Make this Quick Strawberry Lemon Marmalade

The theme for this month’s tigress can jam is berries.  This includes strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, other edible berries and even cherries.  I like this theme.  I don’t think you can go wrong with berries.

We went strawberry picking a few weeks ago so this was perfect timing for the berry theme.  I froze about 12 cups of the strawberries so they wouldn’t go bad before I got the chance to make jam out of them.  I made traditional strawberry jam with some of the strawberries and decided to make Strawberry Lemon Marmalade with the rest.

Quick Strawberry Lemon Marmalade

Makes: about seven 8-ounce (250 mL) jars
Recipe from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

This marmalade is quick and easy!  It takes about half the time of your traditional marmalade because it uses powdered pectin.  It allows you to enjoy some delicious marmalade without slaving over the hot stove too long.  That is definitely one of the things I like about this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced lemon peel (50 ml)
• 4 cups crushed hulled strawberries (1 L)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 package (1.75 oz/49 to 57 g) regular powdered fruit pectin
• 6 cups granulated sugar

Directions:

Prepare canner, jars and lids. For details, please refer to the instructions at the National Center for Home Preservation.

Cut the peel of a lemon into quarters and remove it. The lemon should be large enough to yield 1/4 cup. Remove the rind and cut the peel into thin slices.  Reserve the juice of the lemon.

In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine lemon peel and water to cover.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for about 5 minutes, until peel is softened.  Drain and discard liquid.

Add strawberries and lemon juice to peel and mix well. I started with 2 quart-size bags of frozen strawberries.

I had to add another bag of frozen berries to make 4 cups.  I didn’t plan this too well so I had to wait for the 3rd bag of strawberries to thaw before I could continue with the process.

It didn’t take too long for the berries to thaw, then I crushed them and added them to the pot with the reserved lemon juice.

Whisk in pectin until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.

Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and skim off foam.

Ladle hot marmalade into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) headspace.  Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot marmalade.  Wipe rim.  Center lid on jar.  Screw bad down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water.  Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes.  If you live in a higher altitude or need more detailed instructions on water-bath canning, please refer to the instructions at the National Center for Home Preservation.

Remove canner lid.  Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, let them sit on the counter overnight, then store.

Or give some away like I did.  This was one of gifts I gave my dad for Fathers Day.  He loves strawberry jam!

Happy Canning!
Cathy

Here are some of the references I use in my canning adventures. You might enjoy them as well:

• Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
• The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving
• Keeping The Harvest: Discover the Homegrown Goodness of Putting Up Your Own Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs
• National Center for Home Preservation