‘Citrus marmalade?’ Well, that’s a tautology, if ever I’ve heard one. I’ve been making marmalade for a long time and written about it extensively. I wouldn’t quite paint myself as a marmalade obsessive (I’ve met them, and I know that I cannot literally or figuratively compete), but I’m certainly a marmalade fangirl. They line my cupboards and are a breakfast non-negotiable. I seek out unusual citrus fruit, and pore over old preserve cookery books. January is officially marmalade-making season in our house and, for the full month, every window is steamed up, every surface is slightly tacky from over-zealous jarring. 

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So when the news came out recently that there were plans afoot under the government’s planned EU food deal to rebrand marmalade as ‘citrus marmalade’, I almost spat out my citrus marmalade-covered toast. 

One of the questions I’m often asked (ok, not often, but several times a year) when I disclose that I have a whole cupboard devoted to the preserve, and have judged countless jars of it at the Dalemain World Marmalade Awards is: what defines a marmalade? And my answer is an easy one: it must be made from citrus fruit. After that, almost everything else is........

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