Lemon Lime Marmalade
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This Lemon Lime Marmalade recipe is easy to make and keeps for up to a year! Deliciously versatile, you can add it to cakes, muffins, cupcakes, as a filling for pastries, a glaze for meats and veggies, and so much more!
Use this marmalade to make our Lemon Lime Zucchini Cake, spread it on our homemade Crumpets or Sourdough English Muffins, or swirl some of it into our homemade Greek Yogurt!
Lemon lime marmalade is fabulous but it’s difficult to find in stores. And when you do it’s generally a little pricey. So why not make your own? It’s not only cheaper, it’s tastes SO MUCH better too!
The question on your lips may be, “And why would I even want to make lemon lime marmalade?” Well, if you’re a citrus nut like me, this is right up your alley. It’s like citrus on steroids. And because there are so many great ways to use it beyond merely spreading it on toast (which is good, of course, but requires no imagination).
How to Use Lemon Lime Marmalade
- Spread on toast
- As a filling for cake or cupcakes
- As a glaze for cookies
- Baked into scones
- Swirl some into yogurt
- As a crepe filling
- Serve with cheese on a platter with crostini or crackers
- Stir into cream cheese frosting
- As an alternative filling for cinnamon rolls
- A marinade for meat, poultry or fish
- Added to your sweet and sour meatballs
- Add to vinaigrettes for spinach or arugula
- As a glaze for carrots
Few things rival the wonderful flavor of lemon and lime and those are just a few ways you can put this fabulous homemade Lemon Lime Marmalade to use.
Lemon Lime Marmalade Recipe
Let’s get started!
A note about the citrus rinds: You can use the lime rind whole but the white pith of the lemon is very bitter. You can use it as well, but just a heads up. If you prefer it less bitter, remove the white pith of the lemon and only use the outer yellow part. For the demo pictures below I have left the white pith intact.
Also, citrus is sprayed and waxed and since we’re using the rinds I recommend using organic lemons and limes.
Cut off the very ends of the lemons and limes. Very thinly slice the lemons and limes. The easiest way to do this – and to do it quickly – is to use a mandoline slicer. Remove any seeds.
Quarter the slices.
Add the citrus to a medium-sized pot with the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a steady simmer and simmer for one our until the citrus is very soft. Give it an occasional stir.
Add the sugar and return to a full boil. Reduce to a steady simmer and simmer for another 20-30 minutes or until a candy thermometer reaches 220-225 degrees F. Using a candy thermometer will ensure proper results and makes the job easier, plus they’re relatively inexpensive. I highly recommend buying a candy thermometer.
If you’d rather not get a candy thermometer you can use the “plate test.” Simply place a plate in the freezer for a few minutes and then place a dab of marmalade on the cold plate. Tilt the plate to see if the marmalade is set. If it’s too runny, it’s not ready – continue simmering. If it congeals into a soft gel and only moves just a little, it’s ready.
Let the marmalade sit for 2-3 minutes, then skim the foam off the top of the marmalade and discard. Letting it sit will evenly distribute the citrus pieces so they don’t float to the top when you place the mixture in your jars.
Pour the marmalade into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace from the top. To be extra safe, process the jars in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Keep the marmalade stored in a cool, dark place. It will keep for at least one year.
Enjoy!
For more homemade jams and jellies try our:
- Blackberry Jam
- Black Currant Jam
- Huckleberry Jam
- Gooseberry Jam
- Plum Jam
- Plum Butter
- Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
- Red Currant Jelly
- Blueberry Lemon Apricot Jam
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Lemon Lime Marmalade
Ingredients
- 1 pound lemons , thoroughly washed
- 1 pound limes , thoroughly washed
- 6 cups water
- 7 cups white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Cut off the very ends of the lemons and limes. Very thinly slice the lemons and limes. The easiest way to do this - and to do it quickly - is to use a mandoline slicer. Quarter the slices. Remove any seeds.
- Add the citrus to a medium-sized pot with the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a steady simmer and simmer for one our until the citrus is very soft. Give it an occasional stir.Add the sugar and return to a full boil. Reduce to a steady simmer and simmer for another 20-30 minutes or until a candy thermometer reaches 220-225 degrees F. If you'd rather not get a candy thermometer you can use the "plate test." Simply place a plate in the freezer for a few minutes and then place a dab of marmalade on the cold plate. Tilt the plate to see if the marmalade is set. If it's too runny, it's not ready - continue simmering. If it congeals into a soft gel and only moves just a little, it's ready.Let the marmalade sit for 2-3 minutes, then skim the foam off the top of the marmalade and discard. Letting it sit will evenly distribute the citrus pieces so they don't float to the top when you place the mixture in your jars.
- Pour the marmalade into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace from the top. You can either store your jars in the fridge for up to a few months or you can store them even longer by canning them. To can them, process them for 5 minutes in a water bath canner. Carefully remove and let sit undisturbed until fully cooled. Keep the marmalade stored in a cool, dark place. It will keep for at least one year.This makes 4-5 half pints.
Notes
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet July 15, 2015
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Hi. I have made two batches of this marmalade to sell on my stall at the produce market along with my other goodies I make.
I took12 jars with me on Saturday for the first time. And within 1hr I sold it all. I have sample jars to let the customers taste it first
And the respond was unbelievable . They all said how wonderful it was. Thank you for a great & easy recipe
From one happy Aussie
That’s terrific, Nanny, I’m so glad it’s been a hit and appreciate the feedback!
It has been suggested to me, as gin is so popular at the moment, to reduce the amount of water and add gin to it so I’m going to try that. I was just looking for a good lemon and lime recipe. I’ll add it at the end as I do when I’m making whisky marmalade.
Fantastic, Catherine, let us know how it turns out!
Dear Kimberly, I was looking for receipes to use up my squeezed limes. I put them in Ice Cube Trays and froze them. I have bags full of cubes. Using them for jelly would be great! I used all the lemons, the tree is loaded with flowers again, so is the lime tree.
How can I measure use the frozen cubes to make a jam?
Thank you!
Sincerely, Dorothy
Hi Dorothy, the limes were squeezed and then frozen whole? Simply thaw and drain them, then weigh them to get the amount the recipe calls for.
Our marmalade is simmering as we speak! Slicing a pound of key limes and Meyer lemons was a chore, but the product smells delish! Looking forward to tasting it. Thanks for the recipe!
My friend, Wendy forwarded it to me.
Wonderful, Carole, I hope you enjoy it! And a special thank you to your friend Wendy for forwarding it to you! :)
I make mine with limes only…..I have a lime tree loaded with fruit. Very tart and an absolute winner, I have had professional chefs comment on how yummy it is and want the recipe. Thanks so much for sharing.
A lime-only marmalade sounds delicious too, Chris!
Wonderful marmalade – made it – friends tried it – recipe in demand. Great for those who cannot tolerate grapefruit.
Instructions very clear – very easy to make. Thank you.
Fantastic, Jenny, thanks so much!
I made this for my first ever attempt at marmalade. It brought back wonderful memories of having my nana’s marmalade as a little girl. This tasted fantastic & all my friends love it too. Thank you for inspiring me to make my own preserves.
That’s wonderful, Nicky, I’m so glad it was a hit – thank you!
Two days ago I pruned my savage (thorny) lime tree and ended up with a large bowl of limes. I have just made this recipe and it tastes a little bitter (no lemons) but I believe it will be amazing with curries and on toast. Thank you. By the way, I didn’t remove the pits from the limes. I guess they will come back to haunt me.
Christine, it will be PERFECT in curries and on toast! And yes, just beware of those seeds :)
A wonderful, straightforward and delicious recipe.
I am making my recipe with 3 gallons of sliced, frozen (mostly limes) from my daughter’s garden wedding last summer. The limeade for 500 guests was difficult to estimate…we found that we could buy wholesale boxes of citrus for a fraction of the cost of buying them by the pound. A wise and frugal helper realized that the many extra limes and lemons would be better used thinly sliced, seeded and frozen- which she quietly did as the garden party proceeded. We have enjoyed cooking and flavoring drinks with the slices, but they are needed to be used up!
This recipe is wonderful in baked goods- ‘cinnamon’ type rolls, etc.
Fun to remember a wonderful wedding while eating marmalade!
Thanks!
That’s a fun predicament, David! :) I’ll bet you’ve been making lots of yummy things with those leftovers. The great thing about marmalade is it will last a very long time and I’m sure you know lots of people who’d love receiving some as gifts, too!
I was looking for recipes to use up lemons and limes when I read your post David and couldn’t believe it – our daughter was married last Saturday and we have also ended up with more lemons and limes from the reception drinks than we know what to do with (the result of kind but over zealous helpers dispatched to Sainsbury’s to replace the fruit we had forgotten). I’d started slicing the limes to freeze for drinks but your idea is much better. I love your note that eating this marmalade brings back memories of the wedding. Beautiful. If the temperature here in the UK ever drops below 28degreesC I’ll get my preserving pan out and give this a go.
Hello , i am making Marmalade as we speak , 4 Meyer lemons and 2 limes, 6 cups water and 7 cups of sugar and it tastes bitter , I was blaming the Limes ? I hope I can rescue this.
last week I made Lemon marmalade with vanilla, no bitterness, same bag of Meyer lemons. vanilla bean not available to me but a scant teaspoon of pure vanilla essence was used, smells like vanilla but tastes like lemon marmalade, different.
do you have any helpful hints when using a grapefruit along with lemons.
Hi Janet! The limes alone wouldn’t explain the bitterness. If anything lemons tend to be more bitter than limes. Did you remove the white pith from the citrus? That’s what causes most of the bitterness. If you didn’t remove it then there’s really nothing you can do about this particular batch. But even if it’s too bitter to enjoy with bread, it will still be great to cook with (see some of the ideas I mention in the post). For the grapefruit, you would prepare it exactly the same way. Grapefruit marmalade is marvelous!
Reading your instructions to slice the fruit and then remove any seeds took me back to the first time I made tangerine marmalade – using my new Cuisinart to slice the to 2mm thickness. It multiplied the number of seeds exponentially… This recipe also took me back to missing my lemon tree that I had when I lived in Southern California. Memories, memories. I like seeing instructions for making jam without using pectin. Not sure I’ll make this, but I’m definitely glad to know how.
Haha, that’s hilarious, Susan! I can just imagine you spending an hour trying to pick out all the slivers of seeds and finally throwing in the towel :) I wish so much we had a lemon tree. The new home we’re buying has a big greenhouse and I’m hopeful to be able to grow one in there along with an olive tree we recently brought back with us from Sonoma.
There is absolutely no need to use a water-bath for this type of preserve, the sugar will keep it safe. We never water-bath things made with sugar here in UK.
Toffeeapple, being from Europe myself where the water bath method is never used for jams/marmalades, I agree with you. I’m simply including these recommendations per the USA’s FDA guidelines.
Oooh, I love anything with citrus! I’ve had orange jam before but never lemon or lime. I’ve no doubt I would love this!
This sounds *wonderful*, will definitely be trying this! Thanks also for all the great ideas of how to put it to delicious use!
Looks great and wonderfully explained as usual. I like the blue thing you use to fill the marmalade in the jars, I have to look for something like that to reduce the mess I make when filling the jars. Do you have a German name for it?
Thanks, Adina :) The blue thing is a canning funnel, or “Trichter” in German. I’m not sure if that’s what this particular item is actually called in German though. Hopefully you’re able to find it.