Lemon Marmalade

american breakfast · breakfast · conserve · fruit · jam

Prep Yields: approx. 350 to 450 g

My friend grows some beautiful lemon and lime trees, and she sent across a basket full of the biggest lemons I have ever seen in my life – slightly larger than a grapefruit! She also told me that only once you cut them open will you know if it’s a grapefruit, a pomelo, an orange or a just a really big lemon. It was all on luck. And now yes, we have the option of lemon cake, lemon cocktails and salad dressings – and yes, I did indulge in a lot of those (it was a very long weekend!), but at some point, I had to stop for fear of my teeth falling out! So, I decided a thick cut marmalade would be ideal and that high notes of cutting sourness with some herbaceous peppery undertones, perhaps a sweetness of vanilla might be great to play with. All I could imagine was a crispy almost-burnt white bread toast, with lots of butter dribbling down my arms with a spoonful of this bright lemon marmalade, and so my experiment began.

This jam recipe requires no pectin because lemons and oranges both already have high contents of pectin. Also, if you want to know the difference between a marmalade and jam, the definition goes like this: a jam uses the whole fruit, whereas the marmalade uses the flesh, peel and juice. Which to me mean the absolute same thing, but sometimes it’s best to let the Brits keep their views!

INSTRUCTIONS

1 Wash the lemons very well, ensuring no wax or dirt left on the skins

2 Two of the large lemons (or about 8 of regular lemons), slice up thinly and quarter them up and throw into a large cooking pot

3 The third lemon, zest the entire lemon up into the pot

4 Then squeeze the juice of it into the pot

5 Then add the sugar on top and stir and leave for 5-10 minutes

6 Then add a cup of water and place to boil on medium heat

7 Once it starts to boil, reduce the temperature and simmer for about 45 minutes, adding more water if you feel so

8 In the last 15 minutes add the vanilla pod and rosemary

9 Once the sugar has completely dissolved and water reduces and you will note a thickness

10 Remove from heat and pour into sterilized glass jars and allow to cool down completely

11 Once the jam cools, it will naturally thicken

12 Before canning, you can remove the rosemary sprig and vanilla pod if you wish to

14 Shelf life – in the fridge can stay upto 2 months

ingredients

3 extra large lemons or approx 12-15 regular sized Indian lemons
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cups water
1 sprig of fresh rosemary (optional)
½ inch vanilla pod, slit lengthwise (optional)

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