Ribera Orange Marmalade, Artusi's recipe

Procedure

To prepare the orange marmalade, wash the fruit carefully. and eliminate petiole and leaves. Prick oranges with the tines of a fork, not too deep, as you see in VIDEO RECIPE. Soak them for three days in a basin of water. Change the water twice a day: every morning and every evening. I suggest you hold the oranges in a room where there is no heating. Staying in the water will cause the oranges to lose their bitter aftertaste and you can make the jam using the zest. On the fourth day, eliminate the ends of oranges, cut the fruits into slices and then into coarse pieces.

With a sharp knife, remove the white part of the skins (Albedo) and cut the peels a lot, very finely, as you see in VIDEO RECIPE.

Weigh the oranges and peels and put them in a very large pot. You need to know the weight because later you will have to add the same amount of sugar. If oranges were particularly sweet, you can reduce sugar by 25%. Add the water and bring to a boil: boil over high heat and, after 15 minutes, combine equal amounts of sugar at the same weight than oranges. Add the lemon juice and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

Lower the heat and cook the jam, stirring it every 20 minutes, over medium heat. After about two hours, the jam will be denser, glossy and dark. At the end of cooking combine the vanilla and rum. When the jam starts foaming, will be ready. Anyway, to check the cooking status of the jam, put on a plate a few drops of jam, as you see in VIDEO RECIPE. Let cool for a few seconds, tilt the plate and if the jam is dense enough it won't slip away with ease. I like the jam rather firm, but if you prefer it softer, you can reduce the cooking time to about an hour and 30 minutes.

STERILIZE JARS: When making a jam, to keep it safely it is necessary to sterilize the jars first. I advise you to buy them new, because they give you a much higher cap hold, or in any case to replace at least the caps. Wash the jars and caps under l & #8217; water, put them in a pot and fill it with water, so that even the jars are filled and should be thoroughly. Bring the water to a boil and continue over medium heat for at least 30 minutes. Remove the jars and caps with Tongs and put them to drain upside down on a cloth of cotton, Obviously spotless. The complete process of sterilizing the jars is in the VIDEO RECIPE.

When the marmalade is ready, turn off the heat and pour the boiling jam into the jars, filling them up to half an inch from the edge. Close the jars with care, flip it over, and lay them on a plane. Allow to cool, without moving them or touch them, all night. The heat will create a vacuum that will seal the jars. Like this, you can store Sicilian orange jam for about a year. Good breakfast!