Marmalade

Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamots, blood oranges, clementines, kumquats, or a combination. Citrus is the most typical choice of fruit for marmalade, though historically the term has often been used for non-citrus preserves.

One popular citrus fruit used in marmalade production is the bitter orange, ''Citrus aurantium'' var. ''aurantium'', prized for its high pectin content, which gives a thick consistency to the marmalade. The peel of the orange imparts a bitter taste. Fruits with low pectin have it added to make the marmalade a jelly.

Unlike in jam, a large quantity of water is added to the fruit in marmalade, the extra liquid being set by the pectin content of the fruit.

Origins

Discovery

The Romans learned from the Greeks that quinces slowly cooked with honey would "set" when cool. The ''Apicius'' gives a recipe for preserving whole quinces, stems and leaves attached, in a bath of honey diluted with defrutum—Roman marmalade. Preserves of quince and lemon appear—along with rose, apple, plum and pear—in the ''Book of ceremonies'' of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII '.

Medieval quince preserves, which went by the French name ', produced in a clear version and a fruit pulp version, began to lose their medieval seasoning of spices in the 16th century. In the 17th century, La Varenne provided recipes for both thick and clear '.

Uses

In 1524, Henry VIII received a "box of marmalade" from Mr. Hull of Exeter. As it was in a box, this was probably ', a solid quince paste from Portugal, still made and sold in southern Europe. "Marmalet" was served at the wedding banquet of the daughter of John Neville in Yorkshire in 1530.

Its Portuguese origins can be detected in the remarks in letters to Lord Lisle, from William Grett, 12 May 1534, "I have sent to your lordship a box of marmaladoo, and another unto my good lady your wife" and from Richard Lee, 14 December 1536, "He most heartily thanketh her Ladyship for her marmalado".

Recipe

The English recipe book of Eliza Cholmondeley, dated from 1677 and held at the Chester Record Office in the Cheshire county archives, has one of the earliest marmalade recipes ("Marmelet of Oranges") which produced a firm, thick dark paste. The Scottish are credited with developing marmalade as a spread, with Scottish recipes in the 18th century using more water to produce a less solid preserve.Henry, Diana (2012). "Salt Sugar Smoke: How to preserve fruit, vegetables, meat and fish". Hachette UK

The first printed recipe for orange marmalade, though without the chunks typically used now, was in Mary Kettilby's 1714 cookery book, '' A Collection of above Three Hundred Receipts'' (pages 78–79). Kettilby called for whole oranges, lemon juice and sugar, with the acid in the lemon juice helping to create the pectin set of marmalade, by boiling the lemon and orange juice with the pulp. Kettilby then directs: "boil the whole pretty fast 'till it will jelly" – the first known use of the word "jelly" in marmalade making. Kettilby then instructs that the mixture is then poured into glasses, covered and left until set. As the acid would create a jelly, this meant that the mixture could be pulled from the heat before it had turned to a paste, keeping the marmalade much brighter and the appearance more translucent, as in modern-day marmalade.

Time changes

The Scottish moved marmalade to the breakfast table, and in the 19th century, the English followed the Scottish example and abandoned the eating of marmalade in the evening. Marmalade's place in British life appears in literature. James Boswell remarks that he and Samuel Johnson were offered it at breakfast in Scotland in 1773. When American writer Louisa May Alcott visited Britain in the 1800s, she described "a choice pot of marmalade and a slice of cold ham" as "essentials of English table comfort".

Etymology

''Marmalade'' first appeared in the English language in 1480, borrowed from French which, in turn, came from the Galician-Portuguese word . According to José Pedro Machado's , the oldest known document where this Portuguese word is to be found is Gil Vicente's play ''Comédia de Rubena'', written in 1521:

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Greek 'sweet apple', from 'honey' + 'apple, round fruit', became Galician-Portuguese 'quince'.Melimelon
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library It also comes from the Latin word or "a sweet apple".

A folk etymology asserts that Mary, Queen of Scots ate marmalade as a treatment for seasickness, and that the name is derived from her maids' whisper of ('Mary is ill'). In reality, the word's origin has nothing to do with Mary.

International usage

In much of Europe and Latin America, cognates for the English term ''marmalade'' are still used as a generic term for pulpy preserves of all fruits, whereas in Britain it refers solely to preserves typically of citrus peel, such as from grapefruit, orange or lemon. The name originated in the 16th century from Middle French and Portuguese, where applied to quince jam.

In Finnish, Russian and former Soviet cuisine, marmalade (Finnish: , Russian: , ) refers to a sugar-coated gummy candy made from agar and adapted from a French confectionery in the late 18th century. It is often sold in the form of marmalade slices made to resemble citrus wedges. An example of ''marmeladi'' candies in Finland is Vihreät kuulat ( Finnish for "green balls"), a brand of pear-flavored gummy candies created by Finnish confectioner Karl Fazer from a recipe from St. Petersburg.

Legal definitions

Canadian regulations

Under the Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870), marmalade is a standardized food and defined as a food of jelly-like composition that consists of at least 65% water-soluble solids. The regulations permit the use of pH adjusting agents to prevent the marmalade from dehydration, antifoaming agents to prevent blemishes on surface coatings and enable efficient filling of containers, and an acid ingredient to compensate for the natural acidity of the citrus fruit used. If pectin is added, the marmalade must contain at least 27% of peel, pulp, or juice of citrus fruit. Class II preservatives may also be used.

The Canadian Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870) specify that pineapple or fig marmalade must be of jelly-like consistency, achieved by boiling the pulp of juice of the fruit with water, and a sweetening ingredient. Pineapple or fig marmalade should contain at least 45% of the named fruit.

European regulation

Since 1979, the EU directive 79/693/CEE defines marmalade as a jam made from citrus fruits. The directive was replaced on 20 December 2001 by the ruling 32001L0113.

Dundee

Legend

According to a Scottish legend, the creation of orange marmalade in the Scottish city of Dundee occurred by accident. The legend tells of a ship carrying a cargo of oranges that broke down in the port, resulting in some ingenious locals making marmalade out of the cargo. Since then, the city has had a long association with marmalade.

However, this legend was "decisively disproved by food historians", according to a ''New York Times'' report.

Company

James Keiller and his mother, Janet, ran a small sweet and preserves shop in the Seagate area of Dundee. In 1797, they opened a factory to produce "Dundee Marmalade", a preserve distinguished by thick chunks of bitter Seville orange rind, being the first company to include it. The business prospered, and remains a signature marmalade producer today.W.M. Matthew, ''The Keiller Dynasty 1800–1879'' narrates the history of Keillers
BBC News "Legacies: Keiller's: Sticky Success"
offers an abbreviated version.

In popular culture

Paddington Bear

Paddington Bear is known for his liking of marmalade, particularly in sandwiches, and kept it in his hat wherever he went.

Paddington Bear is now used on the label of the smaller peel ("shred") and clearer/milder Robertson's "Golden Shred" marmalade, in place of the previous icon, "Golliwog", which is considered racially offensive. The 2014 movie ''Paddington'' led to a slight increase in marmalade sales in the UK.

Sense of Sensibility

In Jane Austen's 1811 novel ''Sense and Sensibility'' an over-indulgent mother feeds apricot marmalade to her fussy three-year-old child who has been slightly scratched by a pin in the mother's hair. In Agatha Christie's 1953 detective novel '' A Pocket Full of Rye'', the first victim of the murderer is given poison hidden in orange marmalade consumed at breakfast.

See also

* Keiller's marmalade
* Murabba
* List of spreads
* Succade, candied citrus peel, especially that of the citron
* ' (, yuzu marmalade)
* Zest (ingredient)
* Citrus taiwanica

References

Sources

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Further reading

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External links

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{{Authority control

Citrus dishes
Orange production
Portuguese cuisine
Scottish cuisine