Serves: Makes around 4 large jars
Cost: ~€3.20
Preparation time: ~2.5 hours
Calories: ~18 per teaspoon
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade – so the saying goes. Well, personally I prefer marmalade, and I think my father does too. He’s one of the biggest lemon fans I know (he used to buy large boxes of lemons from a fruit-shop near his old office just because he loved seeing them all out in a big dish at home!) and it was his birthday yesterday, so happy birthday to you, Dad! Maybe my dear mother would like to make him up a batch of this? 😀
If you watched my last video you’ll know that I recently got some fantastic lemons from a local farm shop. I used up my last jar of home-made marmalade months ago and haven’t done a great deal of preserving recently so I felt really inspired to make a lemon marmalade (Mainly by Sissi who seems to do a great deal of preserving and puts my paltry offerings every few months to shame!).
If you’re not familiar with lemon marmalade then you have a treat in store. This stuff is fantastic… as long as you appreciate lemons. The flavour can be quite intense. Note that you can of course mix and match the fruit to personal preference. I personally wanted a purely lemon marmalade, but you can add in oranges, grapefruit, even kumquats if you like. I also like a marmalade which is both “bitty” and “bitter” – that is to say, I like the finely chopped up zest inside, and I also like to boil it down well to give it a very dark, rich colour and flavour. If you prefer more pale marmalades then consider boiling for slightly less time, although bear in mind that the marmalade will have more liquid and thus might not set so well.
Look at those things… don’t they look sexy? Incidentally, I added in a store-bought lemon… I bet you’ll have no problem picking it out from the line-up above. I was going to use the same recipe as for my fast marmalade, from last year but in reading up online, I found a great tip. Boiling up the lemons first will mean they’re much easier to chop later. Since I’m all in favour of reducing chopping time and eliminating the need for a food processor (in marmalades I much prefer uniformly shredded zest instead of randomly pulverised pieces) I decided to use this method to great success.
I’ll definitely be heading back to the farm for more vegetables and tasty fruits soon – I’m even going to try to do a video featuring it as well – I think it might be quite fun to make a video about picking some vegetables, coming straight back and making something with them. It’s only Tuesday though, so I’ll have to save such excursions for the weekend. In the meantime however, enjoy the video from today’s post and, most importantly – enjoy the marmalade, which I strongly recommend making. Remember folks – eat more lemons, they’re good for you! As a quick note, if you’re not using special jam-making sugar, save the seeds from the lemons. Tie them up in a bit of muslin cloth and add them to the mixture with the sugar and boil them all up – it will, apparently, aid in the setting of the marmalade.
Lemon Marmalade
[learn_more caption=”Video Recipe” state=”open”]
Ingredients
- ~800g unwaxed Lemons
- ~1.5 kg of jam-making Sugar (or plain caster sugar if not available)
- 2 litres of Water
You’ll also need
- ~4-6 Preserving Jars
Instructions
- Start off by washing the lemons. Rubbing them well between your hands under running water is a good way of doing this. Cut off the very ends where the stalks were and then place into a large pan with the water. Cover and bring to the boil before lowering the heat and simmering for about 1.5 hours. At this point you should find that you can easily run a fork through the lemons. Remove from the heat and set the lemons aside to cool in a dish. Do not throw away the water in the pan.
- Place a small dish into your freezer for testing the marmalade later and then preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Measure the liquid in the pan – you should have ~1.5 litres. If not, add some extra water to make it up to this amount. Once the lemons have cooled, cut them in half and scoop out any excess pulp. Separate the pulp from any seeds and add to the pan. Slice the lemons very finely and add to the pan as well. Add the sugar and, stirring well until dissolved, bring the mixture to the boil. Once the marmalade is boiling, wash your Preserving Jars and the lids thoroughly. Place into the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or so.
Continue boiling the marmalade for at least 20 minutes. I boiled it for about 40 until it was deliciously dark in colour. Skim off any foam from the top of the marmalade and then remove the cold dish from the freezer and drop a spoonful of the mixture onto it. Leave for a minute and if it’s looking fairly set then you’re good to go. Spoon the marmalade into the still quite hot preserving jars, filling right up to about 1cm away from the top, and seal immediately.
- Stored in a cool, dry place, the marmalade should keep for many months, although it’s probably best to store in the refrigerator once opened. Give it to friends for a great gift, or just keep it all to yourself and scoff the lot! Enjoy!
I love marmalade but I don’t think I’ve ever had lemon marmalade. I can imagine it has an intense flavour. It does look stunning all sealed up in the jars. Like your dad, I like lemons as floral art too. I think they look great in vases with some of the stems and leaves attached too. I think lemons would have to be the most useful ingredient as they lend themselves to so many purposes and there’s just no waste – you can use the rind, the whole skin, the segments and the juice and they are perfect for sweet or savoury dishes and clearly, make a great marmalade for the morning’s toast. Great post and thanks for the recipe. I’ll be trying it! xx
Thanks Charlie – love lemons too – some people boil the left-over skins after grating off the zest and juicing them to use them as an air-freshener… I have to admit the kitchen smelled fantastic while I was cooking this 🙂
I adore lemons and marmalade, what a wonderful recipe. I will surely have to give it a go Charles, thank you.
Thanks Eva – do let me know if you give it a try 🙂
I LOVE lemons and am always looking for new ways to incorporate them into desserts and bakes. I’m not a huge fan of marmalade but I may change my mind once I try lemon marmalade! That last picture looks very tempting indeed. Perhaps we could have a little swap? I’ll send you something in exchange for the lemon marmalade! 🙂
Hi BA – haha, alas I have only one complete jar left as I gave some away already!
Lemon marmalade is good – I think it’s preferable to orange marmalade for me, but everyone likes different things!
Beautiful videos. Liked how you spoke a tad faster in this video than the first. Never had lemon marmalade, love the color.
Thanks Norma, for my next video I aim to hit 800 words per minute 😀 No no, just kidding – I felt a bit more confident this time around though 🙂
Happy birthday to your dad Charles! And he and Mr. N would get along famously – sounds like they share a similar affinity for lemons. I too love lemons and think this marmalade would be fantastic. I have such a fear of canning though. I know I need to get over it. I mean look what I’m missing out on!
Thanks Kristy – You should really get over your canning fear because it’s SO much FUN! I know the USDA recommends a different way of sterilising the jars… the most common way in England is to “bake” the jars in a medium hot oven for about 15 minutes or so… it’s not an exact science… Just long and hot enough to kill bacteria. Bake the tops of the jars as well at the same time, and submerge any rubber seals (if you have those types of jars) in boiling water to sterilise those. When the jam is ready, just fill it into the jars, almost right up to the top. Make sure there’s no air pockets in the jam and just seal it up.
It’s very difficult to fail with it, and if you have failed then you’ll know you have because it will just start going mouldy. It’s not like it will start growing an invisible poisonous stuff so you needn’t worry about making yourself ill. You can easily, visibily check the safeness of the product before opening it. Worst case scenario, if you fail, and it moulds after a couple of weeks then just think about where you went wrong and try again – it’s a really, REALLY satisfying feeling, reaching into the cupboard and pulling out a jar of chutney, marmalade or jam that you made more than a year ago. Especially when you open one in winter and get taken back to the happy days of summer just from some stuff in a pot!
Once again.. I really enjoyed your video.. it helps to watch how it’s done before trying something new! I love marmalade and this lemon one, well, it looks heavenly!!
Thanks so much Barb – I’m having fun making the videos… I don’t even feel too embarassed when I re-watch them either 😀
I love lemons, but have never tasted lemon marmalade. What a great video, and it looks so easy…love the boiling tip for cutting the lemons or other citrus! So I have a question: does boiling the mixture longer result in a more caramelized flavor in any way? If I can finally get around to preserving anything this year, this is definitely on my to do list. 🙂
Hi Betsy – right… the longer boiling caramelises the sugar more, resulting in a darker and, in my opinion, tastier marmalade. Some people don’t like it so bitter (it’s not very bitter, but more bitter than if it was pale) so you need to adjust accordingly. As well as this, the increased boiling evaporates more liquid so it’s less water too!
I don’t know how I’d never heard of lemon marmalade until your post but I have to say how very lovely the jars look. I’m not a breakfast person but I’d be tempted to have a few slices of toast or some scones with a bit spoon of your marmalade on top. I’ll have to check out your video to see the shopping expedition.
Hi A_ – if you like lemons then I think you’d definitely like this. The lemon flavour can be very intense, so maybe make a mix – I’m going to make a mixture next time of lime, lemon, grapefruit and orange, just for fun 🙂
I imagine there are any number of cookies, bars that could benefit from having a small dollop of lemon marmalade added or spread over them as well. Maybe a sandwich version with something thin and crispy.
This I must try! I am in love with lemon and the more intense the flavor the better
I might try this tomorrow if I can find some good lemons
Hi Sawsan – thanks for your comment, I do hope you have a chance to try it… let me know if you do!
Lemons rank right up there with oranges for me in my favorite flavors! Also a while back you mentioned Biscoff pie. I’d never heard of it until you talked about it. I did find Biscoff in our local grocery store and have been eating it – it’s yummy. Now how do you make a Biscoff Pie, Charles?
Hi Linda – are you thinking of Banoffee Pie? I have to admit I’ve never heard of “Biscoff” before, but I did mention Banoffee Pie, which is apparently an English invention. When I wrote about it someone on my blog here expressed curiosity…. I’d definitely recommend trying one of those!
I want this pronto slathered allll over some ham…YUM!
Hi Squishy – marmalade and ham is a new one to me… I’ll let you try that on your own… I think I’ll stick to having mine in cakes, and on toast and muffins 🙂
I’ve only had orange marmalade but I love lemons so I’ll have to try this. Love the video (great music choices! :)).
Thank you Laura – glad you enjoyed it!
You’ve never made biscotti and I’ve never made marmalade. In fact I’ve never even seen lemon marmalade, but it sounds wonderful! I love the boiling the lemons first hint..I don’t think I’d like the look of pulverized peel either. If I ever get brave enough to make jams, etc., this one will be on my list 🙂
Hi Liz – I pulverized the peel in my last orange marmalade… mainly for speed. It’s actually ok. As long as it’s pulsed through well it’s not too bad, but it ends up being very solid marmalade with no patches of clear “jelliness”, interspersed with delicious shreds.
Charles, what a great post! I was just thinking what to do with some lemons I have from making lemonade another day. It would definitely make a good marmalade. Color of your marmalade is so warm! Thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂
Thanks so much Marina – If I’d thought actually, I would have bought more of these lemons and made lemon curd. I bet the flavours of these beautiful lemons would have made for an amazing curd. Well, next time perhaps!
Sexy? Lemons? Hmmm … ok.
I love lemons. I love how they brighten up a room with their gorgeous yellow and the scent … OOoohh, the zesty, wake-me-up freshness! The flavor …. My cheeks are puckering!
I haven’t made marmalade for the longest time since the mandarin orange ones, just a lot of berry jams. Time to make some lemon marmalade!
Hi Ping, that reminds me – I must NOT let the strawberry season pass me by. I’m going to make strawberry jam this year, maybe this weekend – thanks for reminding me 🙂
I hope you get a chance to make some marmalade soon! I’m still meaning to make your 4-Cs bars (or was it 3-Cs?)!
Hahaha! That’s 4 Cs … Cheesecake Chocolate Chips Cookie bars. It can be 5 Cs if you separate Cheese-Cake 🙂 Or add more Cs to it! Carrot? Coconut? Cranberry?
Certainly loving your videos 🙂 And this recipe looks really good, I’m a big fan of lemons, especially when there’s sugar involved 🙂 Thanks for the great tips, too 🙂
Thanks Fati – hopefully they’ll get even better with time 🙂
Charles, I’m sure I would love this because like your dad, I love lemons. Do you think this would go well with certain cheeses on crackers? A salesperson at a local specialty shop gave me a taste of a very tarte Italian lemon marmalade that she recommended with cheeses like Asiago on crackers.
Hi Barb – I’ve got no idea to be honest – I’ve never considered eating marmalade with cheese on crackers, although I guess it could. In my opinion I think it would be a bit better if there was something extra added to the marmalade… maybe some ginger and a bit of cayenne pepper… just something to make it a bit more “savoury”.
I think that the version that I tried was very tart. Sounds like it is quite different from your version, which really does look lovely. Have a good one Charles!
Lemon marmalade sounds like a fantastic idea! I actually just made persimmon jam last night for the first time but it didn’t turn out half as good as yours. I have a lemon tree at home, this recipe will be on the list to make! 😀
Hi Jenny – I love persimmons… it’s been a while since I had them, and I never had persimmon jam before actually. I bet it must have a beautiful colour. Will you be posting about it?
Happy Birthday to your Dad! I love your video Charles! I always have orange marmalade at home but lemon marmalade sounds really delicious!!
Thanks Nami – I’d definitely recommend giving it a try if you never tried it before… the flavour is beautiful and very tangy!
When I first saw the title of your post I read “lemonade marmalade” and thought how intriguing… well, it’s a jelled version of the same idea and what a delicious one at that! I can understand your dad’s affection for the tart citrus and share it (well, maybe not to the same extent but can relate ;-)). And for me, it’s always a tossup between lemon or lime… which do I love more for any particular recipe :). Great video Charles – keep up the impressive work! (I could never get my kitchen tidy enough to do a video – haha!)
Lemonade marmalade… hehehe, fizzy 😀 I love limes too, although I think they both have their own place. For instance, some food just wouldn’t go at all with lime. I think I had a hummus made with lime one day… it was certainly interesting, but you can’t beat lemon juice for that! Glad you enjoyed the video! 🙂
OH MAN!!!!! What beautiful jars of luscious marmalade! Well, you can bet I’ll be making at least one jar of this! 🙂 I’ve never made lemon marmalade so this will be a real treat. Thanks!
Thanks MJ – I love making marmalade… I do it WAY more regularly than I do jam, which actually I almost never make. Hoping to change that soon though. Going to try and make some strawberry jam shortly, and some apricot maybe too, after seeing your lovely batch!
Yes, your lemons are sexy. Ha, couldn’t resist. Katherine was wanting me to do a different variety of marmalade. We both love the orange and lemon mix, she just likes to try new things, as do I. This might have to go on the list!
Thanks Greg – definitely, let me know if you give it a try. If you like orange and lemon marmalade then I really think you’d love this too! 🙂
Hi Charles, I think I could dare you in finding a bigger lemon lover, and would be my brother in law. Seriously, I’ve never seen anyone eat that many pure lemons with one sitting… Incredible! The marmalade looks delicious, I’m thinking it would go perfectly into a frangipane tart 🙂
Thanks Gourmantine – you mean he just ate them on their own? Like… raw? Whoa… that’s hardcore! 😀
Great idea, I think it would go well in a frangipane tart!
Gorgeous fruits and of course gorgeous marmalade, Charles! Thank you for the kind mention. You exaggerate of course! I haven’t started yet to preserve this year (apart from the pickled ginger you have seen and strawberry jam I don’t even mention on my blog), but I will soon start my favourite savoury preserves…
I made several batches of orange marmalade in previous years, but sadly few people like it! (Luckily I have a couple of big fans in my family). I think the bitterness of the zest is not to everyone’s taste, but personally I love it. Your lemon marmalade looks even better than the orange one. I will have to think about it when I see some nice-looking and cheap lemons (I like making big batches 😉 ). Congratulations for the video! Great as always.
Thanks so much Sissi – even if you haven’t done so much this year I always imagine that you must have a large amount of jars in storage at your home, filled with delicious things 😀
Why didn’t people like your orange marmalade? Did you ever post about it? I’m sure I’d have loved it. I really like the bitter flavour… It’s why I made sure my marmalade here was boiled for almost too long, so it was really deep orange. No pale, anaemic marmalade for me!
Hi Charles, I have never posted it. You know, most people don’t like acid and/or bitter food unless they are used to it as a child. I had lots of acid food as a child, so now I love acid desserts for example, but most people can’t stand it.
i’ve never made a marmalade before, but i’m now inspired to try!
Thanks Jenn and Seth – do let me know if you try it… I love making marmalades 🙂
Love anything with lemon in it and so you can imagine how much I love marmalade 🙂
Thanks Kankana – I know how you feel… don’t they have just such an amazing flavour? 🙂
Charles, sounds like your father likes lemons as much as my husband does. Love marmalade, but I hadn’t thought to make it with lemons. Must make a batch now for my husband. Lemons are very photogenic, aren’t they?
They definitely are very photogenic… Citrus fruit in general always makes a wonderful photo, especially with a few leaves on top. You know, I might try adding some lime next time for a variation in flavour!
Lemon marmalade? You’re my hero! I’ve made orange because that’s just what you do in Australia but I love lemons. I’m going to make this soon.
Hi Maureen – orange marmalade is definitely *the* type which people usually have, although it’s really lovely with lemons… definitely recommend it. I’m going to try some other citrus fruits too… limes, grapefruits etc.
This is such a fantastic recipe Charles and the lemons do indeed look sexy! I often make orange marmalade but have never made lemon and I can´t think why not as we have a tree full of them! Love the brand name on the sugar 🙂
Haha, thanks Chica – I’ll admit, I’ve noticed the brand before. Sometimes I wonder if they chose it on purpose to fit in with the phrase “sugar daddy” 😀
I’m jealous of your lemon tree… what a lovely thing to have!
I love your new videos…it seems like I am standing in your kitchen with you. Your marmalade must be delicious on a very crunchy and flaky croissant. By the way, I have never heard of jam making sugar.
Hi Karen, I’m really surprised you’ve never heard of jam-making sugar… It’s really common here. It’s basically sugar with added pectin – nothing more special than that. Just to give you a bit of a helping hand with the setting process 🙂
Just starting that great adventure known as canning/preserving, and this recipe was my first attempt ever in the jam-marmalade department. Followed the directions exactly (in turns by plan and fortuitous error) and what should result but…lemon marmalade just as described! Well, mostly anyway; I did stray from the path slightly by adding a heaping tablespoon of finely chopped ginger to surprise and appease my wife. It came out wonderfully! I’ve never been a marmalade fan, but this tasted great! While I had the kitchen in disarray during the long lemon cook I prepped the quick orange marmalade from the recipe elsewhere on this site and cooked it down after the lemon had been jarred, then water-bathed the whole lot. Didn’t even have trouble with the metric measurements and easier than working our Imperial units. Just don’t ask me to convert that 5 Euro price cap. Thanks!
Hi Walter – I’m so happy it turned out well! Ginger sounds like a fantastic addition too! I was sad because I used up all the lemon marmalade but then I was so happy when I opened my cupboard where I store my preserves and found another jar inside! The joy of canning! I hope I can do so much more when I have a larger place one day 🙂 Glad you got a chance to try the quick orange marmalade too – I LOVE making jams and marmalades so much. Actually seeing your comments has made me want to make some more – I’ll need to see what’s in season at this time year. Perhaps pomegranate? 😀
Have a great day!
Pomegrantes certainly are in season here stateside, and I do like the taste, but they have a tremendous amount of seeds. I’m sure quite a few people have come up with ways to circumvent the problem, probably involving digging out old scraps of cheesecloth or go rejoicing by “bringing in the sieves”.
On the topic of the serendipity of finding that last jar, perhaps a little firebox mounted on the wall with a jar behind a plate of glass with the inscription “Break in case of emergency” along with a tethered heavy-duty spoon!
Thanks again, and continued success. I’m surprised how many responses of “I’ve never heard of Lemon Marmalade” I got when recalling my adventure with others in conversation. (Guess they didn’t see the same “Columbo” mystery I saw 20 years ago that used it as a plot point.) Now to move on to something else interesting sounding this weekend; I’m thinking banana butter.
This morning I tried this marmalade and I am very happy with the result. I would like to ask you a question maybe you can help me. How can I eliminate the bitterness from the lemon skin in the marmalade? Thanks for the video, it’s very helpful. Hope to hear from you soon.
Hi Rita, I’m so glad it turned out well, aside from the bitterness. I must say that normally I don’t notice any bitterness, but I do like a bitter flavour in marmalade, and even in the skin.
To reduce it though – it could be caused by a number of things, although I’d say probably the main cause is the white pith from the lemon skin. If the lemons you are using have very thick skin then maybe adapt the recipe slightly so you cut up the lemons first – extract the pulp and outer yellow skin, and cut this part into strips, and discard the white pith and seeds. Then continue on with the recipe in the normal way, except boil for a bit less time initially… maybe about 30-40 minutes, instead of 1.5 hours.
Hope this will help, and thank you for stopping by and telling me how it went :).
Hello I’m Rita from Malta. I would like to thank you for your help. One of these days I will do it again as adviced by you. I will let you know the result. Thank you.