We’re writing from Canada to assure you that we stay young by making marmalade here too (Letters, 20 February), although at 72 and 74, maybe we aren’t experts yet. We do have a suggestion to add to the bliss of marmalade on toast. An auntie in New Zealand introduced us years ago to adding a layer of Marmite, thusly: take a slice of hearty wholegrain toast, slather with butter, smear a layer of Marmite, then a layer of marmalade. Delicious. Sweet and salty, warm and buttery. We’ve never tried it with English Marmite though, only with the New Zealand brand, which is more suitable for spreading on toast.
David and Bryony Graham
Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada
• My marmalading activities ended abruptly as soon as I came to live in Italy. Seville oranges are nowhere to be seen, and in any case would be far too bitter for Italians’ taste. But then my Malaga-living brother and his partner parcelled up vast quantities of Seville oranges – dripping off every tree there – and posted them. The Italian postal system being what it is, they took two weeks to arrive; I could smell them before they made it through the door. I made enough marmalade for a year. As it seems mandatory to give one’s age, I’m a mere 71 and a quarter. Next year I intend to board a Malaga-bound plane and pick my own.
Maria Paisley
Grizzana Morandi, Bologna, Italy
• Not quite 79 yet, so still a junior after 25 years of taking on my in-laws’ marmalade recipe here in Canada. I switched to California Sevilles about 20 years ago – much juicier, and as bitter as the Spanish oranges we could no longer get. I just made about 65 jars totalling 29 litres. We love it on toast – or by the spoonful. We also take pride in giving it away to family and friends. Got to go – the toast just popped up.
Mark Whitcombe
Orangeville, Ontario, Canada
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