Add the sugar, stirring well to dissolve. Increase the heat and boil rapidly for about 20 minutes, or until setting point is reached. Step 6

Battle with tin opener to opened dented tin of Ma Made. Somehow succeed in getting the contents out. Realise that if you use an elderly Aga, and have just put an enormous pan of cold stuff on top, after already cooking two sets of noodles and two sets of stir fry, the chances of there being enough heat left to bring it to the boil any time soon are approximately nil. Curse the Aga. Pause for short day dream about modern hobs that actually, you know, heat things. Resume marmalade making attempts the next day. Marvel when the marmalade finally does come up to the boil. Cut the halves into quarters. Cut away the membrane and add to the pips, then cut away a thin layer of pith and add to the pips. Chop the peel into thin strips and tip into a preserving pan. Cut out a 35.5cm (14in) square of muslin, pile pips, membrane and pith in the middle, gather up and tie with a 45.5cm (18in) piece of string.

It took a mere two months for me to buy the sugar, use the sugar for something else, buy more sugar and finally get round to cleaning the jars and actually making the marmalade. Because of the tartness of a Seville orange, the ratio of sugar to fruit in marmalade is 2:1. This recipe calls for 2kg of sugar and 1kg of oranges but you can scale it down or up using that ratio. How do you sterilise jam jars?

I duly hoarded jam jars like the worryingsubject of a Channel 4 documentary, and insisted on a special trip to Aldi when preserving pans and jam thermometers were on special buy. As the Seville orange season came and went, I resigned myself to another year without attempting home-made marmalade. So when I saw a battered jar of Ma Made on the reduced shelf in the Co-op, I had to buy it.Officially: “Test after 2 minutes, by drawing a finger over the surface. If it wrinkles, setting point has been reached. If not, reboil for a few minutes. Test again.” Well, I tried the finger business after two minutes, and it seemed a little bit wrinkly, so I kept the marmalade boiling for a few more minutes, then took it off the heat and had another go. Remove the oranges from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Carefully measure out 1.7 litres/3 pints of the cooking liquid, discarding any extra or topping up with water as necessary. Return the liquid to the pan.

Bring the marmalade to a rolling boil for 10-15 minutes. Skim off any orange scum that rises to the surface. Tie the muslin bag to the pan handle, so it hangs near the bottom of the pan. Add the juice and 3 litres (5¼ pints) cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 2hr without a lid or until the peel is very, very tender and the liquid has reduced to around 1cm (½in) depth. Skim off any scum during cooking and discard. Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1. Wash the jars well in warm soapy water then rinse thoroughly under running water. Leave the jars and lids to dry, upside down, in the oven. Place a few saucers in the freezer to chill (these will be used to test if the cooked marmalade has reached setting point). Note instruction on tin to “Add a knob of butter during boiling to disperse foam”. Realise have run out of butter. Decide to ignore any foam. Sit in the sunshine eating toast and marmalade, even if you have run out of butter. Lemon juice? Pah. I think it tastes just fine. Paddington would be proud.If you can't get unwaxed fruit, rub with a tiny drop of washing-up liquid, rinse well and dry. Weigh the fruit - you need around 1.6kg (3½lb) in total - then cut in half. Squeeze by hand or with an electric juicer to extract as much juice as possible, then pour into a jug through a sieve to catch any pips. Put pips to one side.

Leave marmalade to stand for a further 2-3 minutes, before pouring into warmed jars.” The wide mouthed metal funnel I was given years ago came in really handy here, for transferring hot marmalade from an enormous pan into the jars with minimal mess. Raise heat and mixture to a boil. Add sugar to citrus mixture and mix until well combined. Let boil until mixture reaches 223ºF on a candy thermometer, about 30 minutes. Keep a close eye on the marmalade. The mixture should darken in color. Test the doneness of the marmalade by placing a small amount of the marmalade on the chilled plate and letting it sit for 30 second. The mixture should turn into a soft gel and move slightly. If it is runny and thin, let it continue to boil until it reaches desired consistency. Officially: “Reduce heat, maintain boil for a further 15 mins, stir occasionally”. In practice, attempt to supervise stirring by children briefly keen to help, to avoid super-heated sugar syrup disasters. Remove the pips and place them on a large square of muslin. Tie the muslin into a bag with a piece of string - the string needs to be long enough to secure the bag and be tied to the handle of the saucepan, but also must reach the bottom of the pan. Step 4When the oranges are cool enough to handle, cut them in half and scoop out the flesh, pith and pips into a bowl. Pour the orange pulp into a muslin bag and secure with kitchen string. Add to the pan.