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).
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.
Keep the marmalade stored in a cool, dark place. Ā It will keep for at least one year.
Enjoy!
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.
Enjoy!
For more homemade jams and jellies try my:
- 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, Iām 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!
Made this marmalade with only limes as it is my wifeās favourite. I quartered them length wise and then hand sliced worked well. I also reduced the sugar by one cup, we like it tart. Followed the directions in the recipe and it set beautifully. At our altitude of 3300 feet, boiled to 215F. Actual times in the recipe are fairly close.
My wife said this is much better than the expensive English commercial variety. I got nearly 8 half pints for the cost less than one store bought jar.
That’s wonderful, Larry, thank you so much for the feedback!
Thank you for your suggestion on cutting&slicing the lime. It’s really easy for a newbie like me.
Newbie here too… if I use only limes..can I use bottled lemon juice for the water..or half of the water?? Thank you.
Hi Sunny, yes you can substitute lemon juice for the water if you prefer.
I’d ordered some Scottish lemon/lime marmalade recently and loved it, so when I saw your recipe my ears perked up, as it were. I made this recipe the other day and it worked out nicely. To conserve (my) energy, I used two electric appliances-a food processor and an instant pot.-and a candy thermometer, which made the whole process very easy. I quartered the washed fruit lengthwise before slicing and from each wedge, I cut off that little strip of the white center core. Then I could use the back of my knife to wiggle out the seeds. I found all but two seeds – not bad! I set up my slicing blade on the food processor and packed the quarters on end into the top loader. It took no time at all to get a good load of thinly sliced fruit, with all the juice retained. I’d looked up how to make marmalade in an instant pot and used those directions (basically, pressure cook the fruit, juice, and water, let decompress, then add the sugar, set for “saute” and cook the marmalade). It canned easily in 1-cup jars with a hot water bath, and now I have eight little jars of citrus loveliness that taste wonderful, with that great range of sweet/tart/bitter I love in good marmalade. It’s clear and has a pretty honey amber color. I’ll definitely do this again. Thanks for an excellent recipe!
Hi i made this yesterday i love lemon and lime marmalade but was worried about making it.
All i can say is wow… This recipe is amazing i had to buy my lemon and lime as i am in the uk so they were a bit small, it was impossible to remove the pith so on it stayed but it did nit matter as the end product is delicious.
I made this using all limes so as you said in the recipe no need to cut out the pith. I used the same amount of sugar and it set fine but buy golly its tart. Not sure it will work on toast which im sad about.
My batch turned a very dark colour,not the bright yellow shown. Its a very dark orange in colour. Perhaps I boiled to long? It took some time to set.
The last lot of mixed fruit marmalade I made never set, after three boils I gave up,blaming a lack of pectin, just made your recipe, it’s great! But no pips, so why doesn’t it need them for the pectin? If it’s because it is limes and lemons? Does that mean I can’t use this recipe for orange and grapefruit? Can’t wait for breakfast! Thanks
Hi Chris, I’m glad this was a success! The key to the marmalade setting is getting it up to the right temperature (220-225 F) and it should work equally well for orange and grapefruit provided you have the right sugar to water ratio. You can always add the pips in for the extra pectin but it should work fine without.
How would you recommend to remove the white pith if cutting fruit slices into quarters? would you remove the flesh part and put in separately from the peel/zest after removing the pith? That sounds like a v lengthy process? Thank you š