The olive taste test

In our new column, we put marmalade on test, so you can use the best in your recipes

HOW WE TESTED

We tasted all the marmalades raw, looking at peel thickness, peel amount and consistency, as well as the overall flavour. We then spread each one on buttered sourdough toast (writer’s own!) and tasted them again.

Where possible we chose marmalades with thick-cut peel, as we feel this is the cut for a true marmalade aficionado.

We’ve highlighted a few of the best for flavour, with one all-rounder that came out on top.

Harvey Nichols Seville Orange Thin Cut Marmalade

£3.50/340g

The perfect entry-level marmalade. A thick set with a light orange colour and delicate, thin peel. It’s on the sweeter side, with less of the intense bitterness of some of the others but has a really rounded orange flavour. Perfect for the newly converted, for kids or when you want to eat lots of marmalade toast without getting taste bud fatigue.

Waitrose Duchy Organic Seville Orange Marmalade Thick Cut

£2/340g

A dark orange colour with plenty of thick strips of peel in a smooth orange jam. A really balanced marmalade, plenty of bitterness matched with a sweet, zesty flavour. A good all-rounder and would be perfect for baking.

Wilkin & Sons Ltd ‘Tawny’ Orange Thick Cut Marmalade

£2.30/454g

One for the marmalade connoisseur. Devilishly dark with a slight caramelised flavour and chunky but tender peel. Very bitter and grown-up flavour. It was probably the most intense marmalade we tried, so not one for the newbies but rather the hardened marmalade superfan.

Fortnum & Mason Burlington Breakfast Marmalade

£4.95/340g

As its name suggests, this may well be the perfect marmalade for those early mornings. A beautiful orange colour with a nice, thick set. Absolutely packed with thin-cut, tender peel that is matched with a bright and fresh jam that’s packed with orange flavour. Perfect for breakfast or baking.

Rosebud Preserves Seville Orange Marmalade Medium Cut

£3.95/227g

A beautiful soft set with a dark, intense colour. The rind is cut into thick squares, making it easy to spread and giving intense bursts of orangey bitterness that is absolutely perfect when eaten on toast. This was matched with a balanced, sweet-sour zestiness from the preserve itself and lip-smacking orange flavour.