Strawberry Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Written by Marisa of Food in Jars.

It happens every February. Standing in line at my local produce market, buying a basket filled with local kale, potatoes and storage onions, I smell strawberries. At first I think I’m dreaming, until I glance to my right and see the display of red berries, shipped to the East coast from California or Mexico.

Knowing full well that those berries are bred for durability rather than flavor, I slip a container into my basket anyway. I’m ever hopeful that this will be the year that they’ll taste as good as they smell.

Sadly, just one bite reminds me of an essential truth. Buying out-of-season berries to eat plain is asking for disappointment.

Happily, all is not lost. Though the berries don’t do much for me on their own, I know that combined with sugar and slivers of Meyer lemon, they’ll transform into an entirely delicious marmalade. The end result is a loosely set spread that evokes strawberry lemonade and will get your juices flowing for the upcoming canning season.

I realize that for some of you, the Meyer lemons will be the hard-to-find element in this recipe. While they are worth searching out for their sweet-tart flavor, if they’re entirely impossible to find, you can substitute a combination of regular lemons and tangerines for the pound of Meyers that the recipe calls for.

Finally, if it’s at all possible, do seek out organic ingredients for this marmalade. Because the entirety of the Meyer lemon is used, unsprayed fruit is truly best.

Strawberry Meyer Lemon Marmalade

4.75 from 4 votes
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Course: Preserves
Servings: 4 half pints
Calories: 508kcal
Author: Marisa

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Meyer lemons
  • 1 pound strawberries
  • 1 pound granulated white sugar

Instructions

  • Wash and dry Meyer lemons. Trim off ends and slice the fruit in half from to top to bottom.
  • Using a sharp paring knife, cut out the pithy center core of each lemon half and remove seeds. Reserve both the pithy cores and seeds, as these will later be our pectin source.
  • When all lemons have been trimmed, slice the halves into thin half moons.
  • Place Meyer lemon slices into a glass or plastic bowl and cover with two cups of water.
  • Gather up the reserved seeds and pith and place them into the center of a cheesecloth square. Tie bundle up tightly to prevent seeds from escaping. Add this bundle to the bowl where the lemon slices are soaking. Cover and set aside.
  • While the lemon slices soak, wash strawberries and chop them well. Place them in a glass or plastic bowl and add the sugar. Stir to combine and cover.
  • Let both the lemons and the strawberries sit for at least an hour and up to three hours. Stir the strawberries once or twice if possible, to help the sugar draw out their liquid.
  • When you’re ready to cook the marmalade, first set up your canning pot. Place four half pint jars in a pot fitted with a shallow rack. The pot must be able to hold them fully submerged with at least an inch of water over top and an inch of space to allow the water to boil.
  • Place lids in a small saucepan of water and set over low heat.
  • Pour the lemons, their water, the strawberries and sugar into a large, wide, non-reactive pan that holds at least five quarts. Bring to a boil and cook over medium-high heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring regularly.
  • Marmalade is done when it reaches 220° F and passes the plate test.
  • Funnel finished marmalade into prepared jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.
  • When time is up, remove jars from canner and let them cool on a folded kitchen towel.
  • When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and check seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.

Nutrition

Calories: 508kcal | Carbohydrates: 133g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 330mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 122g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 126.8mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 1.2mg

I like this marmalade rolled into crepes or stirred into Greek yogurt. How would you use it?

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35 Comments

  1. I so love strawberries! Thank you for sharing that recipe, at least no you can do your own home-made Strawberry Meyer Lemon Marmalade..

  2. I will be making this next week! For some reason I never think about canning in February… I always wait until we have local Northwest strawberries available in the summer. But… I just bought a new crepe pan and I am now inspired to do a little canning. Thanks for the great post!

  3. I see this recipe just days after I’ve used all my Meyers lemons! I guess I’ll go buy some more. This recipe looks sooo delicious. And I’m in a canning mood these days, just made some apple butter inspired by one of your other posts. Always inspiring! Thank you.

    stef

  4. 5 stars
    Meyers will definitely be the hard to find ingredient for me. I never see them in NJ, and so far, I have yet to see them in Texas either. I swear, I’m going to have to start growing them myself. But I want this marmalade in my life!

  5. I love the plethora of Meyer Lemon recipes I’m seeing these days in the blog-world. This one, certainly does not disappoint!! How delicious, it’s like having strawberry-lemonade year round 😉 – – sounds amazing, if you ask me!

  6. Oh yes… I love the thought of adding this to a crepe. Such a lovely guest post!

  7. I do the same thing at the grocery store with tomatoes… they call to me all winter but I know they’ll be a letdown. Meyer lemons, on the other hand – they’re one of my favorite cold-weather citrus fruits!

  8. Wow! That looks so good. This might have to be my first jam / jelly / marmalade making experience!

  9. I was just thinking about how much I miss our homemade preserves(we ran out over the holidays). I plan to make this soon!

  10. We had a blizzard here in CO today, so what better to do than make this recipe. It is incredibly tasty and has already been eaten by the spoonful. One question though: the set on mine is very loose. I was unclear whether the bag of pith and seeds that gives this its pectin was supposed to stay on while it cooked, or be romoved from the lemons when they are combined with the strawberries. It’s good either way, just want to know for when I make this again.

    1. So glad to hear that you like it, Sara! It will have something of a soft set, though it should firm up over the next few days. I always cook the marmalade with the bag of seeds and pith in it, to extract as much pectin as possible. I pull it out when the jam is done and give it a good squeeze, to ensure that I get as much of the pectin out of it as I can.

  11. I live in Tallahassee, FL and a neighbor shared her bounty of Meyer lemons with me. And the Florida strawberries are still in season and available in abundance! I am making this tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe!

  12. 4 stars
    I fairly certain I haven’t made anything with such an intense citrus flavor before. The first bite makes you pause a second. A minute later you realize that you have just finished off an entire pint jar of it. Thanks for the recipe Marisa.

  13. 5 stars
    Making this right now!! 🙂 I have a tree full of meyers that I need to do something with!I already made 14 jars of Lemon curd..lol

  14. Marisa
    I am using your meyer lemon marmalade recipe from Food in Jars but can5find when I remove the seed and pith cheesecloth bundle. Help?

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