Meyer Lemon Marmalade

First, boil water and check its temp. Boiling point depends on elevation; in Milwaukee it’s 208 degrees. Add 8 degrees to yours for temp to cook jelly to. It’s liquid when ladled into jars (it has to be), but this marmalade set beautifully when cool. Just perfect. Very bitter when tasted warm, ever so slightly bitter when cold. Thanks to the tester who cut a V-shaped notch in halved lemons to remove the seeds. Great tip.

• Can-do

• Milwaukee, Wis.

• 3/28/2023

Some of the commenters mentioned having trouble getting the marmalade to set. It is likely the lemons. The naturally occurring pectin is in the white pith so if your lemons have very thin skins—that is not very thick pith—they won't have as much pectin. In which case you would need to supplement with additional pectin.. I've made this successfully several times now using Meyers from a friend's tree. The pith is at least 1/8" and a bit more. TOn the advice of another site entirely I add all the extra bits of the lemon to the cheesecloth bag—seeds, end cuts, the core, the few pieces I can't slice thin enough— and, once the bag has cooled a bit, I really squeeze it over a strainer and into the pan to release that pectin.

• Anne

• Sacramento, CA

• 3/19/2023

I have made this recipe many times and I love it. You can get different results, depending on your lemons and the resulting pectin. But even if it turns out a little runny, it is still delicious, and wonderful with meat or in salad dressings.

• Anonymous

• Monterey Ca

• 2/2/2022

I’m glad I read the reviews before making this. After tediously cutting, deseeding, quartering, and slicing one lemon I got out my handheld mandoline. It was much quicker to half the lemon crosswise as instructed then stack and quarter the resulting slices. Also measuring the mixture after cooking for 45 minutes, before adding sugar. My 1&1/2 lbs of lemons yielded nearly 5 cups of pulp. It never really gelled per the plate test but seemed to set up fine once it was processed. I filled a jar for the fridge to use immediately. It’s a bit sweet for my taste but in addition to using it as a spread, I think it would be good brushed on fish or chicken or pork before cooking.

• Anonymous

• Seattle, WA

• 2/6/2021

The recipe worked perfectly. In fact, I agree with another reviewer that the finished product is almost overly gelled. Next time I won't bother with the cheesecloth wrapped seeds as the pith has plenty of pectin.

• rose1138

• Troy, MI

• 10/26/2020

This recipe worked really well for me, especially because i have little experience making sweet things. It set up really well, almost too well (it's a bit stiff). This may be because the Meyers I have were chock full of seeds. for those having problems with gelling, i'd recommend cutting open a few extra lemons and extracting the seeds

• techiit

• Melbourne, Aus

• 10/22/2019

This works great with kumquats as well!

• SoledadMama

• Mojave, CA

• 3/10/2019

I have tried twice and can’t get this recipe to gel. Finally added pectin last time. What are we doing wrong?

• tpharlow182120

• 2/1/2019

Perfection! This recipe is divinely sweet and JUST lemony enough without being overbearing with either. This was my first time making marmalade, and mine gelled spectacularly with just the pectin from the seeds. I DID take an unlikely piece of advice from another commenter and added 2 anise seeds to the pectin bag, and I really love the additional depth that this seemed to have because of it.

• brooklyn_based

• Brooklyn, NY

• 6/25/2018

After I read all the reviews I was hesitant to make this, because it seems to have frequent issues gelling. But I had pectin in the cupboard, so I used two tablespoons of that. Voila, no gelling problems. That also allowed me to reduce the sugar to 3.5c since I don't love super sweet marmalade.

• geekspice

• 6/11/2018

I followed directions precisely, I thought but my marmalade is not setting very well. I emptied about half of my batch back into the pot to cook longer. These are somewhat better. I guess as it cools it gels more? It would be helpful to have this stated in the directions. I also need a better description of how much it gels when you test. I thought mine was behavng well; but apparently I was wrong. I guess I will tr;y cooking the rest of my batch longer and hope it gels. Any suggestions out there?

• Anonymous

• El Cerrito, California

• 7/25/2017

Lovely recipe. I used Meyers from our tree, which were much bigger than normal and had thicker rinds. Make sure to weigh the lemons to get the right amount. I ended up with 4 lemons at nearly 2 pounds. The result was slightly too bitter, so I made it again, peeling one lemon and discarding its peel. Nicer. I also cut the lemons into eighths, not quarters, just to reduce the size of the bits. You don't have to skim the foam; try adding a small knob of butter (1 tsp or less) when the foam starts to rise.

• bgallmeister

• Los Gatos, CA

• 6/2/2017

Delicious! I did have to boil the lemon-sugar mixture much longer than the 15 minutes in the recipe, but it was worth it.

• Anonymous

• Pennsylvania

• 3/30/2017

Very easy. My only complaint is that this recipe doesn't include WHEN to remove the seed bag. Thanks to another reviewer, I saw that it's removed after the 24 hours of soaking, before boiling. Delicious! Not bitter at all. I added an extra lemon because I prefer a higher fruit to gel ratio. I also added a tablespoon of bourbon to half of my batch, since another reviewer suggested it. It added a delicious and subtle boozey-flavored depth. This has made me feel like I can never go back to orange marmalade. Lemon wins!

• EyebrowToupee

• Los Angeles, CA

• 3/23/2017

If you don't use Meyer lemons, this will be bitter. I'm sure that's what happened to the other person. Meyer lemons are a hybrid of a lemon and an orange, and have thin peels with very little white pith. That's where the bitter flavor comes from, and regular lemons have a lot of it. You can't make this marmalade with regular lemons. If you use Meyers, it's delicious!

• jannabalthaser

• California

• 3/22/2017