From the book, A Tablespoon of Love A Tablespoon of Laughter (pg. 6)
Lemon Marmalade
There’s something incredibly satisfying in seeing jars of beautiful strawberry jam, apple butter, pickles, apricot preserves, or marmalade sitting on the counter and knowing you created them. And they’re always nice to give as a gift.
I love to can, and once won a blue ribbon at the Los Angeles County Fair for my apricot preserves.
As mentioned before, it all began with the grape jelly, then I moved on and expanded my horizons. Some of it has been fabulous and some not so much (think Grapefruit Marmalade), but the satisfaction never diminishes. I don’t cook anything terribly difficult, or something that might give anybody botulism, but with jams, jellies and pickles, I was pretty safe.
Even if you’ve never done this before, astonish friends when presenting them with a beautiful jar of jam, or jelly, canned with your own hands.
First step is to go to the grocery store and buy a box of canning jars. Jars will cost in the $10–$12 range and come by the dozen. Half pints are a good option as you can make several jars at a time. The way I look at it, if you’re going to go to all this trouble, you should end up with more than one or two jars. And if you have a lot of Christmas gifts to buy, a jar or two of something is cheaper than buying a gift for everybody on the list, and far more impressive. And, they come with labels in the box. Nice!
Before you start, take six of the jars out of the box, rinse them in hot water, then refill them with really hot water and let them sit till you have the jam made. Then dump out the water and up-end the jars on a clean towel so they’re not totally wet when you’re ready to pour jam in them. Take the lids and drop them in a bowl. Cover with hot water till you’re ready to seal jam.
Now! Let’s make Lemon Marmalade
Ingredients
2½―3 cups thinly sliced lemons (remove all seeds, of course)
6 cups water
4½ cups sugar
Directions
• Combine lemon slices and water in large pot. Cook rapidly till tender, about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Drain and measure liquid; add enough water to make 6 cups. Add sugar and lemons. Mix well.
• Boil rapidly, stirring very frequently, about 23–25 minutes. Stir and skim.
• Pour into hot canning jars; seal.
• Turn jars upside down after they are sealed and allow them to stand on their heads for an hour or so. Then turn them right side up. Repeat this process if they have not totally jelled. This will make sure all your lemon peel is evenly distributed throughout the jar, rather than crouching up near the top like it’s trying to escape.
Makes 4–5 half-pint jars.
These jars of marmalade are beautiful, clear, and make a lovely gift. It’s easy! Just be patient and plan to read the newspaper while you stir.
(Adapted from “Freezing & Canning Cookbook”
Edited by Nell B. Nichols, Field Food Editor,
Farm Journal – 1963
Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Garden City, New York)
