Marmalade

Marmalade noun
A jellylike preserve in which small pieces of fruit and fruit rind, as of oranges or lemons, are suspended. 

Thursday, UK

The first morning after I arrived I accompanied my host, Joy, for some volunteer work: a day of unpacking marmalade for The World’s Original Marmalade Awards & Festival, which I'm sure you've all heard of. The packages come from all around England and many from the far corners of the world. Even Canada! Hey, I thought they only had maple syrup there.

The whole thing takes place in a castle, so it's a little chilly. But once we got going we warmed up and took off our jackets and stuff--it's hard work tearing open boxes, bubble wrap, packing tape, paper, and styrofoam. We had two more ladies helping us, friends of Joy, so we had some laughs.

At first I thought marmalade is just another word for jam, but then somebody else asked what the difference is. We asked around a little bit, but the authorities were already busy with the taste testing. Joy could tell me only as much as this with confidence: while jam can be made from berries or fruit, marmalade must be made from fruit, probably citrus fruit.

When I got home and looked it up I found that to be true, but that is only half the story: marmalade must contain the rind of the fruit as well.

It was a fun day and they gave us lunch, steak and kidney pie, which reminded me of this:

"Lisa, hello. How are you doing in England? Remember, an elevator is called a 'lift,' a mile is called a 'kilometer,' and botulism is called 'steak and kidney pie.'"
-Marge Simpson

Homework
Next time you are in a position to do so in English, ask for some marmalade. Reject any jam, insist you need that rind!