• Wash the lemons. Wash the lemons well, giving them a good scrub if they have been waxed. Then cut in half and juice.

  The easiest way to juice is with an electric juicer, but if you don't have one then a traditional manual juicer or reamer will also work perfectly well.. Put the juice in a large saucepan.
  0.6 kg lemons
• Collect the pips and pith. Scoop the pith and seeds out of the juiced lemon halves. Place the collected pith and pips onto a square of muslin, or jelly bag. Tie tightly shut.
• Slice the peel .Cut the tops and bottoms off the lemons and discard. Then slice the peel.

  Cut each half peel into three, then stack the three strips on top of each other and cut across into narrow strips of approximately the same size.

  Marmalade can be thick cut or fine shred, so cut as you prefer.
• Add the water and the bag of pips and pith to the pan.
  1.5 litres water
• Cook the peel. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, and cook for 2 hours, uncovered, until the peel is cooked and tender, and the liquid has reduced by about a third. Check that the peel is soft and will cut easily with a spoon.
• Remove the pips and pith. Take out the bag of pips and squeeze the juice from the bag into the pan. One easy way of doing this is by pressing the bag between two plates.
• Prepare clean jam jars. Arrange them on a roasting dish and place in an oven on a low heat.
• Add the sugar to the pan.
  1.2 kg sugar
• Heat the mixture on a low setting to dissolve the sugar. Keep stirring as it dissolves.
• Rolling boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a fast rolling boil. Keep boiling for 5–10 minutes, until you have reached the setting point. Check for a set.

Testing for setting point. Use one or more of these three methods.

• The temperature test. Really accurate electronic jam thermometers are readily available, and not expensive. They are much easier to read than traditional thermometers. Heat the marmalade to the 105°C and once it's that hot it should at at setting point. I always double check and test with a wrinkle test.
• The wrinkle test. Place a couple of side plates in the freezer before you add the sugar. Once the marmalade is boiling, start testing by placing some on the plate. Allow it to cool and when you push your finger through the marmalade, if it's setting you'll see it wrinkle up a little ahead of your finger. This technique takes a bit of practice.
• The flake test. Take a spoonful of marmalade from the pan and turn it vertically to tip it out. If the marmalade runs off quickly and completely it hasn't set. If, however a little remains on the spoon in a sort of wide drip that doesn't fall, then the marmalade is ready. Again, this works best with some practice.

Once setting point has been reached:

• Cool and jar. Let the marmalade cool for about 10 minutes, and then transfer to the warmed jam jars. Fit the lids and allow to cool completely.