Nickel Boys was a good movie based upon a book regarding some horrifically true stories of abuse that occurred at the reformatory Dozier School for Boys in Florida. I’m thinking the book might be better than the movie, though. I didn’t particularly like the way the story was told, how characters and certain reactions were revealed via a 2nd-take, or the dizzying “god view” from just behind the character in several scenes. Even more annoying was when the character went in for a hug from his grandmother, the camera goes toward her chest, but then ends up over her shoulder, and there is no accompanying sound that your ears would hear when going in on a real hug. So, it was really, very odd and annoying.
Anyway, oranges were prevalent throughout the movie, but not in the way Godfather implemented it, along with some canned food items the school would sell to townies. So, I thought I’d make orange marmalade. Now, fair warning, marmalade is not jam. It is only slightly sweet (like poor Elwood Curtis) and has bitter overtones. But, not as bitter as the overtones in the movie. I served this up over some warm homemade biscuits slathered in butter. But, the biscuits didn’t turn out just right. So, I’m not sharing that recipe today.
Orange Marmalade
3 navel oranges
1 lemon
2 ⅓ cups sugar
½ tsp Kosher salt
Thoroughly rub the fruit under running water to ensure any chemicals or gunk from transit/the grocery store is cleaned off.
Halve all of the fruit and juice, reserving ⅔ cups of orange juice and 2 tbsp of lemon juice in separate bowls.
Toss the juiced fruit into a medium-sized dutch oven and cover with 10 cups of water.
Bring the pot of fruit and water to a boil.
Then, cover and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook for 60-80 minutes, until a paring knife can easily slip into an orange rind.
Turn off the heat. Re-cover the pot and let it steep for 12-24 hours.
After the fruit steeps, remove the fruit halves, gently squeezing them to allow the juice to drip back into the pot (don’t worry if any citric falls-in).
Discard the lemon halves and cut the orange rinds in half lengthwise.
On a cutting board, using a spoon, scoop the pulp and pith away from the rinds. Add the pulp and pith back into the pot. Keep the orange rinds on the cutting board.
Set a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and pour the pot contents into the strainer.
Using a rubber spatula, press the pulpy stuff releasing all of the liquids into the bowl. Run the rubber spatula along the outside of the mesh to capture the gelatinous goop and ensure that gets into the bowl. Discard the solids from the sieve.
Add the liquid from the bowl back into the pot, along with the reserved orange juice from the prior day, and bring to a boil, uncovered.
Meanwhile, thinly slice the orange rinds into ⅛”-¼” width. Take ⅔ of the slice peels and minced them.
Once the juice is boiling, stir in the sugar. Then, add in the reserved lemon juice, sliced and minced peels, and the salt.
Stir once more and return to a boil. Once the pot is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-high and boil for 20-30 mins, until the temperature of the boiling liquid reaches 220 degrees.
Once it reaches temperature, turn off the heat and remove from the burner.
Allow the marmalade to settle for 5 minutes. Then, ladle into jars. Cover, but don’t tighten the lids and allow the marmalade to cool to room temperature.
At that time, you can serve it fresh, or secure the lids and place in the refrigerator to hold.
______________________________ Copyright 2025, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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