Seville Orange Marmalade & Valencian Mandarina Orange Marmalade

This was one of two kinds of marmalade made in Spain that I gave J as a part of Christmas gifts.

I am a fruit jam eater and usually keep several kinds of jams in the refrigerator. J is not a jam eater yet he said he would like to have marmalade, which wasn't unfortunately in my collection. That gave me an idea for a Christmas gift for him: marmalade. I searched premium marmalade made in US. No luck. Then, I checked marmalade made in UK, a country where appears that people commonly have marmalade on toast for breakfast. I found a few potential candidates, but they didn't strongly persuade me to purchase immediately. Who or where makes excellent marmalade? Suddenly I remembered the story of Dundee Cake, a traditional Scottish fruitcake originally created in a town of marmalade, Dundee.  Once upon a time, a Spanish ship stopped at the harbor of Dundee, carrying tons of Seville oranges that were getting old. Mr. Keiller bought the oranges and his wife made jam with them, which is known as marmalade now. The story directed my focus to Spain, where oranges are grown. After then, it was so easy to find two marmalade that sounded worth trying.

One was Elasun Seville Orange Marmalade that "graces the breakfast tables of the King and Queen of Spain at the Royal Palace of the Zarzuela, as well as the home of the Prince and Princess of Asturias," according to the seller. The marmalade was made with "a fresh batch of exquisite Seville bitter orange marmalade by hand using only 100% natural ingredients. There are no preservatives, colorings or additives whatsoever; simply bitter oranges, a touch of sugar and lemon, simmered for twelve hours to produce a truly delicious product with abundant flavor." The description surely convinced me to buy one.

The other was Valencian Mandarina Orange Marmalade, made with sweet clementines grown in the coastal city, Valencia. The Mermelda de Mandarina is rated as the very best in Spain according to the respected gourmet guide: "Lo mejor de la gastronomía española," according to the seller. I already decided to buy Elasun Seville Orange Marmalade, but why not this one, too?

Both marmalade were excellent. Elasun Seville Orange Marmalade was clearly bitter yet bright and clean. Valencian Mandarina Orange Marmalade was less bitter and had a sort of floral aroma. Either one wasn't sugary or syrupy. Now I know where I should look at when I would like to find truly delicious marmalade.