Last week I found myself in possession of a whole bunch of  sweet Louisiana oranges. Well, what’s a girl to do with that many oranges? Make marmalade, of course! Yes, you can do a lot with oranges, but I was out of marmalade.

This recipe was published a few years ago in a December issue about great homemade gifts. Because I’m trying watch how much sugar goes into my diet, I decided to experiment a little and make this batch with an all natural sugar substitute. I picked up a bag of Swerve, a sugar substitute made from all natural ingredients and at a facility just down the road from here in Mandeville, Louisiana. It turned out pretty well! However, I’m sure my mother will detect the difference and be calling shortly to tell me how to make marmalade…I enjoyed it immensely on a hot buttered biscuit after I took the photograph here.

Louisiana Orange Marmalade
4 Louisianaoranges
2  Myer lemons
2 1/2 cups water
1/8 teaspoons baking soda
1 packet no-sugar-added pectin
2 cups natural sugar substitue or 6 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoons nutmeg

Remove peel from oranges and lemons, reserve fruit. Scrape off white pith and discard. Thinly slice peel. In a medium saucepan, combine orange and lemon peel, water and baking soda. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes. Remove seeds and any white membrane from oranges and lemons. Finely chop fruit. Add fruit to peel and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Measure 5 cups of prepared fruit.

Combine prepared fruit and pectin in a large saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil. Stir in sugar and nutmeg; return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam, if necessary. Stir for 5 minutes. Carefully ladle hot marmalade into hot jars, leaving 1/4 –inch headspace. Wipe rim and threads of jars with a clean, damp cloth. Place lid on jar with sealing compound next to glass. Screw jar band down evenly and firmly just until a point of resistance is net-fingertip tight. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes