9:56am Friday 1st February 2008
WELL, we knew times were hard when even Paddington Bear was seen on a TV advert recently eating a Marmite sandwich.
What, no marmalade? Paddington's creator, Michael Bond, was quick to confirm that Paddington's loyalty to marmalade sandwiches was unshaken.
But it could be a sign of the times. Although the marmalade market is worth £59m a year, sales are down. We are eating less of it than we were. This is partly because many of us don't eat breakfast and partly because marmalade is pretty much for grown ups. That's why one manufacturer is considering making "orange jam" especially to appeal to children.
But marmalade is much more than orange jam. Marmalade isn't just a sickly sweet confection but has that hint of bitterness in it, which makes it so delectable and different.
Traditionally, the best marmalade is made from Seville oranges - available in this country now - where the tartness of the oranges combines with the sugar to make something that still retains that sharp tang of the fruit.
The world's most expensive marmalade is apparently worth £5,000. Made by Duerr's, it contains gold, vintage champagne and 62-year-old malt whisky.
It costs around £76 per slice of toast and will be on display at the Cumbria marmalade festival next weekend.
All well and good, but we still say the best marmalade is home-made. If you can't make it yourself - and it's easier than you think - then ask someone who can. Try your mum, your granny, your uncle, the WI market, church fairs and farm shops. There is nothing like it.
Home-made marmalade is unequivocally the best.
But in the meantime, we've been trying a random selection of some of the marmalades available in shops and supermarkets, including some of the more exotic versions. There are some decent ones.
Maybe it's time you tried it again... if just to keep Paddington company.
PROPER MARMALADE FOR GROWN-UPS Frank Coopers Vintage Oxford marmalade, £1.55 for 454g, 40g of fruit per 100gm MADE with coarse-cut Seville oranges, this is thick, dark and chunky. Legend has it that Frank Cooper's wife, Sarah, made too much marmalade for the family, so her husband sold it in his grocer's shop, where it was snapped up by students and dons alike. In those days, breakfast was still very much a meaty meal and marmalade was the "pudding". By 1903, Frank Cooper opened a factory nearly the railway station in Oxford. The marmalade was so popular that Scott took some on his expedition to the Antarctic.
Rosebud Preserves Lemon Marmalade with Ginger, £2.49 for 227g, medium cut Made with 50g fruit per 100g.
THIS has a wonderfully simple ingredients list - sugar, lemons, ginger - and is made by Elspeth Biltoft near Masham in a small-scale traditional way. It has a good lemony flavour with satisfying chunks of ginger and isn't sickly sweet.
GOOD FOR MARMALADE VIRGINS These marmalades are worth trying if you never normally eat marmalade.
They have an interesting enough flavour to give you an idea of why marmalade isn't orange jam, but aren't too chunky or bitter.
Audrey Baxter Pink Grapefruit Marmalade, £2.65 for 227g, very little peel, but excellent sharp flavour.
Bonne Maman Bitter Orange Marmalade, £1.59 for 370g, a bit bland, but not too sickly.
Duchy Original Organic Marmalade, £1.95 for 340g, nice flavour, runny, soft chunks of peel.
Lewis And Cooper Fresh Lime, £2.79 for 340g, lots of limes and a delicate flavour Marks & Spencer Sicilian Blood Orange marmalade, £1.49 for 454g, fairly chunky and reasonable if not very robust flavour. Made with fair trade sugar.
Mrs Bridges Four Fruit Marmalade, £2.45 for 340g, this is a bit sweet and solid, but has a good flavour Spanks Sicilian Lemon Marmalade, £3.55 for 340g, thin cut and runny with a decent sharp flavour Wilkins Tiptree Old Times Orange, £1.72 for 454g, very traditional, very acceptable.
MARMALADE FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE IT These bear no resemblance at all to real marmalade.
They are sickly sweet and smooth, without a hint of bitterness.
Yes, they are merely "orange jam" and should probably be labelled as such.
Duerrs Traditional Fine Cut Seville Orange Marmalade, 83p for 454g Marks & Spencer No Peel Marmalade, £1.49 for 454g Robertson's Golden Shred, £1.18 for 454g Robertson's Golden Shredless, 98p for 454 g
Bylines
AFTER we looked at the rotten deal single shoppers get in supermarkets, Maureen Stephenson wrote from Darlington to say that she finds shopping in the Indoor Market a great bonus.
"Everything is fresh and can be bought in whatever quantities are necessary. The friendly service I receive at Fenwicks and Blairs, pictured, is just great. I am able to buy small amounts of ingredients so there isn't much to carry."
We also mentioned the time my mother was told by a checkout assistant to take the free cauliflower and throw it away. "I usually buy my fruit and vegetables from the market at Northallerton," writes Mrs M Grayson.
"There I find stallholders will not only sell you just what you want, but if a cauliflower or a swede is too big, they will slice it up and sell you just a half.
This saves both money and waste, and you usually get a cheery word while you're shopping."
GOOD news for those with wheat intolerance. Bob Kelsall emails from Heighington to say that Leas Bakers in Thompson Street East in Darlington make 100 per cent rye bread for special orders. "A lovely mouthwatering shop."
Bouquets of the week
Dear Sharon,
IN the high winds at the weekend, two panels of my garden fence blew off and out into the road where they were causing a danger to cars and people.
I am a pensioner and not quick on my feet and couldn't do anything about it, but my neighbour Ron Sanders saw what had happened.
He rushed out and brought the fence panels back and put them at the side of the house where they wouldn't blow away. He stayed out there in the wind and tied another fence post to the tree to stop it blowing away.
On Sunday afternoon when the wind had died down he came round with his son, Gary, and they fixed the fence really well, better than it was before, as well as patching one of the panels which had got damaged.
They also put all my plant pots back the right way up for me.
I thought it was very kind and neighbourly and I would love you to send them some chocolates.
Joan Barker, Darlington.
* The wind certainly caused some damage last week, but it is reassuring to hear that there are people willing to help. We're sending Ron and Gary a box of chocs as a thank you for their prompt kindness.
JENNIFER McLaren of Darlington had the dreaded bug over New Year and was unable to join her family in Scotland.
"I could barely stand up and couldn't leave the house and I don't know how I would have managed without my neighbours Anna and Barry Stephens who looked after me and my dog and fetched my medicine for me and the little bit of shopping when I started to feel better. Not the best start to 2008 but thank goodness for good neighbours."
When Mr JG Welsh of Willington had a problem with his central heating boiler, he rang Rob Richardson gas fitting and plumbing services and would like to thank him for "his outstanding response".
"The gas fitter came the next day, was very polite and told me that I had just not set it right. He did that for me and when I asked him how much, he replied "No charge".
* If you want to say a public thank you for good service or to a helpful neighbour, kind stranger or efficient business, then just write with all the details to Sharon Griffiths, Bouquet of the Week, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF. Or e-mail sjgriff111@aol.com. Each week the person nominated in our main letter gets a real bouquet of flowers or a box of posh chocs.
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