Whole lemon &/or orange marmalade

Makes about 2.2kg or 5–6 small jars

Takes about 1 hour

8 lemons or oranges (or 50:50)

1kg granulated sugar

500g/ml water

Place the whole fruit in a large pan and cover with plenty of water. Bring to the boil and cook for 45 minutes on a medium heat. Test the fruit by inserting the tip of your knife into the skin; if it goes in easily, remove the pan from the heat and drain. If there is still some resistance, cook for another 10–15 minutes. You may need to top up the water a little as you go to ensure that the fruit stays covered.

Once the drained fruit is cool enough to handle, pick it up and remove the hard stalk stump. Rip the fruit apart. Feel with your fingertips for any seeds and remove them. If there is a large white pithy bit, you can discard that as well. Then place the fruit in the food processor with a blade attachment (or use a large mincer disc) and blitz in pulses to create a thick, chunky purée with visible pieces of fruit and peel running all the way through. You should end up with about 1kg of purée. Don’t worry if it is less or more, as the ratio is very simple—just add an equal weight of sugar and half that amount of water (e.g. if you have 1.2kg of purée, add 1.2kg of sugar and 600g/ml of water).

Place the purée, sugar and water in a large jam pan and stir well to combine. Bring to the boil on a high heat, stirring occasionally. Once the jam has boiled you need to be very diligent. Both oranges and lemons are high in pectin, so the marmalade will set quickly, but you want to develop the sweetness and cook the fruit skins so that they are delicious. Set a timer for 5–6 minutes and stir every time the alarm goes off, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan. At the early stages the pulp will sink to the bottom, but later on it will become more homogenized. The mixture will start to erupt in big bubbles and the color will deepen a little. This is the time to check the marmalade on a cold plate and, once you are happy with the consistency, pour it into sterilized jars (see notes here).

Amalfi lemon & rosemary marmalade

Makes about 1kg or 3 small jars

Takes about 40 minutes

Every time we make a batch of this jam, I know to put aside a couple of jars. They will end up in South Africa with our friend Nikki’s dad, who needs a steady supply.

4 unwaxed Amalfi lemons (about 700g)

1 liter water

1 sprig rosemary

500g granulated sugar

Halve the lemons and cut out the core to remove the seeds and white pith in the center. Slice as thinly as you can and place in a medium saucepan. Cover with the water, add the rosemary sprig and set on maximum heat. Bring to the boil, then skim any foam that comes to the top. Boil for 15–20 minutes, skimming away foam every time you remember, then take out a slice to check that the skin has softened. If it has, start adding the sugar, a little at a time, stirring to dissolve after every addition. Once the sugar has all been added and dissolved, remove the sprig of rosemary (most of the little green needles will have fallen off into the jam by now).

Bring the mixture back to the boil, skim again and boil for 10 minutes before transferring to sterilized jars and sealing (see notes here). Allow to rest unmoved overnight before opening, to allow the jelly-like texture to set.

Candied & crystallized fruits

Another great way to use up a glut of fruit and an afternoon. Candied fruit done well carries something of the fresh fruit, but with a character all of its own. A true cupboard hero, it can be used to top buttered toast or porridge in the morning, to add fruity sweetness to a stew or salad, or as accompaniment for dessert or after-dinner cheese. We use candied fruits in cakes and as a sweet treat when there is nothing else around, and they also look lovely and make a great gift. The following fruits will keep well in a sterilized jar for up to 3 months, but once opened they should be kept in the fridge and consumed within a month.

Candied quince

Makes 4 small jars of ruby-red quince segments

1kg quince (try to find 4 small ones, rather than 3 large, to make perfect segments)

2 lemons, halved

1.2kg granulated sugar (3 × 400g)

Halve the quince, then cut each half into four segments. Remove the core but leave the peel on. Place the segments in a large pan, cover with water, then drain. This rinses the quince and washes away any loose seeds.

Pour in enough fresh water to just cover the fruit, add the lemon halves and 400g of the sugar and set on a low heat to slowly dissolve the sugar and start cooking the quince. Leave it untouched to cook for 30 minutes before adding another 400g of sugar. Very carefully shake the pan to help the sugar dissolve and then leave to cook slowly for another 30 minutes.

Now add the remaining 400g of sugar and cover the surface of the liquid with a round piece of baking parchment, cut to the same diameter as the pan. This will help keep the fruit submerged under the liquid as well as limit the amount of evaporation. Cook for another 30–40 minutes until the color is deep ruby red. Transfer the segments to sterilized jars, cover with the syrup and seal while hot (see notes here).

Candied orange peel

Makes as much as you want

Treat this recipe as a guideline. Eat some oranges, save the skins in the fridge in a sealed container and, when you are ready, candy them. Simply adapt the amount of water and sugar to suit the amount of peel you have (the ratio is 3:3:1 for the sugar, water and peel—so if you have 250g peel, you’ll need 750g granulated sugar and 750g/ml water). If you are eager to make these, juice a batch of oranges, drink the juice and then you’ll have a batch of skins to make candy. That is what we do at Honey & Co.

500g orange peel (from about 12 oranges)

1.5 liters water (3 × 500g/ml)

1.5kg granulated sugar (3 × 500g)

Clean any fruit residue from the orange skins: I use a small knife to cut away any flesh until I am left with the orange skin and the white pith, but nothing else. Cover with the first 500g/ml of water and bring to the boil. Drain the hot water away, then cover the peel with the second 500g/ml of water. Bring to the boil again, then drain again.

Pour in the final 500g/ml of water and bring to the boil once more. Once it is boiling, add the first 500g of sugar and reduce the heat to low. Cook really slowly on a low heat for 30 minutes. Add the next 500g of sugar, stir carefully to dissolve and cook for an hour on the lowest simmer you can. Finally add the last batch of sugar (don’t stir this time) and cook for another hour, keeping the heat low.

Transfer the peel and poaching liquid to a heat-resistant plastic container or sterilized jar (see notes here), seal and leave to cool entirely. Use as and when you wish but make sure to use a clean spoon or tongs when taking the skins out of the syrup, so as not to contaminate the rest of the batch.