Lemon Marmalade Wiki Wiki

 That's fast in Hawaiian.  Of course, faster would be just buying some.  However, as the lemons are dropping off our tree, home made marmalade is a really good thing.  This recently found recipe uses a mandolin and a pressure cooker to speed things up.  I'm going to do another batch today, Lord willing, and the creek don't rise.  It is raining right now, but may clear up later for picking fruit. And, just so you know, these are not Meyer lemons, they're full-bodied, flavorful real ones :) Sorry all you Meyer fans.  I had a friend ask for some of mine recently, as all she had were the other kind.

                 Lemon Marmalade – Pressure Cooker 

From a Pressure Cooker site
This recipe can be adjusted for the amount of lemons you have, since the sugar is decided on by the weight of the lemon rinds and pulp. As with kumquats, see my kumquat post, a lot of pectin is in the seeds, which is why they are reserved and used.

INGREDIENTS

2lbs. (1K) Organic Lemons, well-washed with a scrubby sponge

About 4lbs (2K) sugar (see instructions) –Note: yes, use double the sugar

Equipment:

Mandolin

Digital Scale

Thermometer (optional)
Pressure Cooker 
small square of cheesecloth or tea ball

To Process: 
Rack or Steamer Basket

3 Clean Kitchen Towels

6 8oz (250) ml Jars, sterilized in boiling water or hot out of the dishwasher

6 New lids, quickly boiled or hot out of the dishwasher

Strong Tongs, or Jar Lifter

Canning Funnel, and/or Ladle

1 Tbsp. Vinegar (if you have hard water)

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the Marmalade: Slice lemons using the "thin" setting on mandolin, discard ends or slices that are all pith. Stack slices, removing seeds as you go (save them for later) and cut into four.

Put your pressure cooker on scale, hit "tar" or zero and then add thinly sliced lemon wedges and any juice that may have squirted out in the process. Write down the weight of the fruit and juice. Add the minimum amount of liquid your pressure cooker needs to reach pressure, about 1-2 cups, and close and lock the lid.

Turn the heat up to high and when the pressure cooker reaches pressure, turn it down and begin counting 10 minutes cooking time at HIGH pressure.

When time is up, open the pressure cooker using the Natural Release method - move the cooker to a cold burner and don't do anything and wait for the pressure to come down naturally. For electric pressure cookers, up be sure to turn off the "keep warm" mode, if it automatically engages in your model.

Calculate how much sugar to add - typically an extra-bitter marmalade needs twice the sugar. That looks like A LOT of sugar if you've never made fruit preserves! So if you are concerned, try the same weight in sugar first, then taste a cooled sample on a teaspoon and see if you like it. This recipe doubles the weight of the trimmed lemons with the sugar (1500 grams), though I cut mine back a bit.

Put all of the lemon seeds in a tea ball or gauze packet. When you open the pressure cooker the fruit pulp will already be warm, so pour all of the sugar in and stir. It should all melt within a minute or two. Then, add the tea ball or cheesecloth bag containing the seeds. Now, turn the heat up and bring everything to a rolling boil for 5 minutes or, if you have a thermometer, you will want the mixture to reach 212F or 100C. 

Using a ladle or canning funnel, distribute the contents evenly into your freshly dish-washed or sterilized jars.  Now you can process your finished jars in the pressure cooker - recommended to keep them safely un-refrigerated.  Here are the directions:  (Don't tell anyone, but I never bother, using re-cycled jars, as you can see.)

 

To Process: Carefully wipe the edges of the jars and screw on the lids until they are lightly closed (do not tighten). Quickly wash out the base of the pressure cooker, and add the rack or steamer basket (without trivet). Place the jars so that they don't touch each other or the sides of the pressure cooker (You may have to do two batches).

Next, arrange the kitchen towels so that the jars do not move and clink around while boiling (put them in an S around two jars in opposing directions). Now, fill the pressure cooker with enough water to cover by an 1" or so. If you have hard mineral water that usually leaves spots on your glassware, add a tablespoon of vinegar in the water to keep your jars shiny and beautiful.

Set your pressure cooker to "no pressure" or "exhaust" position. If you have neither of those, just remove the valve, or weight, completely from the housing - as you would when cleaning it. Close and lock the lid and put on high heat until you start seeing an even stream of vapor coming out of the valve - you can even open the lid to check and make sure it's boiling. At that point, you can turn the heat down to medium (this should still maintain the boil) and count 5 minutes "processing" time without pressure.

When time is up, turn off the heat, and carefully remove the lid. Lift out the jars and put them on a clean kitchen towel to dry and cool. You may hear a metal "popping" sound as soon as you pull out the jars or as late as two hours - they may all pop at different times. This indicates that the jar is sealed correctly - the middle will be dipped down like the safety seal on the jars you buy from the store. If once completely cool, any have not "popped" yet, open them, clean the lid and lip of the jar again and "process" again, this time starting with cold water since the contents will have cooled - or just store in the refrigerator and consume first! Yields about six 8oz or 250ml jars.

Now you can add some cute labels, with maybe a date.  I made this marmalade with lemons, but you could use any citrus.  Adjust the sugar accordingly, depending on the acidity of the fruit. Super-sweet oranges, Meyer lemons, and mandarins will only need 1x the sugar while grapefruit, lemons and Seville oranges about twice the amount of sugar to fruit.  I used less (1 & 1/2 X) for my lemon marmalade, but it might be too bitter for some of you.

We liked it a lot.  I've tried other methods, recipes, but this was easier and better -  will share with Beth Fish's Weekend Cooking.