Lime Lemon Marmalade

I've mentioned it before, but I'm excited to be part of what looks to be an amazing array of bloggers involved in a fabulous project.


A group of 130 140 bloggers are participating in the Tigress' Can Jam. This is a year long event in which the Tigress picks a themed ingredient each month which is to be canned or pickled. We post our individual results on our individual blogs and the Tigress links everything together for a fabulous array of tasty goodness.




January's ingredient: CITRUS

Now, I originally thought I would make a blood orange marmalade but those plans were dashed when I woke up one morning to discover my blood orange supply had been decimated during the night. My kids had had a bloody feast.


I then found some lovely tangelos at my nearby natural food store, Lifesource. But, due to the fact that I bought my fruit early and my kids can't seem to stay away from the stuff I let them have at those too.


I wondered how I was going to accomplish this project if I couldn't keep my key ingredient around. Well, of course my solution was right before my eyes. In addition to the blood oranges and the tangelos I had also been buying various limes and lemons. Just because.


The kid's weren't going to eat those sour orbs so I decided to track down a recipe for lemon lime marmalade.


I perused my canning books...
The Glass Pantry

The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves

and

Preserving

.... as well as the internet, but eventually zeroed in on Linda Ziedrich's tome (The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves) and her recipe for Lemon Ginger Marmalade.

Of course, I adapted the recipe because that is my way and because I had only two beautiful Meyer lemons. (Yes, David Lebovitz, I now know they're likely not REAL Meyer lemons.) I did have a bunch o' limes, so Eureka, lemon lime lemon marmalade.

The recipe:

1 1/2 pounds limes and lemons (I only had two Meyer lemons)

6 cups water

4 1/2 cups sugar

1. Rinse under very hot water to remove any wax. Scrub, scrub, scrub.

2. Remove the zest of the citrus in thin shreds. Place into a small saucepan with 1 cup of the water. Simmer, covered, for about an hour, or at least until soft. (This was interesting. I ended up removing the zest with a knife then slicing finely.)

3. While the zest is simmering, chop the fruit, reserving all the juice. Place the fruit, with seeds, pith and juice, into a nonreactive kettle. Add the remaining 5 cups water. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for an hour. (The house began to smell all citrusy near the end of the hour. Also, this is a good time to prep your mason cars, lids and rings. I use the dishwasher.)

4. Drain the zest, reserving both the zest and its cooking liquid.

5. Pour the fruit mixture into a colander set over a bowl. Apply gentle pressure to the fruit mixture to extract as much juice as possible. Strain the resulting fruit juice and reserved cooking liquid, through a jelly bag, into the preserving pan. Add the sugar and zest to the preserving pan to combine with the strained liquid. Over medium heat, stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to medium-high and boil the marmalade until it passes a spoon test or reaches 220 degrees on a jelly thermometer. (I use the spoon test, which involves dipping a spoon into the mixture, lifting it out and watching the drips develop. When the drips are no longer single forms but rather more like a sheet the mixture should be ready.)

6. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately ladle the marmalade into your prepared mason jars. Add lids and rings, and process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes.

Viola. 

Marmalade.

Now, my marmalade isn't really this dark. My photography skills (along with my canning skills) are still in the developmental stage.

The real test comes next. How does it taste?

I like it. 

Now, do I like it because I made it? Sure, but, I think if I had a choice I would go back for more. The marmalade is nice when paired with a creamy cheese. I also think this would work wonderfully as a glaze for grilled chicken or pork. As I'm partial to toasted bagels and cream cheese, this is the perfect topper for a touch of sweet and sour. Ding. Ding. Ding. I don't think this marmalade is for everyone though. It's really quite tart.

If you find yourself with a mess o' limes, this is a pretty quick project due to the one day processing and you end up with some delectable delights. 

Check back next month, sometime during the third week, for my next installment of the Tigress' Can Jam. Follow along on twitter with the hashtag - #tigresscanjam


Here are the peeps involved:
jane at all types of cooking, and a whole lot of canning here!
heather & collette at backyard farms
lory at better gardens than home
michelle at big black dog
mimi at bigger than a breadbox
kristen at bklynforager
cathy at breadmaking with the bread experience
libby at cafe libby
manny at cafe del manolo
carma at carma's cafe
toni at christian county 4-h happenings
jj at citivolus sus
diana at cooking is like science
dawn at dawnabelles
jenelle at delicious potager
willi at diggin food
doris & jilly at doris and jilly cook
catalina at dust bath
jennifer at eat local challenge
andrea at family & food
renee at flamingo musings
jennie at food and books and stuff. fun
marisa at food in jars
lis at food snobbery is my hobbery
kristi at for better of worsted
maureen at fotos by meg
joanne at good food. eat here
holly at green anthropology
meg at grow and resist
kate at hip girl's guide to homemaking
kim at homestead acres
barry at hypenotic
talia at inn brooklyn
charrington at intellectual relish
kathleen at just the right size
rose at keeping up with k
kim at kim's quilting adventure
kate at kitchen fundamentalist
pat at kitchen jam
terri at knit and nosh
gloria at laundry etc.
amy at le jardin de ma vie
leena at leena eats this blog
theresa at living homegrown fresh
kaela at local kitchen
sarah at locally preserved
alicia at low sodium adventures in cooking
rebecca at market life sf
anita & cameron at married ...with dinner
michelle at michelle in colorado springs
kevin at mock paper scissors
mk at mother's kitchen
kimberly at music and cats
christina at my caffeine diary
chloe at naturally frugal
angela at notes from a county girl living in the city
lisa at notes from zone 4
briggs at oh...briggsy!
denise at oh yes i can
megan & mason at on a little land
kristina at on my way to gluten free
betsy at orangebloss
elizabeth at outpost 505
eve at planet eve
melanie at plot 22
carol at post-industrial eating
karen at prospect: the pantry
elle at put-a-lid-on-it
nina at put up or shut up!
jennifer at putting by
barbara at robbing peter
nikki at rufus and clementine
katie at runaway october
marisa at seasonal menus
cathy at showfood chef
melanie at simply loving home
valarie at sisyphus acres
ashley at small measure
christian at stephen's recipes
megan at stetted
sarah at sticks rocks and dirt
andrea at sticks spoons spokes
nickie at strange affinity
tracy at sugarcrafter
annette at sustainable eats
alexa at sustainable pantry
elizabeth at sweet and sour preserve company
tea at tea and cookies
alison at the artisanry of acorn cottage
stephanie at the cosmic cowgirl
colleen at the full fridge
carter at the kitchenette
wendy at the local cook
jamie at the ongoing debacle
angela at the pagan mom blog
blaine & tory at the preservery
the raven at the purloined letter
kate at the reclusive housewife
jessie, patrick & kerry at the 3 canners
melissa at the wynk
woodman & daisy driver at thinking out loud
tigress in a jam or pickle
sara at three clever sisters
sarah at toronto tasting notes
zoey at vegedible
courtney at vivacious eating
joel & dana at well preserved
julia at what julia ate
abc at wine book girl
and various non-bloggers ... adam, andrea, betsy, cary, crystal, daisy mae, diane, elizabeth, hadley, jan, jm, josephine, judy, julianna, kathy, kim lea, lisa, lynn, mary & julie, mary ann, melanie, melissa, oz, ruth, sadie, sandra, shana, shannon, tricia, and val.