A bleak January is brightened by the arrival of these culinary treasures

The beginning of the year sees the arrival of Seville oranges for marmalade and it’s also the start of the English forced rhubarb season.

This Spanish variety of orange is bitter and a bit dry making it perfect for the classic preserve. You won’t find them in supermarkets but good local farmshops and greengrocers will stock them.

Making marmalade is a labour of love that involves boiling the oranges whole, separating the pulp from the rind and combining with lots of sugar to set point. There’s something wonderfully old fashioned and comforting about making it and when you see glistening jars with strips of rind it will give you a great sense of achievement. Throughout the year when you spread it on your buttered toast, it’s a memory of this vibrant fruit that brightened up a January day.

If you fancy having a go at making marmalade I’ve added a recipe but there are many marvellous jam makers in Northern Ireland who’ll do the job for you. Either way there’s a recipe for a chocolate and marmalade roulade to use up any that doesn’t end up on toast. Chocolate and orange is a classic combo and this rich confection is all you need to buck the old “new year, new me” nonsense being espoused. Last year I found a recipe for orange wine where the Seville oranges are sliced and layer in a kilner jar with lemon, vodka, rum, rose wine and vanilla. It was ready at Easter to be enjoyed as an aperitif with ice and tonic. The colour is really beautiful and it has the taste of Spanish sunshine.

Pink, pert, forced rhubarb is in the shops now for a limited time so cherish it while its here. The recipe here combines another well tried pairing of rhubarb and ginger with baked ginger puddings topped with the rhubarb. There’ll be more recipes for this treasure in the weeks to come but this should get you started nicely.