I was volunteering at the soup kitchen when one of the volunteers arrived with a bushel of limes. Okay, maybe not a bushel, but a serious sac full! She was looking for willing takers, apparently their lime tree was bursting this year. So, of course I wasn’t going to say no…
So I brought the sac home dreaming of summer citrus drinks, and a few days later… Lime Marmalade
Limarmalade
12 limes
9 C (2kg) sugar
4 C (2L) water
I sliced my lime very thinly, peels and all.
Toss them in a large pot with the water.
Pick out all of the seeds and gather them together in a scrap of cloth or tea sachet. Hang the sac from the side of the pot so that the seeds marinate with the limes. They will stay in the pot until the end of the cooking time.
Let the limes marinate 24 hours.
Add the sugar and bring to a boil. Boil 1- 1.5 hours stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Confirm that the jelly is set by setting your spoon to cool and watching to see if the liquid stiffens.
If you wash your jelly jars well, you can reuse them. Just scoop the steaming hot marmalade into your jars. Fill leaving 1/4 inch of air on top. Immediately twist the cap to seal the boiling liquid tight. Turn them upside down to cool slowly on the counter overnight. When you wake up, flip the jars right side up, the marmalade should defy gravity, and the safety pop top should be snuggly smooth.
Let your marmalade set two days in the fridge it will gel even more. When you open your jars they will announce a delightful fresh ‘pop’
This recipe works great half-sized as well.
