Marmalade

Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits, boiled with sugar and water. The benchmark citrus fruit for marmalade production in Britain is the Seville orange from Spain, Citrus aurantium var. aurantium – thus called because it was originally only grown in Seville in Spain – because it is higher in pectin than sweet oranges and therefore gives a good set. The peel has a distinctive bitter taste which it imparts to the marmalade. Marmalade can be made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamots and other citrus fruits, or any combination thereof. For example, California-style marmalade is made from the peel of sweet oranges and consequently lacks the bitter taste of Seville orange marmalade.

In languages other than English, "marmalade" can mean preserves made with fruit other than citrus. The name originates in Portuguese, where marmelada applies chiefly to quince jam (from "marmelo", the Portuguese for quince).In Spanish the term usually refers to what in English is called jam (and jalea is similar to the American English jelly). In Italian too, marmellata means every jam and marmalade, as does Mermelada in Italian-influenced Rioplatense Spanish. Also in German, where marmalade is much less popular than jam anyway, Marmelade is the traditional designation for any kind of jam and marmalade (especially smooth jam without visible pieces of fruit) regardless of fruit base, and remains so in everyday language, in spite of EU regulation which, in official commercial usage, limits the term Marmelade to citrus-based preserves to minimise international confusion. Because of the persisting traditional usage and given that the alternative term Konfitüre (originally used specifically for jam with visible pieces of fruit) is foreign to Austrian German, a special exception has been granted for Austria where non-citrus-based preserves may continue to be marketed regionally as Marmelade.

Marmalade recipes include sliced or chopped fruit peel simmered in sugar, fruit juice and water until soft. Marmalade is sometimes described as jam containing fruit peel but manufacturers also produce peel-free marmalade. Marmalade is often eaten on toast for breakfast.