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A Surfeit of Lemons and a Traditional Preserve – Home-made Lemon and Ginger Marmalade

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Lemon and Ginger Marmalade

– A Surfeit of Lemons and a Traditional Preserve –

Home-made Lemon and Ginger Marmalade

As some of my friends will remember, from last summer and autumn, I am a bit of a preserving fiend;  I love getting up-close and personal with my copper preserving pan and I really don’t mind the hours that I spend cutting, peeling, chopping and stirring. I relish (excuse the pun) preserving wonderfully fresh and seasonal fruit and vegetables for laying down in the pantry and for future delectation, as well as for gift giving. Show me a bowl of glistening ripe cherries and I see lines of mop capped jars filled with ruby-red jam, and so it was when I saw a huge bag of lemons last week……they sat seductively on the greengrocer’s shelf,  golden ovals  just bursting with yellow sunshine and sour goodness. The bag was in fact a two kilos, which at the time seemed a suitable weight for fish frying, curd making and many other citrus moments in the kitchen. …..however, after a big lemon curd making session, a fish-cake making session of epic proportions as well as several medicinal hot toddy drinks of an evening, I surveyed my lemon stocks yesterday and realised I had a considerable amount of them left…….I had a surfeit of lemons.

Lemon and Ginger Marmalade

Whilst sipping my coffee and pondering over lemon recipes, I had a flash of inspiration. I had planned on purchasing some Seville oranges for my annual marmalade making session; we are BIG marmalade lovers in our household and it’s always a welcome addition to the other jams and preserves I serve on the Bed and Breakfast table for the guests, especially when they know it’s home-made. I LOVE lime shred marmalade, that fine shred marmalade that is made by the floral sounding jam company…….and I love lemons, as may be evident from my aforementioned purchase. I am also very fond of ginger and often make a steamed lemon and ginger pudding during the “pudding months” of autumn and winter – so what better than a tangy lemon and ginger marmalade. I searched through my cookbooks and took the magpie approach of taking an idea from here and there before I started my marmalade making session…….

Lemon and Ginger Marmalade

I like to think that the following recipe is an easier way of making marmalade, and I have cut a few corners, but, the results speak for themselves and I was rewarded with six pots of clear lemon preserves studded with little chunks of ginger, a sort of steamed lemon and ginger pudding in a jar! It worked, it was tried almost straight away on a warm buttered bread bun and I left one pot out for immediate breakfast requirements, RESULT! I was left with two lone ranger lemons for fish on Friday as well as a hot toddy and my surfeit of lemons was no more.  So, if you have an excess of lemons and fancy getting busy in the February kitchen, I heartily recommend this lovely lemon and ginger marmalade recipe. That’s it for today, I have one more winter preserve to share with you later, as well as some baked treats and a romantic seafood recipe…….see you later, Karen

Lemon and Ginger Marmalade

Print recipe
Lemon and Ginger Marmalade
Serves 6 1lb Jars
Prep time 1 hour
Cook time 1 hour, 45 minutes
Total time 2 hours, 45 minutes
Region British
By author Karen S Burns-Booth
A delectable tangy marmalade with an added ginger kick, excellent on toast, crumpets, muffins and fresh bread.

Ingredients

  • 600g lemons (unwaxed)
  • 1.4l water
  • 1.1kg sugar
  • 100g crystallised ginger, cut into very small chunks

Note

A delectable tangy marmalade with an added ginger kick, excellent on toast, crumpets, muffins and fresh bread.

Directions

Step 1 Slice the lemons in half. Using a metal spoon, scoop out the flesh over a bowl to collect any juice, leaving the pith behind. Reserve the shells. Put the flesh, juice and pips in a food processor and blend until smooth. Push the purée through a sieve into a preserving pan or large heavy-based saucepan. Now scoop out as much of the pith from the shells as possible. Slice the rind into very thin matchstick strips and add these to the sieved flesh in the pan. Pour in the water.
Step 2 Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the rind is very soft and the mixture has reduced by half. Over a low heat, add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved. Boil for about 10 minutes, skimming off any froth on the surface. After 10 minutes, spoon a little of the marmalade onto a cold plate and place in the fridge. If it sets to a jelly the marmalade is cooked. If necessary, cook for a further 5-10 minutes and test again.
Step 3 Allow the marmalade to cool slightly, add the chopped crystallised ginger, mix well and then pour into sterilised jars and seal.

Lemon and Ginger Marmalade

 I am entering this recipe into Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker (host for February) and Caroline from Caroline Makes new monthly event, AlphaBakes.  The letter for this month is “L”, and lemons it is then!

And also as it is a seasonal recipe, I am also entering into Ren’s Simple and in Season event.

 

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Comments

  2. Dominic says

    I’m not a great preserver of anything and not really a huge fan of marmalade but this sounds truly divine and I love the photos. I just made my grandmas marmalade cake and this would be wonderful in it. Lovely lovely stuff xx

    Reply

  4. bakingaddict says

    Thank you for entering this to AlphaBakes. Love, love, love lemons although I can’t say the same for ginger but I can see why the pairing would be good. I’d definitely be willing to try some of yours. The pictures look lush as always 🙂

    Reply

  8. Lauren says

    This would be the perfect marmalade recipe for me, because I’ve never seen Seville oranges for sale here. To top it off, I love crystallized ginger, as well!

    Reply

  10. Kavey says

    One of the first preserves I ever made was lemon and ginger, and it seemed to go down well with friends. Yours looks just beautiful. Bet it smelled incredible as it was cooking!
    Just wanted to thank you for your enthusiasm about my new ice cream challenge, can’t wait to see what the inaugural participants come up with!

    Reply

    • Karen says

      LOVE the look of your ice-cream challenge and have something icy up my sleeve! I was very pleased with this marmalade, it was also such a sunny colour.

      Reply

  12. Ren Behan says

    Oooh my husband loves ginger and he loves maramalade so I think he would really like this recipe. Can you send me a pot over or do I *have* to go out and buy a copper preserving pan…(secretly on the wish list!) Thanks for linking this up to Simple and in Season 🙂 As ever, c’est parfait!

    Reply

  17. Dima's Kitchen says

    For me, Orange Marmalade is one of life’s great pleasures. Add to that ginger and I am in heaven! Love ginger and orange combinations 🙂 and this recipe is so book marked 🙂 Enjoyed reading your post, Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  19. Chris says

    Just a little tip, using a spoon to remove the flesh is not easy, cut the lemon in half long ways, then again long ways so you have in quarters, now simply slipping your finger under the flesh from the top you can remove the flesh very easily with no mess. I did not blend as it cooks down and the flesh breaks up.

    Okay… Must go add the sugar. Thank you for the recipe

    Reply

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