I was fortunate to get Meyer Lemons from my sisters tree. She said that it's an "every other year" good crop and I just happen to be living here now to enjoy these amazing citrus. I have made marmalades but a true straight up Meyer Lemon version is tart/sweet and an amazing spread on chicken or fish.
As you can see from the picture Meyer lemons are much more of an orange color than their classic lemon counterpart. They have a smooth skin and a very thin rind. Most are sweeter rather than tart and are an exception substitute in making lemon meringue pies and other lemon flavored desserts.
Here is the Meyer Lemon Marmalade recipe I used which I did with no pectin. Instead I brought the sugars up to 220 degrees to get the marmalade to set.
Meyer Lemon Marmalade8 large Meyer lemons
4 cups of sugar
Also needed is a candy thermometer.
Preparation: Prepare 5 half pints lids, and
rings. Sterilize the jars and keep them in the hot water till its time for
processing. Rinse the lemons and pat them dry. Halve the lemons and juice them
removing the seeds as you go. Reserve the juice. Using a spoon scrape out the
pulp and remove any residual seeds.
Using a sharp knife slice the peels into 1/8 inch thick
strips.
Cooking: In a large stainless steel or enameled
Dutch combine 2 cups of water and the peels. Bring heat to high till you
are simmering. Let simmer for 10 minutes and turn off the heat. Let peels sit
for 20 minutes in water. This process
helps to release the pectin and soften the peels so they are not chewy.
Add juice and pulp and additional water to bring to 3 cups
of liquid. Add 4 cups of sugar. Bring
mixture up to a boil and continue cooking until mixture reaches 220 degrees
using a candy thermometer. Once it
reaches this temperature, which takes about 10 minutes, remove from heat. To
test the marmalade use the Sheet or Plate test. (see bottom of this site for
instructions) If the consistency is not right put it back on the stove and boil
for another minute. Retest.
Filling the jars: On a dishtowel place
your hot jars and using your funnel in each jar fill leaving 1/4”
headspace. Taking a clean papertowel wet it with warm water and
wipe the rims of the jars removing any food particles that would interfere with
a good seal. Using your magic wand extract the lids from the hot water and
place them on the now cleaned rims. Add your rings to the tops of each of the
jars and turn to seal just "finger tight".
Processing: Make sure your rack is on the bottom
of the canner and place the jars in the water bath making sure that the water
covers each of the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add hot water to the canner if it
doesn't measure up. Cover the pot and turn up the heat under the canner and
wait for the water to start boiling. Once the water has come to a boil start
your timer for 10 minutes. When complete turn off the heat and remove the cover
and let the jars sit for another few minutes. Remove the jars and place them
back on the dishtowel in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Do not
touch or move them till the next morning.
Sealing: Sometime in the next hour your jars
will be making a "pinging" or "popping" noise. That is the
glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into the jar for proper
sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your lids and reprocess
any jars that did not seal.
