Best 5 Citrus Blueberry Marmalade Recipes

BLUEBERRY AND MEYER LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• Day 1, Morning: Take the 1/2 pound of lemons and cut them into eighths. Place these in a non-reactive saucepan where they will fit snugly in a single layer. Add enough cold water for the fruit to bob freely. Cover tightly and let rest for 8 hours at room temperature.
• Day 1, Afternoon: After 8 hours have passed, bring the pan with the lemon eighths and water to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium-low. Cook the fruit at a lively simmer, covered, for 2 hours - the lemons will become very soft and the liquid will become slightly syrupy. As the lemons cook, press down on them gently with a spoon every 30 minutes or so, adding a little more water if necessary. The water level should remain consistently high enough for the fruit to remain fully submerged as it cooks.
• When the lemons are finished cooking, strain their juice by pouring the hot fruit and liquid into a fine mesh strainer or jelly bag set over a medium bowl. Cover the whole setup with plastic wrap and let drip overnight at room temperature.
• Meanwhile, prepare the Meyer lemon slices.
• To prepare the Meyer lemon slices: take the pound of Meyer lemons and halve them lengthwise, then cut each half into quarters (each lemon will be cut into 8 pieces at this point). Take each lemon slice and pry out any seeds from it. You can place these seeds in the pot with the lemon eighths and water which is currently simmering - this will add more pectin.
• Slice each Meyer lemon slice thinly crosswise - how thick you slice is a personal preference. I prefer to slice very thinly, making each slice 1/8th of an inch or less. But if you like you could make your slices thicker. I wouldn't recommend going much thicker than 1/4 of an inch.
• Place these Meyer lemon slices (they will look like a lot of little triangles) in a stainless steel pot and cover with water, covering the slices by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain, discarding the liquid. Return the lemon slices to the pot and cover with 1 inch of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, decrease the heat to medium-low, and cook at a lively simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. As the fruit cooks, stir it gently every 10 minutes or so, adding a little more water if necessary. The water level should stay consistently high enough for the fruit to remain submerged as it cooks. After 20 minutes, remove the pan from the heat, cover tightly, and let rest overnight at room temperature.
• Day 2, Morning: Remove the plastic wrap from the lemon eighths and their liquid and discard the lemons remaining in the strainer or jelly bag. Do not squeeze the bag or press down on the lemons if you want a clear jelly in your marmalade. Set this liquid aside.
• Pour the Meyer lemon slices and their liquid through a fine mesh strainer (or a jelly bag), and let this mixture drip for about 15 minutes. Remove the Meyer lemon slices from the strainer - DO NOT DISCARD - set them aside. Mix the cooked liquid you have strained from the lemon eighths and the Meyer lemons, mixing well, and set aside. You will need 4 1/2 cups of this liquid. If you do not have 4 1/2 cups, add water to the mixture until it equals 4 1/2 cups.
• In a large preserving pan, combine the blueberries with 1 1/2 cups of sugar. I use a potato masher to mash up some of the blueberries, about a third of them, but you don't have to do this. I just feel that it gets the juices flowing quicker. Bring the blueberries and sugar to a simmer, stirring frequently, and then continue to cook until the juices are just deep enough to cover the berries, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the berries into a colander set over a large bowl, and stir the berries gently to drain off the juice. Set the colander of berries on a plate (to catch any remaining juice) and set them aside.
• In a large preserving pan, combine the 4 1/2 cups of mixed liquid from the lemons, the juice from the blueberries, and the Meyer lemon slices. If you do not have a preserving pan, use the widest pan you have. The wider the pan, the more quickly moisture will evaporate from the mixture, and this is what you want when you are making jelly, jam, or marmalade.
• Place 4 saucers or small plates in the freezer. You will use these later to check the set of the marmalade.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, and cook at a rapid boil over high heat until the mixture is reduced by half, stirring occasionally. It will take about 35 minutes for the mixture to reduce by half.
• Once the mixture is reduced by half, add in the blueberries and any accumulated juice, the strained lemon juice, and the remaining 4 cups sugar, stirring well over high heat to help dissolve the sugar.
• Cook at a boil over high heat, stirring every 2 minutes or so, until the set point is reached. Check the set after 5 minutes of cooking.
• To check the set: take the pot of marmalade off the heat (if you don't remove the marmalade from the heat while you check the set it could over-cook and become rubbery or hard, if the marmalade is indeed already set).
• Place a drop of the marmalade mixture (try to get the "jelly" part of the mixture, avoiding the rind and the berries; I use a 1/4 teaspoon measure to dip out the drop) on one of the saucers you've kept in the freezer, & place the saucer back in the freezer for 1 minute. After 1 minute, take the saucer out of the freezer and nudge the drop of jelly with your finger. If it "wrinkles" when you nudge it with your finger it is done. If the jelly is not set, continue cooking over medium-high heat, checking the set again every 5 minutes.
• I make this marmalade using an 11 quart copper preserving pan, over highest heat on my second largest burner. After the sugar has been added and has dissolved, it usually takes 10 minutes of cooking for the marmalade to reach the set point for me.
• When the marmalade is set, ladle it into sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with damp paper towels to remove any marmalade which got on the rims or the threads. Place the lids and the bands on the jars, just tightening the bands fingertip tight.
• Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes, then remove and let sit, undisturbed, for at least 12 hours before checking seals. It is important to let them sit undisturbed for 12 hours because the sealing compound on the lids is still cooling and hardening, completing the seal. While the jars cool, you will hear a "plink" type sound from each jar - this is the jars completing the vacuum seal as the final air escapes the jar. After 12 hours have passed, remove the bands and check the lids - press down in the center of the lid. If you cannot push the lid down any further, the jar is sealed. If the lid "gives" a bit, and you can push it down, the jar did not seal. You can either put the band back on the jar, and reprocess it for another 5 minutes, or you can just put it in the fridge and use it within 3 months.

ORANGE-BLUEBERRY MARMALADE

Steps:

• Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest of the oranges and lemons. Cut the zest pieces into thin slices, then finely chop or grind and set aside. Peel the remaining white part of the peel from the fruit and discard. Chop the fruit pulp, reserving any juice and set aside. Place the zest and 1 1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the reserved fruit pulp and juice, cover and simmer on low heat for an additional 7 minutes. Add the blueberries and simmer for 3 more minutes. Stir the sugar into the fruit in the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil and cook exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the pectin. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam with metal spoon. Serve at room temperature.

CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Chill a saucer in the freezer, ready for checking the setting point of your jam later. Wash the citrus fruits and remove the top parts that were attached to the stalks.
• Put the whole citrus fruits in a large saucepan with 2½ litres of cold water. Bring to the boil, then cover the pan and simmer for 2 hrs 30 mins, or until the skins can be pierced easily with a small knife.
• Use a slotted spoon to scoop the fruits out of the liquid and set aside to cool for at least 10-15 mins. Measure out 1.5 litres of the liquor and pour it back into the pan. If you don't have enough, top up with water.
• Halve the citrus fruits, remove the pips and set aside. Cut the peel and flesh into thin 0.2 cm strips (depending on how thick-cut you would like it to be). Tip all of the flesh and skin, along with any juices, back into the pan with the liquid. Put the pips in a small piece of muslin and tie up with string. Add this to the pan as well, which will help the setting process.
• Tip in the sugar and bring to the boil, stirring frequently. Continue to boil rapidly for 45-50 mins - it should reach 105C. Test the setting point by dropping a little marmalade onto the chilled saucer, allowing it to cool for 1 min, then push gently with your finger. If it crinkles, it has reached the setting point. If it doesn't, continue to boil and check again after 5-10 mins.
• Leave the marmalade to cool in the pan for 10-15 mins, then carefully scoop out the muslin bag using a slotted spoon. Gently stir the marmalade in one direction to disperse any air bubbles, then pour into sterilised jars and seal with a lid. Find out how to sterilise jars. Will keep for up to a year.

CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Cut the citrus: Using a sharp knife, slice off the top and bottom of the citrus so it sits sturdily on the cutting board. Slice off the peel and white pith in sections, starting at the top and following the curve of the fruit. (You should have a pile of peels and a few naked fruit.)
• Thinly slice the peels (with the pith) no thinner than 1/8 inch and no thicker than 1/4 inch, place them in a large bowl and set aside.
• Halve the fruit and remove any visible seeds. Thinly slice about 1/4-inch thick (white membrane and all), removing any seeds you might have missed. Add the fruit to the peels, and cover with 3 to 5 cups of water, taking note of how much water you used. Let this sit for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (This will help extract the pectin slowly as well as soften the peels.)
• Make the marmalade: Place a small plate in the refrigerator to chill. (You'll use this later.)
• Place the peels, fruit and water in a large pot. Add enough water to bring the total to 6 cups and bring to a strong simmer over medium-high heat.
• Cook the citrus until the peels have begun to soften and turn translucent, and the liquid has reduced by about three-fourths, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Add sugar and any add-ins and continue to cook, stirring occasionally at first, then more frequently as the marmalade cooks and the juices thicken. Continue until most of the liquid has evaporated and the peels are totally softened and almost completely translucent, another 40 to 50 minutes.
• As the marmalade cooks, the liquid reduces, the sugars thicken and the natural pectins activate. You'll notice the liquid go from a rapid, rolling boil with smaller bubbles to a slow, thick, tarlike boil with larger bubbles: This is the stage at which it's most important to stir constantly along the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching and sticking. (Sugar is heavier than water and will concentrate at the bottom of the pot, making the fruit more likely to burn.) It's also the stage at which splattering may occur, so take care in stirring.
• When the marmalade reaches this point, add lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring constantly until the jam has returned to its previously thickened state, about another 5 minutes. At this stage, the mixture should look thick and viscous with bits of the peel floating around. The peels will never break into the liquid as with a jam: This is O.K.
• To test the jam's thickness, spoon a bit onto the chilled plate, return it to the refrigerator and chill for 2 minutes. Drag your finger through it: It should hold its shape on either side without appearing watery or runny. If it's not there yet, cook it for a few more minutes.
• Remove from heat and discard the vanilla bean, if used. Divide among jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top, and seal immediately. Can the marmalade (our How to Make Jam guide has detailed instruction), or store in the refrigerator.

BLUEBERRY MARMALADE

Steps:

• Remove peel in quarters from orange and lemon.
• Lay quarters flat and remove about half of white part.
• With scissors, cut remaining peel into fine shreds.
• Put in kettle; add water and soda.
• Bring to boil and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Remove pulp from membrane; add with juice to peel.
• Cover; simmer for 15 minutes, adding more water if necessary and blueberries and sugar; bring to boil; simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in liquid pectin.
• Stir and skim by turns for 5 minutes.
• Pour into hot sterilized jars, and seal.
• Makes about six 1/2 pint jars.