Strawberry Lemon Marmalade

Some people do their canning in the fall, I do mine all year.  Different times of the year, I do different things.  I am trying to figure out my end of the year school gifts, and decided to make some marmalade.  I will pair it with a home made Challah bread, but any bread or pound cake would be delicious with it. 

For Christmas, I received the Ball Canning Book that has over 400 recipes in it.  After thumbing through it, strawberry lemon marmalade jumped out at me.  This recipe is very similar to strawberry jam, but adding the lemon peel makes it a marmalade.  Also this is a "quick" marmalade and does use pectin to guarantee the setting stage.  I canned this for gifts, but you could make a big batch and store it the fridge too for several weeks.  Make sure to include an ingredient tag for the recipient, for any possible food allergies.

Of course I had to test out the batch. I enjoyed it on Challah bread, but it would also be delicious on toast or scones.  Happy marmalading!!!

recipe (yields about 6 half pints)

1/4 c. thinly sliced lemon peel (about 2 large lemons, just the peel not the pith)
4 c. crushed hulled strawberries (about 8 cups whole)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 package powder fruit pectin (1.75 oz)
6 c. granulated sugar

Prepare canner, jar, lids by sterilizing.  In a sauce pot, boil lemon peels with several cups of water for 5 minutes, drain liquid and set peels aside.  In a large bowl, hull and crush the strawberries (I used a potato masher).  Measure crushed strawberries in a liquid measuring cup to reach 4 cups.  Then combine lemon peel, strawberries, and pectin in a large pot. Stir until pectin is dissolved.  Bring to a boil, and add sugar all at once.  Return to a hard boil (boil that won't stir down) and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and skim foam.  Ladle hot marmalade into prepared canning jars leaving 1/4" head space, remove air bubbles with non-metal utensil.  Wipe rims, add lid and ring.  Process for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool for 24 hours.

Stir constantly over high heat

Skim Foam

Finished Product