Cirtus Week: Day Four

The Meyer Lemon!

When life throws lemons at you hard, I usually recommend a vodka martini, neat...

However nobody would want to throw a beautiful Meyer Lemon!

Meyer lemons are known for being very sweet, and used to make good ol' Southern lemonaide. The skins aren't bitter either - as far as lemons go. They are a sort of natural cross between a tangerine and a lemon.

I have obviously been on a bit of a Homesteader kick this January, and have decided that the most practical thing to go is make more preserves with them. *of course* everyone sighs.

I wish there was a better way to describe how this Lemon Jam is both sweet and tangy without being bitter or sour like regular marmalade...

There is not much physically different about a Meyer lemon at first glace... the only difference I could determine was the thinner skin they have, and obviously the sweeter taste.

This time, i took about 2/3 of the fruit and cut it with the membranes attached still ( the "inside" skins).  The other third i scraped the peel clean and chopped it, keeping all the remaining pith and skins in the muslin bag... So I would call this lemon shard or lemon jam instead of jelly, because it is definitely cloudy in the jars, but has no butter or egg yolks like lemon curd

However, this extra fruit resulted in glorious, golden lemon jelly that didn't require a single iota of pectin (rejoyce!) and jelled just like storebought!! (double hallelujah!)

I'm not sure if i could emphasize enough the cheerful sunny yellow color of this jelly!! So appealing...

I wish I had made two batches of this instead of two batches of the marmalade! It is truly a unique and delicious flavour! You will have to cajole me to share this treat folks :)

Here is a glimpse at the things I have canned so far this month!

Green Beans, Meyer Lemon, and Seville Oranges!

Citrus Week: Day Two

Seville Oranges.

aka Sour Oranges or Marmalade Oranges

This is a detailed one folks! Although I have tried store bought marmalade before, the only kind I have ever liked has been homemade, the rest have been overpowering, and chewy. I decided since these oranges are only in season for about 2 or 3 weeks of the year, and I was able to get unsprayed ones, I would go ahead and attempt to make myself some pots of gold.

I admit, the first batch was a disaster. It was also the most delicious. This was certainly because the sugar/water/peel ratio was 'off'. Everything was perfect but the thickness. The marmalade was golden, and the orange peels were melt in your mouth. 

Marmalade "sets" from the pectin, found in the pith of the peel. Most fruit jams require you to add pectin, like Certo, to gel. Well even after two packages of pectin I came to realize that my jars were still swishing. So I retried, opening all of the seals, and recooked my marmalade from last night.

This worked well, but overcooking the marmalade causes it to become a very dark color, and since I like to use my canned goods as gifts (pickled beans are my specialty) I was sad that they were a very light brown color.

Usually it doesn't require any pectin at all, so I figured I missed a step in the recipe I used and tried again from scratch tonight. Right now my pot of peels is on the back of the stove soaking, which I will explain in one moment..

Regarding the sevilles, they are VERY SOUR! So i only tried a little taste! However I will post pictures of my more successful jars tomorrow, but the marm process basically goes as follows after the jump! (it's long)