Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water.It can be produced from kumquats, lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamots and other citrus fruits, or any combination thereof.n much of Europe, the term “marmalade” and its variations is still used as a generic term, whereas in Britain it has been redefined solely to a citrus preserve. The name originates in Portuguese, where marmelada applies exclusively to quince jam (from  marmelo , the Portuguese for quince).