Saturday, July 14, 2012

Lemon Marmalade recipe

The sun was shining through the kitchen window this afternoon as my batch of lemon marmalade was cooling and I just had to take a photo.
The lemons come from my father-in-law's tree which has been producing lemons for decades. The recipe comes from my mother. It's amazing how far one kilogram of lemons goes with this recipe. It's quite easy and because lemons are high in pectin, it sets really well. For novice jam makers this is a great recipe to start with.
Ingredients:
1 kg lemons
1 1/2 litres of water
2 kg sugar
8 jam jars (about 300-350g size)
Method:
1. Scrub and quarter lemons. Remove the central pith and any pips.
2. Place the lemons (in batches if necessary) into a food processor and process until a fine pulp. If you prefer, slice the lemons by hand or with the food processor. I make into a fine pulp as my children love the taste of the marmalade but aren't fans of traditional marmalade that has strips of rind.
3. Place the prepared lemons into a large ceramic/glass bowl and add the water and leave to soak overnight, or if you start in the morning leave to soak until the late afternoon. This helps to soften the rind.
4. Pour the lemon mixture into a large pot and bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes or so.
5. Add the sugar, stir until dissolved and bring back to the boil.
6. Boil vigorously for 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until setting point is reached. To test for setting point, put a teaspoonful on a saucer, let it cool, run your finger through it and if the marmalade wrinkles, then it's set. You can also do the setting point test, by running your finger along the back of the spoon you've used for stirring the marmalade to see if the marmalade wrinkles.
7. While the marmalade is boiling vigorously, wash and rinse the jam jars and place on a tray into a 150 degree oven. This sterilises the jars and also stops the jars from cracking when the hot marmalade is poured into them. The lids are also washed and rinsed and dried thoroughly. The lids, if they're not plastic, can also go in the oven.
8.Leave the marmalade to cool a little, take the jars out of the oven and fill them with the hot marmalade. I ladle the marmalade into a pouring jug and use a wide funnel to pour the marmalade into the jars. This reduces the chances of spills and keeps the marmalade in the jars and not on the outside of the jars!!
9. Put the lids on while the marmalade is still hot. Once cold, store in a dry, dark place. Keep refrigerated once opened.

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