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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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marmalade
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Orange jam, best made with bitter Seville oranges, which since the early 20C has been a staple ingredient of the British breakfast. The name derives from a form of quince, the main ingredient of the original marmalade. It was later made from many different fruits, and was boiled sufficiently dry to be cut into pieces. Dundee and Oxford are recognized as the main staging posts on the route to modern marmalade. In the early 18C James Keiller of Dundee bought a cheap cargo of Seville oranges. He was unable to sell them because of their bitter taste, so his wife made a sweet jam including strips of the peel. Marmalade of this kind became a mainly Scottish speciality until Mrs Cooper, wife of an Oxford grocer, began making it in the 1870s. The popularity of her product at undergraduate breakfast tables led to its wider use.
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