Marmalade (from the Portuguesemarmelada)[1] is afruit preserve made from the juice and peel ofcitrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made frombitter orange. It is also made fromlemons,limes,grapefruits,mandarins,sweet oranges,bergamots, and othercitrus fruits, 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.[2]
One popular citrus fruit used in marmalade production is the bitter orange,Citrus aurantium var.aurantium, prized for its highpectin content, which sets readily to the thick consistency expected of marmalade. The peel imparts a bitter taste.
The Portuguese original wordmarmelada meansmade ofquince.
Unlikejam, a large quantity of water is added to the fruit in a marmalade, the extra liquid being set by the high pectin content of the fruit. In this respect it is like ajelly, but whereas the fruit pulp and peel are strained out of jelly to give it its characteristic clarity, it is retained in a marmalade.
The Romans learned from the Greeks thatquinces slowly cooked with honey would "set" when cool. TheApicius gives a recipe for preserving whole quinces, stems and leaves attached, in a bath of honey diluted withdefrutum—Roman marmalade. Preserves of quince and lemon appear—along with rose, apple, plum and pear—in theBook of ceremonies of the Byzantine EmperorConstantine VIIPorphyrogennetos.[2]
Medieval quince preserves, which went by the French namecotignac, 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 clearcotignac.[3]
In 1524,Henry VIII received a "box of marmalade" from Mr Hull of Exeter.[4] As it was in a box, this was probablymarmelada, a solidquince paste from Portugal, still made and sold in southern Europe. "Marmalet" was served at the wedding banquet of the daughter ofJohn Neville inYorkshire in 1530.[5] Its Portuguese origins can be detected in the remarks in letters toLord 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".[3]
Scottish grocerJames Robertson created Golden Shred marmalade in 1864.
The English recipe book of Eliza Cholmondeley, dated from 1677 and held at the Chester Record Office in theCheshire county archives, has one of the earliest marmalade recipes ("Marmelet of Oranges") which produced a firm, thick dark paste. The Scots are credited with developing marmalade as a spread, with Scottish recipes in the 18th century using more water to produce a less solid preserve.[6]
The first printed recipe for orange marmalade, though without the chunks typically used now, was inMary Kettilby's 1714 cookery book,A Collection of above Three Hundred Receipts (pages 78–79).[7][8][9] 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.[6][9] 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.[6]
The Scots 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 andSamuel Johnson were offered it at breakfast in Scotland in 1773. When American writerLouisa 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".[9]
Antique marmalade cutter, used to cut citrus fruit peel into thin slices
Marmalade first appeared in the English language in 1480, borrowed from Frenchmarmelade which, in turn, came from theGalician-Portuguese wordmarmelada. According to José Pedro Machado'sDicionário Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa,[10] the oldest known document where this Portuguese word is to be found isGil Vicente's playComédia de Rubena, written in 1521:
The extension ofmarmalade in the English language to refer to a preserve made from citrus fruits occurred in the 17th century, when citrus first began to be plentiful enough in England for the usage to become common.[citation needed]
In Portuguese,marmelada is a preserve made from quinces,quince cheese.
There is an apocryphal story thatMary, Queen of Scots consumed marmalade as a treatment forseasickness,[14] and that the name is derived from her maids' whisper ofMarie est malade ('Mary is ill'). In reality, the word's origin has nothing to do with Mary.[15]
InFinnish,Russian and formerSoviet cuisine, marmalade (Finnish:marmeladi and Russian:мармелад,marmelad) refers to a sugar-coatedgummy candy made fromagar 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.[18] An example ofmarmeladi candies in Finland isVihreät kuulat (Finnish for "green balls"), a brand ofpear-flavored gummy candies created by Finnish confectionerKarl Fazer from a recipe fromSt. Petersburg.[19]
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 ofpH adjusting agents to prevent the marmalade fromdehydration,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. Ifpectin is added, the marmalade must contain at least 27% of peel, pulp, or juice of citrus fruit. Class II preservatives may also be used.[20]
The Canadian Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870) specify thatpineapple orfig marmalade must be of jelly-like consistency, achieved by boiling thepulp of juice of the fruit with water, and asweetening ingredient. Pineapple or fig marmalade should contain at least 45% of the named fruit.[20]
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.[21] The translated versions of this document keep the English definition of "marmalade" as referring to citrus fruits, even if the other languages use the corresponding word normally in the broader sense of a "jam".[citation needed]
The Scottish city ofDundee has a long association with marmalade.[22]James Keiller and his mother, Janet, ran a small sweet and preserves shop in the Seagate area of Dundee.[23] In 1797, they opened a factory to produce "Dundee Marmalade",[24] a preserve distinguished by thick chunks of bitter Seville orange rind. The business prospered, and remains a signature marmalade producer today.[25]
According to a Scottish legend, the creation of orange marmalade in Dundee occurred by accident. The legend tells of a ship carrying a cargo of oranges that broke down in theport, resulting in some ingenious locals making marmalade out of the cargo.[23][26] However, this legend was "decisively disproved by food historians", according to aNew York Times report.[27]
Paddington Bear is known for his liking of marmalade, particularly in sandwiches, and kept it in his hat wherever he went.[28] 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 moviePaddington led to a slight increase in marmalade sales in the UK.[29]
InJane Austen's 1811 novelSense 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.[30] InAgatha Christie's 1953 detective novelA Pocket Full of Rye, the first victim of the murderer is given poison hidden in orange marmalade consumed at breakfast.[31]
^Public Record Office,Letters and Papers, Foreign & Domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII, vol. 6 (London, 1870) p. 339, noted by {[harvnb|Wilson|1999|p=31 ff}} and by other writers.
^Peck, Francis,Desiderata Curiosa, vol. 2 (London, 1779), p. 249.
^abcdHenry, Diana (2012). "Salt Sugar Smoke: How to preserve fruit, vegetables, meat and fish". Hachette UK
Wilson, C. Anne (1999) [1985].The Book of Marmalade: its antecedents, its history and its rôle in the world today together with a collection of recipes for marmalades & marmalade cookery (2 ed.). Constable.ISBN0-09-465670-3.
