This homemade lemon marmalade is a delightful jam that’s sweet and tart, made from fresh lemons and sugar, with a hint of spicy ginger. Today’s lemon marmalade recipe is also easy to make, and only requires 3-4 ingredients.
Lemon marmalade is not something you’re likely to find in grocery stores. There’s sweet orange marmalade, of course. And then there is lemon curd, sweet, tart, creamy, buttery and delicious on just about everything. But homemade lemon marmalade is really something special and unique. It’s sweet and a little bitter, tart and bright, and makes a fantastic peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or just spread onto buttered toast or biscuits.
Looking for more homemade jam recipes? You might love these wild blueberry preserves, strawberry rhubarb jam, and bourbon cherry jam.
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What is Marmalade?
Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from both the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. Originally, marmalade was made with the bitter Seville oranges from Spain or Portugal, which are prized for their high pectin content. In fact, the word marmalade originates from the Portuguese word marmelos, a quince spread similar in texture to an orange spread.
So although orange marmalade is the most popular marmalade, it can also be made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges and other citrus fruits. Meyer lemons are sweeter than bitter lemons, and would make a wonderful lemon marmalade as well.
Unlike jam, a large quantity of water is added to the fruit in a marmalade, the extra liquid being set by the high-pectin content of the fruit. In this respect it is like a jelly, but while the fruit pulp and peel is strained out of a jelly to give it its characteristic clarity, it is retained in a marmalade. The peel adds slightly bitter notes to the marmalade, which is balanced with plenty of sugar.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Lemons. You can use any type of lemons, even Meyer lemons, which will make your lemon jam a bit sweeter.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness, but also moisture to the jam, and offsets the bitterness of the lemon peel.
- Ginger. This is optional, but I absolutely love the flavor of ginger with lemon. I’ve made this recipe 4-5 times over the years, but when I made it with the addition of fresh ginger root, it was by far my favorite.
- Water.
Lemon marmalade is simple to make, just requiring a bit of time to simmer. But it’s nothing more than lemons, water and sugar. Essentially, you’re just candying the lemons by slowly simmering them in simple syrup. Poured into jars, it thickens when cooled into a perfectly delightful jam that’s as good as you could imagine.
Instructions
Thinly Slice the Lemons
- Wash the lemons and slice off about 1/2 – 3/4 inch from each end. Discard the ends. Note: Meyer lemons will make a sweeter, more fragrant marmalade than the more sour Eureka lemons.
- On a cutting board with a groove that can catch the juice, cut the lemons in quarters, lengthwise. Thinly slice the lemon quarters; use a good chef’s knife and slice as thinly as possible. Remove and discard the seeds.
Boil the Lemons with Water
- Scrape the lemon slices and all of the juice into a large saucepan. If using the fresh ginger root, peel a 2-3 inch piece, finely chop the ginger, and add it to the saucepan.
- Add the water to the lemons, and bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Reduce heat to medium or medium/low and boil at a steady boil, covered, for 30 minutes.
Add Sugar and Simmer
- Add the sugar and bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat and let the lemons simmer steadily, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, until soft and sweet, and syrupy.
- Ladle the marmalade into clean glass jars. As it cools, it will thicken and set into a jam-like consistency. If it ends up too thick and jelled after cooling, then you can add a bit more water for a more “spoonable” consistency.
- If using immediately, keep in the refrigerator and use within 1 month. This marmalade can also be frozen in the jars for later use. Be sure to leave 1/4 inch headspace at the top of the jars to allow for expansion in the freezer.
Serving Suggestions
Lemon marmalade is simply delicious on buttered toast or biscuits. And it makes a wonderful peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I’ve even spread it onto slices of chocolate loaf bread, and it was a fantastic combination of rich and bright, sweet and tart.
Marmalade is also great as a glaze on meats like duck or ham. A citrus glazed ham for Easter is one of my favorite meals.
Resources
A helpful resource on making and storing homemade jam and fruit preserves, with a guide on types of pectin, tips for freezing and canning jam, and links to favorite jam recipes:
How to Make and Store Homemade Jam and Fruit Preserves
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can follow standard canning procedures to can your jars of marmalade.
While I haven’t tried this substitution, I believe it would work just fine.
You can keep jars of jam in the refrigerator for about a month. If you won’t be eating it within that time frame, you can also freeze glass jars of marmalade.
After adding the sugar, be sure to simmer the jam uncovered, not covered. This will allow some of the water to evaporate. If the water doesn’t evaporate, then your jam might end up watery instead of syrupy.
If your marmalade boils over, then your pot isn’t big enough or the burner is turned up too high. Your marmalade should be bubbling at a steady simmer, not a rapid boil.
Lemons contain a very high amount of pectin, which naturally sets and thickens the marmalade. If your marmalade is too thick for your liking after it cools, then it’s likely that too much water evaporated as it simmered, and you can just add a bit more water for a more spoonable consistency.
Yes, you can certainly add more sugar if it’s too bitter for you. You’ll need to bring the marmalade back to a simmer to fully dissolve the sugar. You can also use Meyer lemons, which are sweeter and more fragrant than Eureka lemons (the type of sour and tart lemons you’ll typically find at your grocery store).
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Homemade Lemon Marmalade
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ lbs lemons (4 large or 8 small lemons)
- fresh ginger root (optional)
- 5 cups water
- 3 cups granulated sugar
Instructions
- Wash the lemons and slice off about 1/2 – 3/4 inch from each end. Discard the ends.Note: Meyer lemons will make a sweeter, more fragrant marmalade than the more sour Eureka lemons.
- On a cutting board with a groove that can catch the juice, cut the lemons in quarters, lengthwise. Thinly slice the lemon quarters; use a good chef's knife and slice as thinly as possible. Remove and discard the seeds.
- Scrape the lemon slices and all of the juice into a large saucepan. If using the fresh ginger root, peel a 2-3 inch piece, finely chop the ginger, and add it to the saucepan.
- Add the water to the lemons, and bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Reduce heat to medium or medium/low and boil at a steady boil, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Add the sugar and bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat and let the lemons simmer steadily, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, until soft and sweet, and syrupy.
- Ladle the marmalade into clean glass jars. As it cools, it will thicken and set into a jam-like consistency. If it ends up too thick and jelled after cooling, then you can add a bit more water for a more "spoonable" consistency.
- If using immediately, keep in the refrigerator and use within 1 month. This marmalade can also be frozen in the jars for later use. Be sure to leave 1/4 inch headspace at the top of the jars to allow for expansion in the freezer.
I loved the fresh lemon flavour of this marmalade……I used organically grown lemons from my garden……..and have used it on homemade buckwheat bread, stirred into yoghurt and I am guessing it would even taste delicious as a topping for vanilla ice cream!! It took me one and a half hours to boil and after overnight in the fridge I am happy with the consistency. Thank you so much!!😁
I’m so glad you love it!
I havent tried recipe yet, I am diabetic, can I use monk fruit alluose as a sugar replacement
Never having used that ingredient, I couldn’t say with any certainty how well it would work.
Will let you know, going to try it with monk fruit or splenda
This marmalade was fantastic! and so easy!! No removal of pith..no peeling skin with vegie peeler..both being a waste of time! So flavorful…perfect…thanks!!
Amazing, I added 3 small limes for 1 large lemon and some stem ginger, omg it’s amazing
That sounds really good with the ginger. 🙂
Could you can this recipe to make it shelf stable?
Lemons are acidic. To make it shelf stable, once made, place jam in jars, 1/4 inch headspace, remove air bubbles and seal the jars with 2 piece lid , water bath canning for 10 minutes. Just like any other jam recipe from BALL. Hope this helps!
Thanks for your comment. I would add, though, that the recommendations for high altitude canning include that the water bath processing time needs to increase by 5 additional minutes for every 3,000 feet above sea level.
How would I make this using 50 lemons. Canning
I’m looking forward to trying this and using as an additive to plain or vanilla yogurt. The lemon yogurt was always my favourite as a child and I’m looking forward to making my own. On ice cream sounds pretty amazing too . . .
Hi there!
I tried the recipe and I’m really happy about it in terms of colour and texture, but must admit that the finished product was too bitter to my taste. I don’t want to be defeated though, and must try again. As a solution, I was thinking of boiling the lemons once, discarding the water (keeping the pulp and skin), boiling again in fresh water, and repeating the process at least once before moving onto the next step of the recipe that involves the sugar. I know that bitterness comes from the rind but I do like the texture and bites that it gives to the marmalade (and being a bit lazy about cutting it too, I must admit)
What do you think?
Happy to hear anyone’s input on this.
Thanks!
🙂
eva
If you do that, you’ll lose all the pulp and lemon juice that’s in the water. I’d suggest you just add more sugar if you find it too bitter for your taste. Or, you might also try thinly slicing off the skin, then cutting off and discarding the white rind, or at least discarding some of it, then continue with the recipe and just use the pulp and the skin.
I’ve found Meyer lemons are best with this recipe. Eureka made it way too sour/bitter
This is a great recipe. Thank you for posting. I made it tonight and tastes so good. I canned it except one jar to enjoy now. I will be making more to share as gifts.
What a delicious jam-sweet but also tart! The first time I made it, I started cutting the lemons (6 lemons, some small, some large) in thin slices even cutting the usable bits of the ends in slivers. I finished one lemon then put it and the other lemons (chopped small) into the food processor to save time and to make it easier on my hands. It worked out just fine and my hands were delighted.
Chopping the lemons into small pieces before adding to the processor, allowed me to check for pips and any I missed rose to the surface during cooking and were easy to remove with a skinny spatula. I cooked it for the full hour and a half and it was a bit too thick but still spreads beautifully. I put the jam in sterile jars and water bathed for 10 minutes. They look gorgeous.
I was thinking about the lovely jam on my walk the next morning so I went and bought more lemons and got some shiny red jalapenos from my neighbour and made Lemon Jalapeno Marmalade. I thought it would be a nice treat on crackers or with cream cheese on a toasted bagel. I put the lemons and the peppers in the food processor and buzzed them until they were the right consistency then, once sugar was added, cooked the jam just over an hour so it is more liquidy (but more spreadable) than the first batch with these lovely red bits of jalapenos in it. I put in 4 peppers but with seeds removed I could have added more for more heat. I put this batch in sterile jars too and water bathed for 10 minutes.
Cooking less time meant I got two more jam jars from the second batch and it is delicious. It looks so pretty with the bits of red throughout. Can’t wait to try it on a toasted bagel and cream cheese today. There was a bit left for sampling which doesn’t often happen with my canning.
I used a large pot to make the jam so I never have to worry about it bubbling over and making a sticky mess.
I love the tip of adding jalapenos to the marmalade! Thanks for that.
question. do you leave all the water in it? it sounds that way but i want to clarify. i have one like this but it has you dump the water and use only the lemons and sugar. i want to try this this week with my meyer lemons.
Yes, you leave the water in.
Sounds yummy. Do you think it would work using Splenda or another powdered sugar substitute for diabetics?
I really couldn’t say if that would work or not.
The taste is wonderful and unique, not boring at all (I used the ginger), but it did not set up for me. I have only made marmalade a few times with years in between each time, so I do not have the experience to know as to why it didn’t set up.
That’s definitely strange, because lemons have so much pectin, that marmalade almost has a tendency to set up too firm. It sounds like you might have added too much water, or just need to let it simmer down a little more.
I followed your recipe exactly, no changes; but I don’t think that I boiled/simmered it correctly. And now I overcooked it. Sheesh!! I’m still going to use it on pork chops and chicken though. There will be a next time and I’m going to use what I learned through this process.
Great recipe! I highly recommend it. I used my Cuisinart to cut the lemon slices extremely thin. I think that made the cooking time go faster. I also doubled the amount of finely grated ginger root since I love the combination of ginger and lemon.
Hi Diana, can I ask how the ginger flavor fared with double the amount? I have looked at other recipes that suggest anything from crystalized ginger to a cup of grated ginger to the same amount of lemons that this recipe uses. The cup seemed a tad excesive to mebut I want to taste the ginger, any thoughts?
How long does this last frozen? How big of a pot should be used to make sure it doesn’t boil over? Super excited to try this!
The standard for frozen items is usually 3-6 months. The pot I used has a 10-cup capacity.
How many jars does this make? I can’t wait to try it. I’ve been buying lemon marmalade from a farm store, but it’d be great to make myself. I like to put a spoonful in my Greek yogurt to add a little sweetness and tartness. Delicious!
Help!! I followed the recipe to the letter but sadly ended up with a very liquidy marmalade – it does taste great though! Any fixes for this?
I’m wondering if you added too much water? You can definitely put it back on the heat and simmer it longer to reduce more of the liquid.
I made the recipe today with fresh seedless Lemons exactly as written. and the Marmalde is bitter. Of course it is sweet and tart but quite bitter.
The white pith in the lemons will always contribute a bitter flavor to lemon marmalade, so you can certainly add more sugar to yours if you feel like you need more sweetness to balance the natural bitterness.
Hi Heather, I tried this and after the 1 1/2 hour simmering it still seemed too watery, so I left it to simmer for another 30 minutes, then I ended up with a brownish marmalade because the bottom of the pan burnt, although the taste is fine, maybe just a tad bit of burned taste.
I want to try again, could I use less water?
You can certainly try it with less water, and add more later if it gets too thick after cooling.