Lemon Marmalade

bargainqueen_2

Hello all,
my friend has a lemon tree bursting with fruit and has no inclination to use it, so I have nicked several kilos worth of lemons from it. I found a recipe on Lemon Marmalade which uses just lemons and sugar, and made a batch yesterday (I don't have a breadmaker at the moment). Now, it tastes good but it just seems VERY runny compared to shop-bought marmalade. Is this because there is no pectin in it? Does anyone have any recipes, ideas, tips as I still have a huge bag full of lemons lying around? Thanks in advance
BQ

squeaky

bargainqueen wrote:

Hello all,
my friend has a lemon tree bursting with fruit and has no inclination to use it, so I have nicked several kilos worth of lemons from it. I found a recipe on Lemon Marmalade which uses just lemons and sugar, and made a batch yesterday (I don't have a breadmaker at the moment). Now, it tastes good but it just seems VERY runny compared to shop-bought marmalade. Is this because there is no pectin in it? Does anyone have any recipes, ideas, tips as I still have a huge bag full of lemons lying around? Thanks in advance
BQ

The site below makes no mention of pectin at all. You might pick up a thought or two from it...

http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/bljelly32.htm

Debt_Free_Chick

You don't need pectin, but you must use the pips, pith and other "waste".

Halve the lemons, squeeze the juice add to the water.

Cut the lemons in half again, and then scrape a sharp knife along the inside of the rind to remove all the "gunge". Take the gunge and the pips & pith from the juicer and place all this waste on a square of muslin. Cut the rind into thin or thick slices as you wish. Don't worry about any pith that sticks to the rind - usually this is bitter, but with marm-making it just melts and disintegrates.

Tie the muslin bag with string and suspend it in the pan. Add the sugar and boil ... squeeze the muslin bag now & then to release all the pectin.

Are you sure you reached the setting point? You have to boil fast for this. Have some saucers in the freezer. After boiling, remove one and place a small amount of the hot marmalade on the saucer. Remove the marmalade from the heat. Put the saucer in the fridge for 10 minutes. When cool, push the blob of marm with your finger ... can you see the mixture wrinkle? If yes, you've reached the setting point. If no, return the marm to the heat and continue to fast boil.

HTH

p.s. made last weekend .....

10 lbs of lemon & lime marmalade
10 lbs of damson jam (free damsons)
6 lbs of blackberry & apple jam (free blackberries & apples)
2 lbs of elderberry, blackberry & herb jelly (all free, again!)

Debt_Free_Chick

squeaky wrote:

The site below makes no mention of pectin at all. You might pick up a thought or two from it...

http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/bljelly32.htm

That one doesn't use the pith & pips .. it is possible to get set marmalade with that recipe, but you'll need to boil for longer and, ideally, have a preserving thermometer to check that you're boiling at the right temperature.

Possible, but I find that the extra pectin from the pips & pith helps with the setting

bargainqueen_2

WOW! Thanks guys that really helped, am now in the middle of my second batch- WITH pips etc. Will report back, cheers!!!
Squeaks, that is the recipe I am using Nicked as ever from the www
Thanks!

Debt_Free_Chick

BargainQueen (great name)

If you don't have a muslin square use a clean pop-sock, stocking or leg of tights, knotted at the top. Or a clean square of cotton rag e.g. I have old cotton pillowcases, sheets, shirts etc, laundered and cut into squares for this purpose.

I do think that the addition of the lemon "gunge/waste" plus some diligent testing of the setting point will get you the right result.

Do let us know how you get on. And then post about your lemon & lime marm, lime marm, lemon, lime & grapefruit marm .... etc

The lemons & limes are not cheap, if you have to buy them. But look at the price of a decent marm!!! :eek:

That said, I am simply hooked on home-made preserves

Good luck ... let us know .... I said that before - d'Oh!

bargainqueen_2

Right......after spending the weekend in the kitchen testing, brewing, and bubbling, the bargainking is now convinced I am cooking up a spell or two
I returned the already made marm to the boil, without pips because they were all in the bin, and boilt the life out of it. It went quite dark (I think the sugar caramelised) and beautifully gooey. It tastes a little bit bitter but has set wonderfully. Then I made another lot and used the pips but not the gunge (just because everyone always says it is bitter. I will try with that this week though, I STILL have 5 kg of lemons!), and it is perfect. I used your tip on checking if it is set and it worked really well, thank you so much! How exciting, it tastes gorgeous.
If I was to add other fruits together with the lemons, would they have to be citrus fruits? Or could I use any fruit? And is the making procedure exactly the same?
Thank you D_F_C you have saved my marm

Debt_Free_Chick

bargainqueen wrote:

If I was to add other fruits together with the lemons, would they have to be citrus fruits? Or could I use any fruit?

I would think any combination would do, but the proportions would affect the end result e.g. more lemons would make a more lemony marm

I have a number of "other fruit" preserves that need lemon juice - I guess just to add a slight tartness, but maybe to up the pectin level too

And is the making procedure exactly the same?

Yes ... the boiling and testing for the setting point is the most important.

Thank you D_F_C you have saved my marm

You're welcome