Moro Marmalade

Is it spring yet?  All of this snow and cold is making me long for the warmth and green hues of spring and summer. 
If there is one good thing about winter though, its the arrival of Moro oranges.  Also known as blood oranges, these sweet oranges with a ruby interior arrive in the area begining in early January.  They are tart and sweet with a hint of raspberry flavor.
My favorite way to use blood oranges, other than just peeling an eating them, is to turn them into marmalade.  This is my adaptation of the blood orange marmalade recipe found in Ball's Complete Book of Home Preserving.

Makes 8 8-ounce jars

Ingredients:

3lbs blood oranges
2 lemons
4c. water
6c. sugar
1/3c powdered fruit pectin (or one package)

Scrub the oranges and lemons under running water to clean them first.

With a knife, slice off the tops and bottoms of the oranges and lemons.  Score the peels lengthwise into quarters.  Remove the peels.  Place the peels in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring the peels to a boil.  After they have boiled for ten minutes, drain them and refill the pot with water.  Bring the water to a boil, and continue to cook the peels for another ten minutes.  Drain peels and use a spoon or a knife to scrape off the white pith from the peels.  Discard the pith.  Cut the peels into thin strips with a knife.

Working over a bowl to catch the juice and fruit, cut the orange and lemon segments away from the membranes.  Squeeze the remaining juice from the membranes into the bowl with the segments.  Discard the membranes.  Repeat for all of the oranges and lemons.

Add the peels, fruit, juices, and the water to a large stainless steel pan.  Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat until the mixture is just at a simmer.  Simmer for thirty minutes or until the peels are very soft.

While the mixture is simmering, prepare the canning lids and jars.

When the fruit mixture is finished cooking, turn off the heat and add the powdered pectin.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add the sugar all at once and stir well to combine.  Bring the mix back up to a boil and boil hard for exactly one minute.  Remove from heat.

Ladle the marmalade into the prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Cap the jars and process in a boiling water bath for ten minutes.  Remove jars from the canner.  The marmalade will gel as it cools.

Make sure that you use stainless steel cookware, as the acid in the fruit will react with other metals.