this year.
I’ve made plenty of jams in my life, but I’ve never made marmalade. I’ve never eaten it in anything but orange beef either. It is obviously something that has to be remedied.
I love marmalade, but have never tried to make any. I usually try to make 15-20 different kinds of jams & jellies–I probably would make a few if I had great recipes & I could find the ingredients ( I see a road trip in the future!)
I love marmalade, but my first batch I tried was a disaster. I was completely distracted and something went wrong, but I’m hoping to try again soon. Maybe this go I’ll attempt it during nap time, so I don’t have to worry about my two little distractions.
I was just thinking about Marmalade the other day. I’ve only have had Orange but was thinking it was high time I made my own and on the same note I figured it was time to try something new. This book would be just the thing to get me going!
I love marmalade. Thanks for the chance to win such a beautiful book!
I’m the freak in my family that doesn’t eat kumquat marmalade. We have 2 types of kumquats and about 15-20 other citrus trees. I’ve been canning the juice from them when we don’t eat them all, as the only marmalade I’ve ever made is kumquat. Hooray for a book that gives me the excuse to make other types! 🙂
I would love to try to make marmalade, but am intimidated by my (half-Scottish) husband’s insistence that the only real marmalade is the stuff from his Dad’s hometown.
I love Marmalade! 2 summers ago when I had an abundance of zucchini I found a recipe for zucchini marmalade & it was delish!
I’ve never made marmalade. I’d like to try it with this new book! : )
I made the worst several batches of marmalade last year, mostly all ruined by not mincing the fruit enough. I fear I am not patient enough for marmalade, but I’d love to get it a second shot.
Simply love marmalade. Love making it also. This book looks very interesting and would love to own.
My cat’s name is Marmalade & I adore her! Marmalade the jam, on the other hand, I feel I need to revisit now that I’m an adult and, you know, my tastes have “matured”.
I made grapefruit marmalade last year…. it has a very interesting taste. Tart but sweet. I’m looking forward to making orange this winter.
I had never in my life sampled marmalade before my adventures in canning began in September 2012. We ordered bulk strawberries through our local food co-op, Bountiful Baskets, (60 lbs of berries) and in an effort to make variety, my older 2 kids (I have 4 total) and I made strawberry lemon lime marmalade … I cannot tell you how wonderful an experience it was! Not only is the marmalade delicious with it’s sweet strawberry flavor and little hints of lemon or lime surprising the taste buds, but making it has sparked interest in my children and now canning is a family affair! More recently we’ve made zucchini marmalade… along with other jams and jellies. It’s great family fun. We are always on the lookout for new recipe books!
My ability to follow a recipe got in the way when I made mamalade. I decided I didn’t have time to grate the peel I would just chop as fine as I could. Unfortunately I didn’t do that either so my end jars had postage stamp sized pieces of orange. I did try to strain some of them out and the marmalade wasn’t that bad. We still eat it. . .
it give you a good feeling to make your one,jams, marmalade, jelly’s,
I have never tried to make marmalade, but love to have orange marmalade on an English Muffin that is slathered with Kerry Gold Butter! It would be fun to try to make my own.
I adore marmalade and I’m trying to figure out how to get it thick without pectin and without it getting dark. This year I made a lemon pumpkin marmalade that is out of this world and I’m looking forward to experimenting with more marmalades as citrus season hits.
I tried making orange marmalade once with little success. This looks like a book that would help me next time.
I’ve never made marmalade and it’s never really appealed to me to be honest. However, I just made an incredible batch of lemon apple honey jam from your book and I LOVED it!! That lemony taste was incredible! This has me thinking that marmalades are just the thing for me to dive into next, and with citrus season approaching I would absolutely love to have this book.
When the Berlin wall came down, my sister and I made a pilgrimage to Europe and in a little hotel in London found white toast and orange marmalade on the breakfast table and fell in love!
I have only had orange marmalade and have never made it. I am intrigued. Must make marmalade.
Wonderful! I have used it in oatmeal bars and also in BBQ sauce!
I love marmalade, but I’ve never made it. It’s on my to do list. This book looks great.
I ADORE marmalade. I eat it out of the jar. I am going to make it with a vengeance this season because last year I was a skillion months pregnant and too tired to stand at the stove.
I love marmalade so much. I used to slather it all over the biscuits my mom made when I was growing up. I’ve never made my own surprisingly enough but it’s on my list of things to do this winter.
I make an orange/peach marmalade with hot peppers. Wonderful in all sorts of ways. I am always looking for new recipes and especially interested in using honey in place of some of the sugar. Can be tricky, but doable.
I love marmalade and make it regularly every year. Mostly Seville orange during their short season, but also 3 or 4 fruit variations. The best one I ever made was with random fruits left in the fruit bowl after Christmas, so I can’t remember exactly what went into it!
I often substitute some of the white sugar with Muscovado (unrefined) sugar for an Oxford-style darker marmalade. I’ve also been known to save random citrus peel and slices of lemon etc in the freezer for an almost-free marmalade. You still add some lemon juice, but it doesn’t set solid as it has less pectin in it. Still tastes delicious!
Fresh marmalade on hot toast with tea brings back memories of home so far away on the other side if the ocean. Something so sophisticated about marmalade.
I love it and I am looking forward to visiting some friends in a few weeks. They have a lemon tree and they have already said I can take some home with me. Yummy! I may try some lemon marmalade.
Have recently started making jam and jelly again, but have never tried marmalade – but after seeing these pictures, I want too!
love making, love love love eating it
I can lots of jams and jellies, but have never tried a marmalade, it will be fun to start on something new. Growing up my mother didn’t like orange marmalade, so we didn’t have it around the house. Still don’t, but that is just from habit. Can’t wait to try.
I love marmalade but have never made it. This book sounds awesome. My dad is an orange marmalade lover. Growing up I used to love having toast or bagels with my dad, slathered with sweet & a bit tart orange marmalade.
I can a ton but have never made marmalade, because my family east nothing but strawberry jam. But I might do it this winter.
Orange is a staple for me, but I also love a tart lemon marmalade too. I’d love to try other flavors….
I love & make Meyer Lemon marmalade every year from my little tree. Would love more inspiration!
All looks amazing,I would love to try marmalade.I have spent the summer and spring making jam and jelly but never thought about marmalade,I would love to try!!!
I guess I haven’t tried marmalade. This will be a good opportunity to try some.
I have been experimenting and enjoying canning for a few years. Last year I prepared your Kumquat marmalade recipe and everyone loved it… it was something new and exciting. I look forward to experimenting with flavors and textures. This book intrigues me…..
I have a love affair with green tomato marmalade… I pick them before they are red and throw them in my jam pot.
Love kumquat marmalade! One year I bought a few pounds from California just to make it. In the long run they were cheaper by the pound, fresher and juicer.
I made a four fruit marmalade that was absolutely wonderful. It had oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits. I’d like to try some others, as marmalades are one of my favorite jams.
made your small batch orange marmalade last January…just opened my last jar 🙁 but will be doing it AGAIN that’s for sure. beautiful and delicious. Thank you so much.
Biggest disappointment…bought a baking book…it recommended a particular apricot orange marmalade…I thought I would find the recipe in the book…NOT THERE. Spent awhile trying to find her old family recipe…gave up..
Your recipe is awesome. You make us look good!
Would love to have this book it look’s like a winner also.
When I think of marmalade, I think of ladies drinking tea and eating biscuits with marmalade yum! I love how it almost seems to transport you to an era where time passed more slowly and people had time to relax. Today, marmalade is a bit fancy, and a little luxurious, but oh so delicious! And I just can’t get enough of it. I would love to own this book of recipes to explore more than just orange marmalade (although I do like orange marmalade)
Never seen a seville orange in real life – hope to someday – I love the complex personality of marmalade! I’m asking my library to get this book but would love my own!
I had marmalade at my grandmother’s house growing up, she loved orange, but I was never a fan. It wasn’t until I spent a semester abroad in Australia during college that I found a variety of marmalades existed and some of them were actually quite good. I still don’t eat a ton of it, but I definitely prefer homemade. I helped a friend make a spiced orange one that was quite tasty, sadly the tiny jar I took home lasted all of two weeks with my greedy roommates. I still can’t remember what all was in that batch.
Let me start by saying I love marmalade. And after the last two winters spent in the Bay area where citrus can be gleaned from trees out of your neighbors yard, I have become a serious devotee. I still have 2 jars of my citrus medley marmalade made in January, and I am coveting them. People in my life just don’t appreciate the bitter goodness of marmalade. So more for me! My preferred way of eating marmalade…….thick cut dense toast with a thick layer of creme fraiche, then the marmalade layer. It’s a creamsicle for breakfast!
First, I just received my copy of “Food in Jars” in the mail, and it was the perfect book to flip through while watching election returns. I can’t wait to try these!
My first experience with canning was a grapefruit marmalade, and it was admittedly a disaster. I got over my fear of the canning process, but I completely overcooked the marmalade and ended up with a perfectly preserved hard-as-rock mass. I would love to give marmalade another try.
my friends and i were literally (last week!) planning a day to make marmalade together when the blood oranges and cara cara oranges start coming into season (soon!). it would be perfect to have this book to guide us on our ventures! how exciting…
Marmalade will always make me think of my Grandpa. When I was a little girl and we’d spend the night at my grandparents farm, my Grandpa would always have orange marmalade on his toast in the morning. I was kind of on the fence about it but always put it on my toast, too, as it seemed so unusual compared to the strawberry jam we ate at home. This book looks gorgeous and would surely inspire me to have a go at making some marmalade of my own. Of course I’d have to send some to my Grandpa too!
I adore marmalade, the bitterer the better! At the beginning of last Summer I found a book at the neighborhood free bookshelf “Mary Meade’s Magic Recipes for the Electric Blender” by Ruth Ellen Church (not by Mary Meade…go figure). Inside was this recipe which became our Summer patio staple, copied here verbatim:
Marmalade Cocktail
(4 drinks)
Sounds terrible, but is very nice.
1/4 cup marmalade (apricot preserves are good too)
Juice 2 small lemons
4 jiggers of gin
1 cup cracked ice
Blend until smooth.
I didn’t think it sounded terrible, I made some immediately!
(Consume accompanied by dark chocolate Hobnobs for best results.)
It’s basically an alcoholic marmalade slushie, with chewy bits of peel in the last few sips. Heaven!
For 24ish years I thought I hated marmalade. Why would I choose it (as Grandma suggested) when the much-sweeter – and more to my liking – cherry was right next to it? The small girl that I was just found it too bitter and odd texturally.
It wasn’t until my husband threw together a batch of home-made marmalade from fresh oranges from a local grove, that I understood what they had been attempting to produce and sell in that grocery store jar, and what I had been missing out on. Blood orange is my favorite.
I love marmalade! It makes me feel fancy. 😉 I’m just learning how to put up food and marmalade is on my to-learn list. I bake all of my own bread and there’s little that makes me happier than cutting into fresh, crusty bread and smothering it with butter and marmalade. HEAVEN! p.s. Your blog rocks. 🙂
mmm…tomato marmalade is an unexpected, delicious favorite!
My first canning experience was with my older sister. We chose a recipe for a ruby red grapefruit marmalade. Making marmalade was a completely new adventure for us and it took us nearly 3 hours to make 6 1/2 pints. We didn’t quite know what we were doing and we were unsure about a lot of things, but we had so much fun during the process and we came away with 3 1/2 pints of marmalade each and a new found addiction to canning. I’ve put up many jars since that very first time, but I’ll never forget that first experience with canning marmalade and how special that was. Now it’s 3 months later and I just opened one of those cute little 1/2 pints and I realized just how versatile and luxurious it is. I eat it almost every morning on an english muffin with peanut butter I dip apple slices in it, I mix it in my gin cocktails, I pour it over cream cheese and eat it with crackers, I make a pan sauce with it and put it on a pork chop, I mix it in greek yogurt for breakfast, and sometimes I just eat a tiny spoonful of it by itself . I think about my older sister who is 3000 miles away every time I open a jar of marmalade.
I have always loved a good marmalade. I have tried making a batch of the regular orange marmalade, but would love to try some of the not so regular variations in this book. I am a canner, and have made many jams, and butters. Love to make these jeweled delights and gift others for christmas. The blood orange recipe looks yummy!
I love marmalade. The first time i had it was in an island with my boyfriend. He passed away a few years ago. Marmalade always reminds me of that first time and the summer spent at the island with my love. I would love to learn how to make this. I love to cook. I love food. I live to eat and not eat to live. If i have lots of money i would travel around the world and have a foodgasm.
I grew up celebrating many happy memories with my Nonnas apricot marmalade crostata. Everyone around the table sharing old stories and new. I would like to see our new generations do this.
I love marmalade. The only kind we ever had growing up was Smuckers and gramma and I used to have it on toast with our tea in the afternoon when I got home from school. Every day until the day she died, it was our ritual as we watched the squirrels dance on the porch waiting for their bites, too.
I just made your lemon-honey marmalade. It was delish.
The thought of making orange marmalade makes me happy. Looking forward to giving it a try as well. Cannot wait to gift it to friends and family this Christmas.
Absolutely love orange marmalade. Have never made it, but long to. I believe homemade is always best!