Why Every Home Should Have a Marmalade Day
My favorite book series as a child was “Paddington Bear.” I loved following the humorous misadventures and happenstances of the fluffy, adorable bear, but most of all I adored—and resonated with—his love of marmalade. “Paddington Bear” was the reason I began to spread my toast with the thick, orange preserves each morning, taking bites between big gulps of English tea. A jar of the warm, amber-colored spread has been a pantry staple my whole life.
Marmalade—not jam—I had to remind my bemused husband early on in our marriage, when he came home from the grocery store with a jar of apricot jam, thinking it was the same thing. The two, I passionately declared, are not the same. Jam is made with the juices and pulp of a fruit; marmalade is made specifically with whole citrus fruit, including the juices, the peel, and the rind. The result is a sweet, tangy, chunky spread that, on a fresh slice of toast, is as delightful a treat as its name suggests.