Strawberry Lemon Marmalade

Marmalade is similar to jam in texture, but typically they include some amount of fruit peel. In this case, I made a delicious batch of strawberry-lemon marmalade or, as my friend Behak described it, strawberry-lemonade in a jar. It tastes like I canned summer and I can’t wait to pop these suckers open in January when I’ve forgotten what the sun feels like.

The original recipe is based on the one in the Ball Blue Book of Preserving – a very inexpensive and useful recipe guide to canning. I made some modifications based on my taste preference and what I had on hand. Here is my version:

• lemon peel from 4 large lemons
• 8 cups mashed strawberries
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 4 cups sugar

1. Cover lemon peel with water and boil for five minutes. Drain and return to stove.
2. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Continue stirring constantly until the mixture is a jam-like consistency or the boiling point is reached. If you don’t have a thermometer, mound a bit of marmalade on a spoon, remove from heat and cool. If it’s not thick enough, keep cooking.
4. Put hot marmalade into warm, sterilized jars. Process in a hot-water bath for 10 minutes. Makes about five pint jars.

I don’t use pectin generally, so I increased the lemon juice in my version above. It made a nice, sweet-tart marmalade. I also decreased the sugar because my berries were really-really-really sweet. I’ve never done u-pick Shustan berries, but they have won me over. Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!