Marmalade is a sweet, tangyfruit preserve made from the juice and peel ofcitrus fruits boiled withsugar andwater. The well-known version is made frombitter orange, but other citrus fruits such aslemons andlimes can also be used. The bitter orange is mostly used in marmalade because of its highpectin content, which gives a thick consistency to its marmalade. In addition, the balance ofacid and pectin is needed for consistency. Fruits with low pectin have it added to make the marmalade.
Historically, the term marmalade was often used for non-citrus preserves.Mango,pineapple,apricot, andcocoa beans, have been made into marmalade in those cases. In the21st century, the term refers mainly to jam made with citrus fruits.White sugar (sucrose) is typically used to sweeten marmalade, butsugar substitutes, such assucralose,aspartame, orsaccharine, may be used. Artificial dyes and flavouring agents are added to marmalade to enhance taste, flavour, and appearance.
Originally marmalade was made fromquince, and meantquince cheese.Mary Kettilby's 1714 cookery book,A Collection of Above Three Hundred Receipts (pages 78–79) discusses how to make marmalade. Modern marmalade has existed since the 1700s when theScottish added water to marmalade to make it less solid than before. The Scottish were the people who made marmalade a breakfast item, and soon after the rest of Britain followed.
The wordmarmalade in the English language comes fromFrench which came from thePortuguese wordmarmelada, starting with theGreek wordmelimēlon that means 'sweet apple'.
In the 1500s, marmalade was made fromquince, and was imported to England fromSpain andItaly, unlike it is now.[1]: 38 The quince jam or quince cheese, was a firm, sticky, sweet reddish hard paste made by slowly cooking quince fruit withsugar, and is still made today.[2]
The Scottish are credited with developing marmalade as a spread, with Scottish recipes in the 18th century using morewater to produce a less solid preserve than before.[5]
The Scottish were the people who made marmalade a breakfast item.James Boswell andSamuel Johnson were given it at breakfast while in Scotland in 1773. In the 19th century, the English followed the Scottish and began to eat marmalade in the morning. The American writerLouisa May Alcott visited Britain, and later described "a choice pot of marmalade and a slice of cold ham" to be "essentials of English table comfort".[4]
Antique marmalade cutter, used to cut citrus fruit peel into thin slices
The wordmarmalade in the English language comes from Frenchmarmelade which, in turn, came from thePortuguese wordmarmelada.[6][7] According to José Pedro Machado'sDicionário Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa, the oldest known document where this Portuguese word is to be found isGil Vicente's playComédia de Rubena, written in 1521:
The Portuguese word comes from the Latinmelimelum or "a sweet apple",[6] in turn fromGreekμελίμηλονmelimēlon 'sweet apple', fromμέλη 'honey' +μῆλονmēlon 'apple, round fruit', becameGalician-Portuguesemarmelo 'quince'.[9] The name originated in the16th century fromMiddle Frenchmarmelade andPortuguese, wheremarmelada applied toquince jam.[10][6] 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.[5] The modern definition of marmalade is a jam made from citrus fruits rather than quince.[11]
According to a Scottish legend, the creation of orange marmalade in the Scottish city ofDundee 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.[12][13] Since then, the city has had a long association with marmalade.[14] However, this legend was "decisively disproved by food historians", according to aNew York Times report.[15]
A folk etymology asserts thatMary, Queen of Scots ate marmalade as a treatment forseasickness,[16] and that the name is derived from her maids' whisper ofMarie est malade ('Mary is ill'). The word's origin has nothing to do with Mary though.[17]
In Britain, marmalade is usually made from thebitter or Seville orange. It is favoured because of its naturally highpectin content, which gives a thick consistency to the marmalade,[23] in addition to the fruit also having tart flesh and rough skin.[24] There is needed a balance between fruitacid and the pectin. Fruits with normally low pectin, likestrawberries,cherries, andfigs,[25]: 2–3 have it added to make the marmalade a jelly.[19]
Marmalade has been made from fruits likemango andpineapple in mixed fruit marmalades.[26]Apricots are in addition made into marmalade.Mucilage fromcocoa beans has also been produced into marmalade. Analyses did not show any significant difference in taste, color, or consistency compared to apricot marmalade.[27]
There are generally five steps of the creation of citrus marmalade: washing, peeling, pre-treatment for peel (de-bittering and sugar-dipping), mixing, and boiling.[28][29] White sugar has traditionally been used as the main sweetener in marmalades,[28][30][31] although sugar substitutes, such as sucralose and saccharin may be used.[30][32] The choice of sugar substitute depends partly onheat stability, texture effect, andaftertaste.[32]
Marmalade on toast
Pectin, spices, or flavouring agents may be added to enhance the marmalade for texture, appearance, aroma, and taste.[28][32][33]
Marmalade can be served atroom temperature or slightly colder.[34] Some bitter orange marmalade can last for up to 6 months after opened,[24] while some only lasts until 3.[34] Marmalade can be served ontoast.[20][25]: 53
Marmalade has a sweet and tangy taste, with a texture similar to jam.[37]
Citrus peel is a main ingredient of marmalade which contains not only numerous functional constituents but also gives the product a differentaroma.[32] However, it also contains a variety of bitter compounds which may affect the flavour of marmalade.[29][32]
Orange marmalade is 33% water and 66%carbohydrates, with negligibleprotein andfat content (table). In a reference amount of 100 g (3.5 oz), orange marmalade supplies 246calories offood energy, with low amounts or nomicronutrients present.[38]
There has been a consumer portion wanting healthier marmalade, like lowered calories, in some costumer groups.[39]
James Keiller and his mother, Janet, ran a small sweet and preserves shop in the Seagate area of Dundee.[12] They then began to produce "Dundee Marmalade". The business prospered, and remains a signature marmalade producer today.[40]
TheFrank Cooper Oxford Marmalade manufacturing business sold marmalade in 1874. It started out first for just forOxford students, but the business expanded all over England and abroad.[41]
Robertson's was founded in 1864 by James and Marion Robertson inPaisley, Renfrewshire. The business was known for making Golden Shred marmalade. Today, it no longer exists, and is now owned byPremier Foods, though they still make the same product Golden Shred.[42]
Under the Canadian Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870), marmalade is a standardised 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.[43]
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.[43]
In the United States, marmalade should contain at least 65 percent soluble solids, and have at least 70 points to be ranked U.S. Grade B or U.S. Choice.[44]
It used to be that theEuropean Union officially called all jam made from citrus fruits marmalade.[11][45] In 2024, a draft was proposed that would allow member states the use of the term "marmalade" as an alternative for "jam".[45] When the draft came into law, territories in the European Union became able to use the phrase for all types of jam.[46]
Thefictional characterPaddington Bear is known for his liking of marmalade, particularly in sandwiches, since he keeps it in his hat wherever he goes.[47] Paddington Bear is now used on the label of the smaller peel ("shred") and clearer/milderRobertson's "Golden Shred" marmalade, in place of the previous icon, the "Golliwog", because it was considered racially offensive.[48] The 2014 moviePaddington led to a slight increase in marmalade sales in the United Kingdom.[49]
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.[50] The use of marmalade represents how food can be used to contain poison,[51] and how poison can be hidden in the sweetness of food.[52]
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. Austen in irony of this states, “that she could taste no greater delight than in making a fillagree basket for a spoilt child”.[53]
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.
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