After talking about making Meyer lemon marmalade for a week, one batch is finally done and I’m proud to say it is my best work yet. In marmalade-speak, my last two batches of Seville orange marmalades were medium cut with chewy peel in the more traditional bittersweet style. Meyer lemons are famous for their delicate sweetness and I want to make a marmalade that emphasizes on this quality. First, the bitter pith had got to go. I don’t want bitterness to interfere with the sweet tart taste of the fruit. Next to tweak is the texture. When I think delicate, I imagine thin slivers of peel weaving with juicy pulp in soft jiggly jelly. Last but not least, no fancy pants flavouring to obscure the natural taste of Meyer lemons!
The photo doesn’t do it justice. When I scooped a little of the marmalade into a spoon, I fell in love. It wobbled slightly with every breath I took and reflected the winter sunlight in its golden hue. The taste was pure Meyer lemon and those thin slivers of peel soft and flavourful. This marmalade is refined and would be a great match for English muffins or crumpets. I want to name it “Jiggly Sunshine” but it seems almost too goofy (not that naming my food is not already goofy enough). Do you have any good suggestions?
Over at Simply Recipes, Elise has a recipe for Meyer lemon marmalade. I did not use it but the most important piece of information I took away is the 1:1:1 ratio of fruit, water, and sugar. I came up with my own recipe but at best it is a set of directions. Working with 1lb of Meyer lemons, I began by thoroughly washing the fruit. I lopped off the pointy ends of the lemons and set the scraps aside in the pectin bowl. Using a vegetable peeler, I peeled the zest into wide thin stripes without the white pith. Finely slice the zest into slivers and put in a large 1 quart measuring cup. To remove the bitter pith, you can either trim them with a knife or use the vegetable peeler again. Discard all the pith. Cut each naked lemon into 6 or 8 wedges with a knife and trim the core that runs down the center of the fruit. Put the core along with all the seeds into the pectin bowl. Slice each wedge into tiny triangles and put into the large measuring cup with any last drops of juice on your cutting board. Make a note of the volume measurement (in cups) of your prepared lemons. Mine measured to 2 1/2 cups. That is how much water and sugar you’ll need. Gather all the seeds and scraps from your pectin bowl into a disposable teabag/cheesecloth/jelly bag and tie it close with kitchen twine for your pectin bag.
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Now you’re ready to cook. Given that the zest is in such tiny pieces, the precooking is pretty quick to soften the peel. The other purpose of precooking is to extract pectin. To do that, place lemon, water, and pectin bag into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. If you want, you can let the mixture cool overnight and come back to it the next day.
At this point, I start to sterilize the jars (four 8oz sizes) and put a plate in the freezer. I add the sugar to the cooked lemon and cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. When the mixture has come to a rolling boil, I remove the pectin bag and keep on cooking. Once the mixture hits 216F, I begin to wrinkle test the set using the cold plate method (see David Lebovitz’s description). Although the official gelling point is 220F, the good amount of pectin extracted from the pips means I can get by with a lower temperature. It hits the sweet spot at just barely under 218F for me.
Once the pot is taken off the heat, the mixture begins to cool down. You’ll notice that it slowly thickens up and that’s a good thing. I like to bottle the marmalade after it thickens up just that tiny bit because the pulp and peel can suspend in the marmalade evenly instead of floating to the top. If you want to seal the jars for longer storage, follow one of the many good directions available. Or just close the lid, cool to room temperature, and store in the fridge for up to 6 months. My 1lb of Meyer lemon yielded three 8oz jars of marmalade plus another 4oz extra.
