Comments on: The Can Jam Month One: Citrus Marmalade

By: valerie

valerie — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:50:20 +0000

ive been making marmelade for a few years and still haven’t mastered the gelling. lately i read that cooking to long may make it fail which i didn’t know. ive always just cooked it again which more or less works. i’ve also notice that sometimes when not gelled it gels a few days later. i wonder though where the line is: how many days one must wait until failure is prooved.
what is the ideal cooking time? in a big pot, it takes quite a while for it to start boiling, but once it boils, how long should it cook?

By: Alexa

Alexa — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 03:00:02 +0000

Diane, thanks so much for your comment. The next time I make marmalade I will definitely use some of these tips!

By: Diane

Diane — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:01:06 +0000

What a beautiful looking marmalade! To follow up on Liz’s tip about the citrus pits, here’s a trick I’ve used that worked really well: collect all the pips and place in a little water in the fridge. Cover. Leave overnight. This seems to draw out even more pectin. Toss in the small quantity of water when making your jam. You can also put the seeds in muslin and boil it all up, just in case there’s extra pectin left. Also, in my experience you cannot over-boil marmalade. If you boil it past the set point, it usually sets up even firmer.

If you find your marmalade too runny, simply open up all your cans, pour the runny jam into your pot, and boil some more. You could add the juice of a lemon (or even a sachet of pectin, but I hate using it if I don’t have to). Your jam should set when it’s hot enough and when you’ve evaporated off enough moisture. Then you can re-can as before. If you’re refrigerating it or eating it soon, you could even re-use the lids.

By: Leigh

Leigh — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:31:01 +0000

I am new to your blog, and am excited to explore your past postings, but this one caught my eye. I made marmalade for the first time last week! I have never been much of a canner, but I was inspired by a bag of key limes. So it is a key-lime and lemon marmalade. I thought mine was bitter at first, but spread on buttered toast, it is delicious!

By: Catalina

Catalina — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:51:59 +0000

What an amazing color! Great flavor combos! I used ginger in mine too

By: Alexa

Alexa — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:54:52 +0000

Thanks for the tips, Eleanor. I’ll definitely be getting a thermometer before next month’s canning challenge!

By: Eleanor

Eleanor — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:14:11 +0000

I always use a thermometer. However, I have found that some recipies simply have too much water. You can figure that out by comparing your recipie to similar ones. The few times my marmalade or jam failed to gel sufficiently, I found that it made excellent syrup. Also, it mixes into things more easily. Surprisingly, blood orange marmalade is really good with plain yogurt.

By: Alexa

Alexa — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:38:57 +0000

Doris: You’re welcome! The marmalade didn’t really get firmer since I processed. I was hoping that would be the case, but alas, I’ll have to just be more mindful of the jelling point next time.

Liz: Thanks so much for the comment and all those suggestions. As I’m just getting into preserving, they are very helpful. I think I will take your advice and get a candy thermometer!