METHOD:

1. Wash the fruit skin to remove any garden debris or wax if they have been commercially grown. Wash the rosemary. 

   Place whole cleaned fruit and rosemary sprigs in a large heavy bottom saucepan or preserving pan with water. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid, and allow to simmer approximately 20 minutes or until the skim is cooked. To test if it’s cooked, squeeze a piece of peel between the thumb and finger. It should squeeze easily to a mush.

2. Remove the mandarins and reserve the water. Slice the cooked mandarins. If they contain seeds, remove and discard. Try to reserve as much of the liquid that comes from the mandarins while you are slicing. As the mandarins were cooking additional flavour and pectin from the skin, pith and seeds was extracted. Remove and discard the rosemary. 

3. Place the sliced mandarins and lemon juice in the reserved cooking liquid. Bring to the boil. Add a third of the warmed sugar. Stir to dissolve. Repeat this process two more times until all the sugar is added and dissolved. Bring to the boil and allow to boil rapidly for 10-20 minutes  or until the setting point  is reached. If it has not set  continue to boil and keep checking every 2 minutes until it reaches the set point using either the flake or wrinkle test or until it reaches 105 C/220 F.

4. Remove from the heat and place on a heat resistant surface. 

   With a stainless spoon or any spoon that has fine edge, skim the top of the marmalade to remove any scum that has accumulated during the cooking.

5. Allow to cool slightly for 5-10 minutes, then stir gently to distribute the peel evenly. Using a funnel pour into dry warm sterilised screw cap sealable bottles and fill to 2.5cm (1 inch) from the top of the bottle.

6. Seal while the marmalade is hot. Label and store in a cool dark place in the kitchen or pantry.

   Allow the marmalade to mature for at least 2 weeks before enjoying

NOTES:

• Use fresh citrus that have been recently picked as the pectin content is likely to be higher. Pectin is concentrated in the seeds, pith, and cores of the fruit. Don’t discard them, as they are invaluable in jam and marmalade making as it is the ratio between the fruit acids, pectin and sugar that makes them set.
• To wash the fruit, I use a pair of Skrub’a vegetable gloves. They are a wonderful invention made of a slightly course material that magically scrubs fruit and vegetables with the greatest of ease. Easy to wash and dry –they are an indispensable item in my kitchen. Special thanks to my very dear friend Sue who found them in a cookware shop. Alternatively use a kitchen vegetable brush.
• To warm the sugar, put the recipe quantity an oven proof container and place in a preheated 150 degrees centigrade oven for 10 minutes. The sugar should be warm throughout the bowl. Warmed sugar, dissolves quickly and a rapid boil until the setting point is reached helps to preserve the fresh citrus flavour. 
• If you don’t have a preserving pan, use a large heavy bottom pot, preferably stainless steel. Ensure there is enough space available in the pot for the mixture to double in size while it is rapidly boiling.
• To test if the peel is cooked, squeeze a piece of peel between the thumb and finger. It should squeeze easily to a mush. 
• To warm the sugar, put the recipe quantity in an oven proof container and place in a preheated 120 degrees C oven for 10 minutes. The sugar should be warm to touch, not hot. Warmed sugar, dissolves quickly and a rapidly boiling the marmalade until the setting point is reached helps to preserve the fresh citrus flavour. 
• If you don’t have a preserving pan, use large heavy bottom pot, preferably stainless steel. Ensure there is enough space available in the pot for the mixture to double in size while it is rapidly boiling.
• Do not over stir the cooked marmalade while its cooling as this will create small bubbles in the mixture. The marmalade will be marked down for these air bubbles in Show competitions. 

Happy marmalading