Guardian Life & Style (US) • Jan. 20, 2026, 1:27 p.m.

Our preserving pundits dive into the bittersweet dilemmas surrounding baking paper circles, wax seals and the judicious application of heat When my son makes marmalade, he never warms the jars or uses circles of baking paper and cellophane – he just puts the lids on. It never goes mouldy, so am I wasting my time doing it the “proper” way?

Dagna, Berkhamsted, Herts You can’t get much sweeter than marmalade, and this is most likely the reason for both Dagna and her son’s success, despite their differing strategies. “The chance of mould developing is low because there’s so much sugar to balance the bitterness of the orange peel,” says Camilla Wynne , preserver and author of All That Crumbs Allow.

“Mould needs water to do its thing, and sugar binds to water.” She recalls a former student who, like Dagna’s son, simply ladled her marmalade into jars and closed the lids.

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