MARMALADE MATTERS

MARMALADE MATTERS

January is Seville orange month, and if you’ve never made your own marmalade before, do. Mr I seriously doesn’t cook, but he has a vested interest in ensuring the quality of his favourite breakfast essential, and is therefore currently to be seen whisking little plates in and out of the freezer, and stalking the kitchen like a crazed heron, waiting for the critical setting point to be reached. I am entrusted with the slicing, squeezing and stirring, plus the washing and warming of the jars, but he descends for the flashy bit of gauging the precise moment to take the pan from the heat – and thus gets all the praise for the perfectly set final product. To be fair, that suits me perfectly, so long as I am allowed to decant it into the jars, and stick the labels on the front. Teamwork. It makes the world go round.