The only way you will go wrong with this is not getting it hot enough, or cooking it for too long. Invest in a jam/sugar thermometer to save worrying

• 1kg oranges, whole – any type
• 1kg white granulated sugar
• 1-2 lemons, whole
• Some spices if you like – star anise works really well
• Whisky or port if you like

1. Boil the oranges and lemons in a large pan of water for 2 hours on a medium heat. do this the night before to give them plenty of time to cool down
2. Sterilise jars and lids by cleaning some in the sink then putting them into a quick cycle in the dishwasher, or boil them for 10 minutes in a pan of water
3. Squeeze the boiled and cooled oranges and lemons into a large heavy bottomed pan
4. Decide now if you want to make your marmalade clear or with bits
5. If you want clear marmalade, add 250ml of water and skip to step 8
6. If you want your marmalade with bits, take the cooked chunks of peel and slice it finely then add it to the juice
7. Add enough water to cover the peel
8. Add the sugar to the pan and very gently heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil
9. When it starts bubbling reduce the heat a little and, while stirring, bring the heat up until it bubbles like crazy without overflowing. When the bubbles start holding for a second or two before popping it is getting near finished.
10. When the temperature gets to 104.5c, or when it drips off the handle of a wood spoon in neat “flakes”
11. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes and scrape the bubbly scum off the top and discard
12. Mix in any spices you want to use
13. Mix in a glass of whiskey or port if using
14. Pour into sterilised jars and seal
15. Will keep for ages on the shelf. Once opened can be stored in the fridge until it gets its first bit of mould (months)

If you get nowhere near hot enough, the marmalade will come out in a beautiful mushy texture but won’t keep for very long even in the fridge. Making it this way should only be done if you are adding peel

If you get it almost, but not quite hot enough, it will be runny

If you cook it for far too long, the moisture will evaporate, the sugar will crystalise, the colour will get really dark and the marmalade will get bitter and chewy.

Invest in a sugar thermometer – one of the flat metal ones that you can hook over the rim of the pan and keep in while cooking. While an infrared thermometer is great for almost everything else in the kitchen, it only measures the surface temperature which can differ significantly from that in the middle