If you prefer a bit of variety at breakfast then combining citrus fruit to make a three or four fruit marmalade is as easy as making a traditional recipe.

I'm a convert to the whole fruit method of making marmalade, and this recipe is based on that.

As a convert to making marmalade using the whole fruit method, I was keen to get another batch made before the Seville oranges disappeared from the shops.
I'd several jars of membrillo in the store cupboard and hoped that by adding some of the quinces subtle flavour to the marmalade I'd create something a bit special.

This twist also gives a historical nod to the origins of marmalade as the word derives from marmelo, the Portuguese word for quinces. The original marmalade is in fact thought to have been quince jam.

Making marmalade seems to be one of those British winter pastimes whose traditions get passed down through the generations. The day that Seville oranges appear in the green grocers is nervously waited for, then several days are cleared to allow for the slicing and peeling, boiling and bottling, always allowing for a few extra jars to be handed out to those unfortunate enough not to have the time to partake.

I've made marmalade before using a traditional recipe, but this year decided to go for the whole fruit method.
I'd been recommended this technique by several friends who swore by how easy it was, particularly when it came to slicing the oranges.

Marmalade makers wanting to enter The World’s Original Marmalade Awards & Festival have just over a fortnight left to perfect their citrusy concoctions, parcel up their jars and post them off for judging.

Entries for the 2011 World’s Original Marmalade Awards & Festival need to be received no later than Sunday 6 February and so a final a’peel’ is being made for last minute entrants to get their skates on. With a glut of recent headlines suggesting UK marmalade sales are falling, festival organisers are hoping to prove the preserve is still popular with Brits and that a growing number are now making their own.

February is the time of the year to make marmalade as the new season of citrus fruit is in the shops. As well as using the traditional Seville oranges, marmalade can be made with limes, grapefruit or lemons, or any combination of the above.

I was inspired to make this recipe because I still have a bag of limes in the freezer, left over from a cheap box full I got at a car boot sale last spring. You can easily freeze all citrus fruit and use them to make marmalade later in the year if you wish.

My sister is an expert maker of pickles and preserves, and made a large batch of red onion marmalade with balsamic vinegar for consumption with the mountains of cheese at her recent wedding.

While she couldn't quite remember the exact recipe, it was similar to this red onion marmalade recipe. I would highly recommend it as an alternative to using brown onions.

About the only thing thriving in our garden at the moment, apart from a few slowly swelling squashes, are the leeks. It set me thinking about the possibilities of preserving them.

Not being able to find any recipes that weren't for something more like a relish, that would only last a few days in the fridge, I posted some queries on the several forums.
This raised some interesting thoughts:

I'm a bit unsure about Onion marmalade, not the taste or concept, just the naming of it. In my mind a marmalade is a fruit preserve, made from citrus fruit. However, fashion has invented a version using onions, which I guess tends to be sweeter and more jam like than an onion chutney, so I was tempted into trying it out using some of the onions still laid out in the greenhouse.

I tried to keep the recipe simple and not go down the 'slow caramalised heritage variety red and white onion marmalade with single estate vintage balsamic vinegar' route. I did succumb to the addition of caraway seeds, as I'd never seen these used in a preserve before.

An exciting few days - making marmalade for the first time, something I've always fancied doing but never got round to. I think as it was I probably left it a bit late, luckily the local supermarket had bags of Seville oranges.
I promptly bought several bags and left them in a bowl for a while.

Researching recipes threw up a quandary, whether to use the 'whole fruit method' as recommended by Mary Cadogan on the BBC Good Food website, or to go with the 'slice the peel before simmering' version from my trusted "Good Housekeeping" Cookery Book.
In the end the second won out, purely because it was late in the afternoon and I didn't want to hang around waiting for oranges to cool before slicing them.