Recipe: Orange Marmalade (crock pot)

ORANGE MARMALADE
Source: Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger
Makes about 3 1/2 cups

Orange marmalade was made famous by the Dundee manufacturers in Scotland, and it ranks as one of the most popular of all fruit spreads. Normally you must soak the peels before cooking. This slow cooker method eliminates the soaking time. You won't need any pectin since the citrus has plenty of natural pectin and the marmalade will set up on its own. Our tester Nancyjo Rieske cooks her batch off marmalade overnight. "After the long cooking it will he reduced and ready to put into jelly jars. I love that part: you don't have to worry ever about it scorching, You can go to a movie, read a hook, or go to bed." This is an adaptation of her recipe, which she makes in larger batches.

COOKER: Medium or large round
SETTINGS AND COOK TIMES: HIGH for 2 hours, then LOW for 6 hours, then uncovered on HIGH for 1 to 2 hours

1 1/4 pounds Valencia oranges (2 to 4)
4 cups water
Juice of 1 regular or Meyer lemon
3 to 4 cups sugar, as needed

Wash, quarter, and seed the oranges, separating the peel from the pulpy center, and cutting the peel into very small shards. Or chop the whole oranges in a food processor until chunky (just make sure you don't over-process). Transfer the orange pulp and peel to the slow cooker and add the water and lemon juice, Cover and cook on HIGH until simmering, about 2 hours.

Add the sugar and mix well: you want the sugar to equal the amount of boiling orange stock. Stir often until you are sure the sugar has dissolved. Then cover, turn the cooker to LOW, and cook for 6 hours, stirring every 2 hours to check for consistency. The peel will be translucent when the marmalade is ready for the next step.

Remove the lid, turn the cooker to HIGH, and cook for another 1 to 2 hours, or even longer (Nancyjo cooks for up to 6 hours more), until you have a nice syrupy consistency.

Ladle the warm marmalade into clean spring-top glass jars (or use screw tops with new lids); let stand until cool. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.