Meyer Lemon Grapefruit Marmalade Recipes

GRAPEFRUIT-AND-MEYER-LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• Remove the grapefruit skin with a vegetable peeler. Cut the peel into 1/8-inch slivers; stop when you have 3/4 cup. Discard the rest. Slice off the ends of the grapefruit and the remaining grapefruit peel and pith. Remove grapefruit segments, reserving membrane. Stop when you have 5 cups of segments.
• Cut the ends off the Meyer lemons, deep enough so you can see the flesh. Leaving the peel on, remove the segments of lemon and reserve the membrane. Cut the segments crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Put membranes from the grapefruit and Meyer lemons in a jelly bag and tie closed.
• In a wide and deep pot, combine the grapefruit segments, grapefruit peel, lemon pieces and jelly bag. Add lemon juice and 2 1/2 cups water. Simmer until the grapefruit peel is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Working over a bowl in your sink, squeeze the liquid from the jelly bag; keep squeezing and wringing it out until you extract 1/3 to 1/2 cup of pectin. Add pectin and sugar to the pot. Place over high heat and boil, stirring now and then, until marmalade is between 222 and 225 degrees and passes the plate test. (Spoon a little onto a plate and put in the fridge for 3 minutes. If it thickens like jam, it is done.)
• Meanwhile, put 6 sterilized 8-ounce canning jars and lids on a baking sheet and place in the oven. When jam is done, remove jars from the oven. Ladle jam into the jars, filling them as high as possible. Wipe the rims. Fasten the lid tightly. Let cool. If you don't get a vacuum seal, refrigerate the jam.

GRAPEFRUIT MARMALADE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Wash and dry the grapefruits.
• Use a sharp vegetable peeler or paring knife , remove the brightly colored zest (and only the brightly colored zest) from the grapefruit. Be sure to leave behind any and all of the white pith directly underneath, it is very bitter.
• Chop the resulting zest-bigger pieces for chunkier marmalade, ribbon-like strips for a more spreadable result. Set zest aside.
• Cut the ends off the zested grapefruits.
• Working with one fruit at a time, cut off the thick white pith from around each grapefruit.
• Working over a bowl to catch the juices, hold a fully peeled grapefruit, and use a sharp knife to cut out each section of the membrane holding the sections together.
• Squeeze any juice out of the membrane once you've cut out all the fruit.
• Set the membrane aside, along with any seeds. The pectin in these will help "set" the marmalade later.
• Combine the zest, fruit, juice, 4 cups of water and sugar in a large heavy pot and bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile, lay a double layer of cheesecloth in a medium bowl.
• Put membranes and seeds in the bowl.
• Lift up the corners and tie the cheesecloth into a bag to hold the membranes and seeds.
• Add this " pectin bag " to the pot.
• While the mixture comes to a boil, put a canning kettle full of water on to boil if you're planning to can the marmalade.
• In any case, put a few small plates in the freezer to chill them. When the canning kettle water boils, use it to sterilize the jars and lids.
• Bring marmalade to 220 F and hold it there for 5 minutes. Be patient, this can take quite a while.
• Put a dollop of the mixture on a chilled plate, swirl the plate to spread the mixture a bit, and drag your finger through the mixture. A "set" mixture will hold a clean track behind your finger.
• Remove "pectin bag," squeezing any marmalade in it out and back into the pot before discarding the bag.
• Take marmalade off the heat and let sit 5 minutes.
• Set up clean jars next to the pot.
• Stir marmalade to distribute the zest evenly in the mixture.
• Use a ladle to transfer the marmalade into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace at the top of each jar.
• Put lids on the jars.
• If you're canning the marmalade, put the jars in the canning kettle and boil for 10 minutes. In any case, let jars cool to room temperature before putting in a cool dry cupboard (if you've hot water processed them) or the fridge (if you didn't hot water process).

MEYER LEMON CURD

Steps:

• Beat sugar and butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and yolks one at a time until incorporated. Mix in lemon juice. Transfer mixture to a saucepan.
• Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring gently until smooth. Increase the heat to medium and simmer gently, stirring constantly, until curd is thick enough to coat a spoon and reaches 170 degrees F (77 degrees C) on a candy thermometer, 15 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest.
• Transfer curd to a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin forming as it cools. Allow to cool briefly, about 10 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill until thick.