Meyer Lemons

An abundant harvest of Meyer lemons from my backyard tree has me searching for ways to preserve them before they drop to the ground. So far I have made Meyer Lemon Aigre-Doux, salted preserved lemons, quick lemon pickle from Madhur Jaffrey’s book World Vegetarian, lemon pickle with Indian 5-spices from the blog Tigress in a pickle, and now Meyer lemon marmalade. There are still several dozen on the tree and I see another batch or two of this marmalade in my near future. This was my first experience with marmalade and it is delicious, with the added bonus of being easy.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

My recipe came from an issue of Gourmet, December 1999.

Yield 6 (1/2 pint) jars

Ingredients

• 6 organic Meyer lemons, washed and dried
• 4 cups of water
• 4 cups of sugar

Equipment

• 6 (1/2 pint) Mason type jars, sterilized
• Rings and tops, heated in hot water
• Cheesecloth
• Kitchen string
• Hot water canner

Preparation

1. Cut a large square of cheesecloth and have some kitchen string at the ready. Halve the lemons crosswise and remove the seeds, saving them on the cheesecloth. The seeds will release natural pectin to thicken the marmalade.
2. Thinly slice each lemon half, if large you may want to quarter the halves and then slice. I wanted a more chunky marmalade so the slices are larger. Try to reserve as much juice as possible. As sliced, place the lemons into a 5-quart nonreactive heavy pot. Tie up the seeds and place them into the pot with the lemons and 4 cups of water.
3. Let the mixture stand, covered, at room temperature for 24 hours.
   

   Meyer Lemon Marmalade

4. The next day bring the lemon mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to about 4 cups. This will take 45 minutes to an hour.
5. Prepare your hot water canner and sterilize your jars. You will need enough water to cover the sealed jars by 1 inch.
6. Remove the cloth bag of seeds from the pot and stir in the sugar, bring back to a boil.
7. Continue to boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam, until a teaspoon of the mixture dropped on a cold plate gels. This will take 15-25 minutes.
   

   Meyer Lemon Marmalade

8. Ladle the marmalade into jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the top. Wipe rims with a dampened cloth and seal with lids.
9. Process in a hot water bath for 5 minutes, transfer with tongs to a rack and cool completely. Check to see all the jars have sealed.

Tea and Marmalade

The marmalade will keep, stored in a cool, dark place, up to a year. Mine will not last that long.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade with Irish Butter on Toast

I’m taking this to share at Angie’s Fiesta Friday. Come join us at Fiesta Friday #116 by adding your link to FiestaFriday.net and the co-hosts’ blogs. The co-hosts this week are Judi @ cookingwithauntjuju and Cynthia @ eatmunchlove.