Since several of you asked here it is and even if you don't have an Aga, I can't see why this wouldn't work with some amendments.
The ingredients we use are..
4lb Seville Oranges
Juice of two lemons (thank you Tinker)
8lb sugar
5 pints water
First things first, the sugar stands on the back of the Aga to warm.
The oranges and lemon juice go in a pan, cover them with the water, bring to the boil making sure the oranges are under the water (we weighted them with a plate). At this point we covered the pan and stashed it in the simmering (bottom) oven of the Aga for two hours as instructed, and took the dogs for walk.
This dog-walking isn't essential to the final outcome but it seemed like a nice thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. I think you could equally put the oranges in an ordinary oven on a low heat, or perhaps gently simmer the on a very very low heat and get the same effect. The main thing is you don't want to lose the liquid which is the prectin-rich base for your M-Aga-lade along with hot, soft squidgy oranges that are then incredibly easy to scoop out.
Extract the oranges from the liquid and then do the scooping. Put all the pith, pips etc back into the liquid leaving you with the skins.
Bring the liquid to the boil for 6 minutes or so (no, I don't why 6 exactly either) with the lid off, then strain this liquid through a sieve, mashing the pulp through with a wooden spoon until you can mash it through no more.
Then pour HALF this liquid into the preserving pan.
You will have a debate about this...
'Why bother to do this in two halves when...look... it will all fit in there easily..'.
'But we haven't added sugar yet...'
'Nah...it'll be fine..'
'No let us proceed as per Mary Berry's instructions....remember the strawberry jam/ Quick Jel debacle...'
Who could forget that. The gallons of non-setting strawberry jam at 11pm on a sweltering hot evening and the emergency addition of the Quick Jel rather than stand there stirring until the morning. And what a good thing we did listen to Mary...always listen to Mary people.
Meanwhile chop the skins into fine shreds or chunky shreds...whatever you want.
We had two large pans of equal quantity of liquid on the go and added half the shreds to each, with half the sugar to each.Bookhound took his out to the gas hob and I coaxed mine on the Aga and the race was on for the first rolling boil, the first puckering of the sample on the saucer, and the mad rush to find more jars in the shed because it made far more (14 jars) than we thought it would and very quickly too... setting in about 20 minutes. I was hovering with the pectin(oh me of little faith) which I keep in the larder all the time after the liquid strawberry fiasco.
Let the M-Aga-lade stand for ten minutes or so before pouring so that the shreds don't float to the top, and then hey presto, jar up and be very pleased with yourself for bothering.
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