Recipe: Apple Lemon Marmalade

Recipe Source: Gardon, Anne.  Preserving for All Seasons.  Firefly Books, Willowdale, 1999 p. 100

This is another of the preserves I made for the Christmas Project.  Personally, I'm not all that into marmalade.  I'm not sure why, but I just never developed a taste for it.  I know that I am very much in the minority in this.  My father-in-law, for example, is a huge fan of marmalade.  I can remember him extolling the virtues of marmalade very early in my relationship with him.  When I was planning which preserves I would make, I decided that I would include some marmalade just for him.  Well, not just for him.  I should have said "with him in mind," because plenty of other people got marmalade!

Anyway, I made only one significant change to the original.  I substituted rosemary for the mint.  My husband is allergic to mint, so I won't put mint in anything that he might ever be exposed to lest he help himself and get sick.  I substituted rosemary - a flavor that I personally prefer to mint anyway - and I left the leaves in the jam to enhance the flavor. 

Apple Lemon Marmalade (makes 14 8-oz jars; approx. cost per serving not available)

4 lemons

3 cups water

3 pounds apples

6 cups sugar

6 rosemary sprigs, leaves only

Equipment:

• 14 8-oz home canning jars, with lids and bands
• Large stockpot
• Boiling water canner
• Large saucepan
• Large bowl
• Ladle

1. Halve the lemons and slice them thinly.  Remove the pits.
2. Put the lemons into the large bowl, cover with the water, and let stand overnight.
3. Transfer the contents of the bowl to the large saucepan and bring to a boil. 
4. Boil until the lemon peel is tender, about 10 minutes. 
5. Meanwhile, prepare your equipment.  Put the jars, lids and bands into the stockpot and cover with water.  Heat to 180 degrees and maintain at 180 degrees for at least 10 minutes.  Fill the boiling water canner with water and heat to 180 degrees.
6. Peel and core the apples, then slice thinly.
7. Add the apples, sugar and rosemary to the lemon and water in the saucepan.  Bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat and cook until thickened, about 30 minutes. 
9. Ladle the marmalade mixture into the warm jars.
10. Process 30 minutes in the boiling water canner. 
11. Cool, label and store.