marmalade

File:Flickr - cyclonebill - Bolle med appelsinmarmelade.jpg

The Romans learned from the Greeks that quinces slowly cooked with honey would "set" when cool. The Apicius gives a recipe for preserving whole quinces, stems and leaves attached, in a bath of honey diluted with defrutum—Roman marmalade. Preserves of quince and lemon appear—along with rose, apple, plum and pear—in the Book of ceremonies of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII.

Medieval quince preserves, which went by the French name {{lang|fr|cotignac}}, produced in a clear version and a fruit pulp version, began to lose their medieval seasoning of spices in the 16th century. In the 17th century, La Varenne provided recipes for both thick and clear {{lang|fr|cotignac}}.{{harvnb|Wilson|1999|p=32 ff}}

In 1524, Henry VIII received a "box of marmalade" from Mr. Hull of Exeter.Public Record Office, Letters and Papers, Foreign & Domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII, vol. 6 (London, 1870) p. 339, noted by {{harvnb|Wilson|1999|p=31 ff}} and by other writers. As it was in a box, this was probably {{lang|pt|marmelada}}, a solid quince paste from Portugal, still made and sold in southern Europe. "Marmalet" was served at the wedding banquet of the daughter of John Neville in Yorkshire in 1530.Peck, Francis, Desiderata Curiosa, vol. 2 (London, 1779), p. 249.

Its Portuguese origins can be detected in the remarks in letters to Lord Lisle, from William Grett, 12 May 1534, "I have sent to your lordship a box of marmaladoo, and another unto my good lady your wife" and from Richard Lee, 14 December 1536, "He most heartily thanketh her Ladyship for her marmalado".

File:JamesRobertson.jpg created Golden Shred marmalade in 1864]]

The English recipe book of Eliza Cholmondeley, dated from 1677 and held at the Chester Record Office in the Cheshire county archives, has one of the earliest marmalade recipes ("Marmelet of Oranges") which produced a firm, thick dark paste. The Scottish are credited with developing marmalade as a spread, with Scottish recipes in the 18th century using more water to produce a less solid preserve.Henry, Diana (2012). "Salt Sugar Smoke: How to preserve fruit, vegetables, meat and fish". Hachette UK

The first printed recipe for orange marmalade, though without the chunks typically used now, was in Mary Kettilby's 1714 cookery book, A Collection of above Three Hundred Receipts (pages 78–79).{{cite news |last=Bateman |first=Michael |title=Hail marmalade, great chieftain o' the jammy race: Mrs Keiller of Dundee added chunks in the 1790s, thus finally defining a uniquely British gift to gastronomy |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/food-drink-hail-marmalade-great-chieftain-o-the-jammy-race-mrs-keiller-of-dundee-added-chunks-in-the-1476300.html |access-date=15 February 2016 |agency=The Independent |date=3 January 1993}}{{harvnb|Wilson|1999}} (cited in The Independent){{cite news |title=Spread over centuries |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/08/19/1061261128384.html|work=The Age|issue=19 August 2003 |date=8 June 2015}} Kettilby called for whole oranges, lemon juice and sugar, with the acid in the lemon juice helping to create the pectin set of marmalade, by boiling the lemon and orange juice with the pulp. Kettilby then directs: "boil the whole pretty fast 'till it will jelly" – the first known use of the word "jelly" in marmalade making. Kettilby then instructs that the mixture is then poured into glasses, covered and left until set. As the acid would create a jelly, this meant that the mixture could be pulled from the heat before it had turned to a paste, keeping the marmalade much brighter and the appearance more translucent, as in modern-day marmalade.

The Scottish moved marmalade to the breakfast table, and in the 19th century, the English followed the Scottish example and abandoned the eating of marmalade in the evening. Marmalade's place in British life appears in literature. James Boswell remarks that he and Samuel Johnson were offered it at breakfast in Scotland in 1773. When American writer Louisa May Alcott visited Britain in the 1800s, she described "a choice pot of marmalade and a slice of cold ham" as "essentials of English table comfort".

File:FollowsAndBateMarmaladeCutter.jpg

Marmalade first appeared in the English language in 1480, borrowed from French {{lang|fr|marmelade}} which, in turn, came from the Galician-Portuguese word {{lang|pt|marmelada}}. According to José Pedro Machado's {{lang|pt|Dicionário Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa|italic=yes}},"Etymological Dictionary of the Portuguese Language" the oldest known document where this Portuguese word is to be found is Gil Vicente's play Comédia de Rubena, written in 1521:

: {{lang|pt|Temos tanta marmelada}} ({{Translation|We have so much quince jelly.}})

: {{lang|pt|Que a minha mãe vai me dar um pouco}} ({{Translation|That my mother will give me some.}})Translation: We have so much quince jelly / That my mother will give me some. [http://www.quimera-editores.com/vicente/pdf/Rubena.pdf Maria João Amaral, ed. Gil Vicente, Rubena (Lisbon:Quimera) 1961 (e-book)]

Greek {{lang|grc|μελίμηλον}} {{lang|grc-Latn|melimēlon}} 'sweet apple', from {{lang|grc|μέλη}} 'honey' + {{lang|grc|μῆλον}} {{lang|grc|mēlon}} 'apple, round fruit', became Galician-Portuguese {{lang|pt|marmelo}} 'quince'.Klein’s Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2366024 Melimelon], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library It also comes from the Latin word {{lang|la|melimelum}} or "a sweet apple".{{Cite web |date=2025-06-01 |title=Definition of MARMALADE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marmalade |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}

A folk etymology asserts that Mary, Queen of Scots ate marmalade as a treatment for seasickness,{{Cite web |title=Marmalade myths - Recipes from Scotland - National Library of Scotland |url=https://digital.nls.uk/recipes/themes/preserves/myths.html |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=digital.nls.uk}} and that the name is derived from her maids' whisper of {{lang|fr|Marie est malade}} ('Mary is ill'). In reality, the word's origin has nothing to do with Mary.{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mar3.htm |title=Marmalade |website=World Wide Words |access-date=2016-07-13}}

File:Green balls.jpg, green marmalade balls by Fazer]]

In much of Europe and Latin America, cognates for the English term marmalade are still used as a generic term for pulpy preserves of all fruits, whereas in Britain it refers solely to preserves typically of citrus peel, such as from grapefruit, orange or lemon. The name originated in the 16th century from Middle French {{lang|frm|marmelade}} and Portuguese, where {{lang|pt|marmelada}} applied to quince jam.{{harvnb|Wilson|1999}}{{cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=marmalade |title=Marmalade |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper |date=2020 |access-date=8 January 2020}}

In Finnish, Russian and former Soviet cuisine, marmalade (Finnish: {{Lang|fi|marmeladi}}, Russian: {{Lang|ru|мармелад}}, {{Transliteration|ru|marmelad}}) refers to a sugar-coated gummy candy made from agar and adapted from a French confectionery in the late 18th century. It is often sold in the form of marmalade slices made to resemble citrus wedges.{{cite web |last=Malinka |first=Vasilisa |title=Lemon marmalade slices: Soviet sweets that make any tea time special |url=https://www.rbth.com/russian-kitchen/331165-lemon-marmalade-slices-soviet-sweets |website=Russia Beyond |access-date=8 August 2022 |date=22 October 2019}} An example of marmeladi candies in Finland is Vihreät kuulat (Finnish for "green balls"), a brand of pear-flavored gummy candies created by Finnish confectioner Karl Fazer from a recipe from St. Petersburg.{{cite web |url=https://www.fazer.fi/tuotteet-ja-asiakaspalvelu/makeiset/artikkelit/marmeladimakeiset/ |title=Marmeladimakeiset - pala makeaa historiaa |lang=fi |trans-title=Marmalade sweets - a piece of sweet history |access-date=9 September 2022 |archive-date=3 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103210443/https://www.fazer.fi/tuotteet-ja-asiakaspalvelu/makeiset/artikkelit/marmeladimakeiset/ |url-status=dead }}

Under the Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870), marmalade is a standardized food and defined as a food of jelly-like composition that consists of at least 65% water-soluble solids. The regulations permit the use of pH adjusting agents to prevent the marmalade from dehydration, antifoaming agents to prevent blemishes on surface coatings and enable efficient filling of containers, and an acid ingredient to compensate for the natural acidity of the citrus fruit used. If pectin is added, the marmalade must contain at least 27% of peel, pulp, or juice of citrus fruit. Class II preservatives may also be used.{{cite web |url=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._870/page-63.html#h-572471 |title=Marmalade |publisher=Consolidated Federal Laws of Canada, Food and Drug Regulations, Government of Canada |date=2019-06-03 |access-date=2019-07-16}}

The Canadian Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870) specify that pineapple or fig marmalade must be of jelly-like consistency, achieved by boiling the pulp of juice of the fruit with water, and a sweetening ingredient. Pineapple or fig marmalade should contain at least 45% of the named fruit.

Since 1979, the EU directive 79/693/CEE defines marmalade as a jam made from citrus fruits. The directive was replaced on 20 December 2001 by the ruling 32001L0113.{{cite web |author=Legislative Services Branch |title=EUR-lex |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1501588491296&uri=CELEX:32001L0113 |website=eur-lex.europa.eu |date=12 January 2002}}

According to a Scottish legend, the creation of orange marmalade in the Scottish city of Dundee occurred by accident. The legend tells of a ship carrying a cargo of oranges that broke down in the port, resulting in some ingenious locals making marmalade out of the cargo.C. Anne Wilson, The Book of Marmalade. Constable, London. 1985. {{ISBN|0-09-465670-3}}. Since then, the city has had a long association with marmalade.{{cite web |title=Features – Scottish Food, Traditions and Customs – Dundee Marmalade |url=http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk/recipebook/index.php?option=com_rapidrecipe&page=viewrecipe&recipe_id=418 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080129010234/http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk/recipebook/index.php?option=com_rapidrecipe&page=viewrecipe&recipe_id=418 |archive-date=2008-01-29 |access-date=2017-01-26 |work=The GBK Cookbook |publisher=The British Food Trust}}

However, this legend was "decisively disproved by food historians", according to a New York Times report.{{cite web |last=Apple Jr. |first=R. W. |date=27 March 2002 |title=This Blessed Plot, This Realm of Tea, This Marmalade |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/27/dining/this-blessed-plot-this-realm-of-tea-this-marmalade.html |access-date=13 January 2020 |work=The New York Times}}

James Keiller and his mother, Janet, ran a small sweet and preserves shop in the Seagate area of Dundee.{{cite web |url=http://scotsindependent.scot/oldsitearchive/scotind/features/food/dundee_marmalade.htm |title=Features – Scottish Food, Traditions and Customs – Dundee Marmalade |work=scotsindependent.org |access-date=15 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216131459/http://scotsindependent.scot/oldsitearchive/scotind/features/food/dundee_marmalade.htm|archive-date=16 February 2017|url-status=dead}} In 1797, they opened a factory to produce "Dundee Marmalade",{{cite web |url=https://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&productId=358128&catalogId=10002 |title=James Keiller & Son Dundee Marmalade, Orange |work=Wegmans.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724032917/https://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&productId=358128&catalogId=10002|archive-date=24 July 2011}} a preserve distinguished by thick chunks of bitter Seville orange rind, being the first company to include it.{{Cite web |last=baybottl |date=2022-01-04 |title=History of Keiller’s Dundee Marmalade |url=https://baybottles.com/tag/history-of-keillers-dundee-marmalade/ |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=Bay Bottles |language=en-US}} The business prospered, and remains a signature marmalade producer today.W.M. Matthew, The Keiller Dynasty 1800–1879 narrates the history of Keillers; [https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/work/scotland/perth_tayside/article_2.shtml BBC News "Legacies: Keiller's: Sticky Success"]: offers an abbreviated version.

File:"Bear Necessities" Paddington Bear, Great Russell Street - geograph.org.uk - 4262782.jpg's marmalade-themed Paddington Bear statue in London, auctioned to raise funds for the NSPCC ]]

Paddington Bear is known for his liking of marmalade, particularly in sandwiches, and kept it in his hat wherever he went.{{cite book|title=Paddington: My Book of Marmalade |last=Bond |first=Michael |others= Illustrated by Peggy Fortnum |year=2008 |publisher=HarperCollins Children's |isbn=978-0-00-726946-4}}

Paddington Bear is now used on the label of the smaller peel ("shred") and clearer/milder Robertson's "Golden Shred" marmalade, in place of the previous icon, "Golliwog", which is considered racially offensive. The 2014 movie Paddington led to a slight increase in marmalade sales in the UK.{{cite news |last=Davies |first=Caroline |title=Marmalade in decline as Paddington struggles to lift sales |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/24/marmalade-in-decline-as-paddington-struggles-to-lift-sales |access-date=25 February 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 February 2017}}

In Jane Austen's 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility an over-indulgent mother feeds apricot marmalade to her fussy three-year-old child who has been slightly scratched by a pin in the mother's hair.{{Cite book |last=Austen |first=Jane |author-link=Jane Austen |title=Sense and Sensibility |year=1811}} In Agatha Christie's 1953 detective novel A Pocket Full of Rye, the first victim of the murderer is given poison hidden in orange marmalade consumed at breakfast.{{cite book|title=Dining Room Detectives: Analysing Food in the Novels of Agatha Christie|author=Silvia Baucekova |year=2015|isbn=978-1443877626|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing}}

{{portal|Food}}

• Keiller's marmalade
• Murabba
• List of spreads
• Succade, candied citrus peel, especially that of the citron
• {{lang|ko-Latn|Yuja-cheong}} ({{Korean|hangul=유자청|hanja=柚子淸|labels=no}}, yuzu marmalade)
• Zest (ingredient)
• Citrus taiwanica

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Wilson |first=C. Anne |author-link=C. Anne Wilson |title=The Book of Marmalade: its antecedents, its history and its rôle in the world today together with a collection of recipes for marmalades & marmalade cookery |publisher=Constable |year=1999 |edition=2 |orig-date=1985 |isbn=0-09-465670-3}}

• {{cite book |last=Allen |first=Brigid |title=Cooper's Oxford: A history of Frank Cooper Limited |year=1989 |ref=none}}
• {{cite book |last=Mathew |first=W. M. |title=Keiller's Of Dundee: The Rise of the Marmalade Dynasty 1800–1879 |ref=none}}
• {{cite book |last=Mathew |first=W. M. |title=The Secret History of Guernsey Marmalade |ref=none}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Marmalade}}

{{English cuisine}}

{{Citrus}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Citrus dishes

Category:Orange production

Category:Portuguese cuisine

Category:Scottish cuisine