Best 5 Meyer Lemon Jam Recipes

MEYER LEMON "JAM"

Steps:

• Remove zest from lemons with a vegetable peeler. Remove any white pith from zest and lemon with a sharp knife. Blanch zest only in boiling water 5 minutes. Cut peeled lemons into quarters and discard seeds.
• Pur`zest, lemons, sugar, and water in a blender until smooth. With motor running, add oil in a slow stream, blending until "jam" is thick, and season with salt. Transfer to a bowl and chill, covered, 8 hours to allow flavors to mellow.

MEYER LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• Rinse the lemons and pat dry. Halve the lemons crosswise and juice them, reserving the juice. Using a spoon, scrape the pulp and seeds from the halves. Using a sharp knife, slice the peels 1/8 inch thick.
• In a large, heavy saucepan, cover the strips with 8 cups of cold water and bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Drain the strips and rinse under cold running water. Blanch two more times; the final time, drain the strips but do not rinse them.
• Return the strips to the saucepan. Add the reserved juice and the sugar. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then skimming any foam, until the marmalade sets, about 30 minutes.
• Spoon the marmalade into 5 hot 1/2-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top, and close with the lids and rings. To process, boil the jars for 15 minutes in water to cover. Let stand at room temperature for 2 days before serving.
• MAKE AHEAD The processed marmalade can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Refrigerate after opening.

MEYER LEMON JELLY

Steps:

• 1. Take 2 pounds of the freshest lemons you can find--not overripe or stale because the younger fruit has more pectin in it. Slice off the stem-end of the lemon but leave the blossom end intact as that's the end that has more pectin in it. Using a blade on a food processor or a mandolin, slice the lemons as thinly as you can and throw them into a large stockpot with 3 quarts of water. Bring the lemon water and zest to a boil and then reduce your heat and gently boil things for 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let the mixture set for 30 minutes (you can let it set longer if necessary--overnight if you must). Strain the lemons, seed and pulp from the liquid through three or four layers of cheese cloth. This should give you about 5 or 6 cups of liquid (the recipe said 5 but I got 6 and it worked fine for me). Now here's the trickiest part: Combine the liquid, 2 cups of fresh lemon juice and 6 cups of sugar back in the stockpot and bring to a boil. Immediately once everything is well combined you'll notice that the juice is suddenly light and clear and shiny. That's your pectin reacting with the sugar and the acid from the lemon juice and it's supposed to do that. Trust me, it's very pretty. Boil the mixture fairly hard (though not too aggressively, you don't want it overflowing or going too foamy on you), stirring frequently, for 10 minutes or until the jelly begins to "sheet off the back of a spoon." I had no idea what "sheeting" meant so I wasn't quite sure when the jelly would be ready. After ruining a batch I figured it out.
• 2. The best thing to do is to take a plate and stick it in the freezer, ready to go so that when you have boiled the mix for 10 minutes and it appears to be ever-so-slightly thicker on the back of your spoon you can then take out the frozen plate, put a teaspoon of the liquid on the plate and see if it sets up. If it does, that's prooof that the jelly is ready. Mine set up just a little bit on the plate but after boiling my first batch too long I decided to put the jelly in jars anyway and see if it was done despite my apprehensions. I warn you, it may look completely runny and watery but it really only takes about 10 minutes to see a slight change in the consistency off that spoon and over boiling it is disasterous because it makes the lemons taste bitter and burnt. If you want that fresh lemon taste you can't overboil it. I know, I ruined my first batch doing that. Once the 1o minutes have passed then immediately pull the pot off the stove and ladle the jelly into four waiting half-pint jars that have been properly cleaned and sterilized. Screw on the lids and invert them on the counter for 5 minutes, then turn them back right-side up and they'll seal themselves nicely. There is enough acid in the lemon jelly not to have to worry about a water bath. It should keep nicely for a year or so--if you can wait that long to eat it.

MEYER LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• Halve lemons crosswise and remove seeds. Tie seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Quarter each lemon half and thinly slice. Combine with bag of seeds and water in a 5-quart nonreactive heavy pot and let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature 24 hours.
• Bring lemon mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 4 cups, about 45 minutes. Stir in sugar and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam, until a teaspoon of mixture dropped on a cold plate gels, about 15 minutes.
• Ladle hot marmalade into jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of top. Wipe rims with dampened cloth and seal jars with lids.
• Put jars in a water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot. Add enough hot water to cover jars by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Boil jars, covered, 5 minutes and transfer with tongs to a rack. Cool jars completely.

MEYER LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• Note that the proportion of lemon segments to water to sugar is 1:1:1. So if you don't have a kitchen scale and don't weigh your lemons to begin with, as you proceed through this recipe keep in mind these proportions. Your 2 1/2 lbs of lemons should yield 6 cups of chopped lemon. 6 cups of chopped lemon will be cooked first with 6 cups of water, and then later 6 cups of sugar are added. You can also do this recipe with 4 cups of chopped lemons, 4 cups of water, and 4 cups of sugar. Do not double the recipe. Do not reduce the sugar (if you want a reduced sugar recipe, use a different recipe); the sugar is needed for the jelly to set.
• PREPARING THE FRUIT.
• Scrub the lemons clean. Discard any that are moldy or damaged.
• Prepare the lemons. Cut 1/4 inch off from the ends of the lemons. Working one at a time, stand a lemon on end. Cut the lemon in half lengthwise. Cut each lemon half into several segments, lengthwise. As you cut the lemons into segments, if you can, pull off any exposed membranes. Just get the ones that are easy to get to, ignore the rest. When you've cut down to the final segment, cut away the pithy core. Remove all seeds from the segments. Reserve the seeds and any removed membrane or pith. You will need them to make pectin. Cut each lemon segment crosswise into even pieces to make little triangles of lemon peel and pulp.
• Put all of the seeds, membranes and pith you removed from the lemons into a bag fashioned out of two layers of cheesecloth or a muslin jelly bag.
• FIRST STAGE OF COOKING.
• Place the lemon segments and water into a large, wide pot.
• Place the pectin bag in the pot with the fruit pulp and secure to the pot handle.
• Bring mixture to a medium boil on medium high heat. Let boil, uncovered, for about 25-35 minutes, until the peels are soft and cooked through. Test one of the lemon peel pieces by eating it. It should be soft. If it is still chewy, keep cooking until soft.
• Remove from heat.
• Remove the pectin bag, place the pectin bag in a bowl and let cool until it is comfortable to touch.
• ADD THE PECTIN AND SUGAR.
• Once your pectin bag has cooled to the point you can handle it, if you want, squeeze it like play-doh to extract any extra pectin. This is not necessary but will help ensure a good set. (I like to wear latex-type gloves for this part.) You should be able to get a tablespoon or two more from the bag. It has the consistency of sour cream. Return this pectin to the pan with the lemon mixture.
• Measure out your sugar and add it to the pan with the lemon mixture.
• SECOND STAGE OF COOKING.
• Heat the jelly mixture on medium high and bring it to a rapid boil. Secure a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. The marmalade may take anywhere from 20 to 35 minutes or so to be ready to pour out. After about 15 minutes, start checking it frequently.
• There are two ways to test that the marmalade is ready to pour out into jars - the mixture reaching a temperature of 220-222°F (8-10°F above the boiling point at your altitude) and a bit of it put on a chilled plate "wrinkling up" when you push it with your finger tip. I do both.
• For the wrinkle test, put several small plates into the freezer. As the jelly temperature reaches 218°F, start testing it by placing a small amount of the hot jelly on a chilled plate. If the jelly spreads out and thins immediately, it isn't ready. If it holds its shape a bit, like an egg yolk, that's a good sign. Push up against it with your finger tip. If the jelly sample wrinkles at all, it is time to take the jelly off the heat and pour it out into jars.
• When you use a candy thermometer to test the temperature of your mixture, make sure the probe is NOT touching the bottom of the pan. Make sure that the indentation on the probe (with modern candy thermometers this is about an inch and a half from the bottom of the probe) is actually surrounded by the mixture. This may mean that you have to tilt the pan to one side, to cover the probe sufficiently to get a good reading.
• CANNING.
• While the marmalade is in its second cooking stage, rinse out your canning jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven. They should be in the oven at least 10 minutes before using them.
• As the time approaches for the marmalade to be done, boil some water in a tea pot. Put the jar lids in a glass or ceramic bowl and pour the boiling water over them to sterilize.
• Once the jelly has reached 220°F or its "wrinkly" stage, remove the jelly pot from the heat. Carefully ladle the jelly into the jars, one at a time, leaving 1/4 inch head space at the top of the jars for a vacuum seal. Wipe the rim clean with a clean, wet paper towel. Place the lid on the jar, securing with a jar ring. Work quickly.
• Allow the jars to sit overnight. You will hear them make a popping sound as a vacuum seal is created.
• Even if the jelly is not firm as it goes into the jar (it shouldn't be), it should firm up as it cools.