Lemon Marmalade is a low-sugar cooked marmalade made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener. This recipe was created by Allison Carroll Duffy for Pomona’s Pectin. She says: “This recipe was developed for standard, full-acid lemons – what you’ll generally find in the lemon section of the grocery store. Eureka and Lisbon lemons are the commonly available varieties. This marmalade has a delightful sunny-yellow color and a soft-set consistency.”
Before you begin, prepare calcium water.To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
Wash and rinse jars, lids, and screw bands. Set screw bands aside until ready to use. Place jars in boiling water bath canner with a rack, fill at least 2/3 of the way full with water, and bring to a boil. Boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize (add 1 additional minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level), then turn down heat and let jars stand in hot water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small pan, bring to a low simmer, and hold there until ready to use.
Wash lemons thoroughly. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the yellow part of the peel from 4 of the lemons. Slice these peels into thin, length-wise strips about 1 inch long, and set aside.
Remove and discard the remaining white pith from the 4 peeled lemons. Then, remove and discard all of the peel and pith from the remaining 4 lemons.
Pull apart into segments all 8 peeled lemons, then chop these segments into small pieces.
Combine the chopped lemon, the sliced peel, and the 3½ cups of water in a large sauce pan. Cover the mixture and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, still covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat.
Transfer the mixture into a bowl or other heat-proof container, then measure out 6 cups of the mixture. (If you have any left over, you can use it for something else.) Pour the measured quantity of the mixture back into the sauce pan. Add the calcium water and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and the pectin powder. Mix well and set aside.
Put the sauce pan on the stove and bring the lemon mixture up to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the sugar-pectin mixture, then stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, still over the highest heat, to dissolve pectin. Return marmalade to a boil, then remove from heat.
Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with marmalade, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, return the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then remove jars from canner.
Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Then confirm that jars have sealed. Remove screw bands from sealed jars, rinse off outside of jars if necessary, label jars, and store for later use.
Notes
If you have Meyer lemons, which are not as acidic and a bit sweeter than standard lemons, use the Meyer Lemon Marmalade recipe.