
A pressure cooker and mandolin work together to make a delicious marmalade in under an hour. If you find yourself with abundant fruit and not a lot of time - this fantastic sweet, tart and zesty recipe is for you!
Once you make the marmalade in your pressure cooker, you can stop there, and put it in your refrigerator in a pretty little jars that will last a few months. Or, if you have canning jars, you can "process" it - hermetically sealing the jars by boiling them for a short amount of time so that they can go in your pantry and last indefinitely.
How super-fast? This technique does not require you to soak, peel, de-pith, finely shred or filter the pulp. All you need to do is quickly slice the lemons using mandolin, remove the seeds as you find them, cut a stack of slices into 4 pieces, pressure cook to soften with a tad of water, and then add sugar and simmer for a few minutes.
Done!
I made this marmalade with lemons, but you could use any citrus (see the bottom of the recipes for variations). Adjust the sugar accordingly depending on the acidity of the fruit. Super-sweet oranges and mandarins will only need 1x the sugar while grapefruit, lemons and Seville oranges (known for their bitterness) will require twice. If you can't decide or want to make a low-sugar version, just sneak a taste after the sugar is melted and simmered and see if you like the results.
Super-Fast Pressure Cooker Lemon Marmalade
For Marmalade: 2lbs. or 1K of Organic Lemons, well-washed with a scrubby sponge About 4lbs or 2K sugar (see instructions) Mandolin Digital Scale Thermometer (optional) To Process: Rack or Steamer Basket 3 Clean Kitchen Towels 6 8oz or 250 ml Jars, sterilized in boiling water or hot out of the dishwasher 6 New lids, quickly boiled or hot out of the dishwasher Strong Tongs, or Jar Lifter Canning Funnel, and/or Ladle 1 Tbsp. Vinegar (if you have hard water) To make the Marmalade: ![]() Slice with "thin" setting on mandolin, discard ends or slices that are all pith. stack slices, removing seeds as you go (save them for later) and cut into four. Put your pressure cooker on scale, hit "tar" or zero and then add thinly sliced lemon wedges and any juice that may have squirted out in the process. Write down the weight of the fruit (for me is was 786 grams). Add the minimum amount of liquid your pressure cooker needs to reach pressure, about 1-2 cups, and close and lock the lid. Turn the heat up to high and when the pressure cooker reaches pressure, turn it down and begin counting 10 minutes cooking time at HIGH pressure. When time is up, open the pressure cooker using the Natural Release method - move the cooker to a cold burner and don't do anything and wait for the pressure to come down naturally. For electric pressure cookers, up be sure to turn off the "keep warm" mode, if it automatically engages in your model. Calculate how much sugar to add - typically an extra-bitter marmalade needs twice the sugar. That looks like ALOT of sugar if you've never made fruit preserves! So if you are concerned, try the same weight in sugar first, then taste a cooled sample on a teaspoon and see if you like it. For my marmalade I doubled the sugar (1500 grams). Also, put all of the seeds in a tea ball or gauze packet. When you open the pressure cooker the fruit pulp will already be warm, so pour all of the sugar in and stir. It should all melt within a minute or two. Then, add the tea ball containing the seeds. Now, turn the heat up and bring everything to a rolling boil for 5 minutes or, if you have a thermometer, you will want the mixture to reach 212F or 100C. Now, using a ladle or canning funnel, distribute the contents evenly in your freshly dish-washed or sterilized jars. To Process: ![]() Carefully wipe the edges of the jars and screw on the lids until they are lightly closed (do not tighten). Quickly wash out the base of the pressure cooker, and add the rack or steamer basket (without trivet). Place the jars so that they don't touch each other or the sides of the pressure cooker (I could only fit four, so I had to do two batches). Next, arrange the kitchen towels so that the jars do not move and clink around while boiling (I put them in an S around two jars in opposing directions). Now, fill the pressure cooker with enough water to cover by an 1" or so. If you have hard mineral water that usually leaves spots on your glassware, add a tablespoon of vinegar in the water to keep your jars shiny and beautiful. Set your pressure cooker to "no pressure" or "exhaust" position. If you have neither of those, like mine, just remove the valve, or weight, completely from the housing - as you would when cleaning it. Close and lock the lid and put on high heat until you start seeing an even stream of vapor coming out of the valve - you can even open the lid to check and make sure it's boiling. At that point, you can turn the heat down to medium (this should still maintain the boil) and count 5 minutes "processing" at no pressure. When time is up, turn off the heat, and carefully remove the lid. Lift out the jars and put them on a clean kitchen towel to dry and cool. You may hear a metal "popping" sound as soon as 30 minutes or as late as two hours - they may all pop at different times. This indicates that the jar is sealed correctly and can be stored un-refreigerated -the middle will be dipped down like the safety seal on the jars you buy from the store. I always have one or two that once completely cool, have not "popped" yet. In that case I open them, clean the lid and lip of the jar again and "process" again, this time starting with cold water since the contents will have cooled - or just store in the refrigerator and consume first! Yields about six 8oz or 250ml jars. |
Variations:
- Kumquat Marmalade - They are so small is not safe to use the mandolin to slice them. It is quite tedious but totally worth it to slice them using a knife- don't throw the ends away (the pith is not bitter) set them aside and either use them whole or slice into thing strips. I only used a ratio of 1:1 sugar to fruit.
- Citron Marmalade - This fruit is all peel and pith - but do not be discouraged the pith is not bitter and actually prized!! So use the whole fruit. Once sliced on the mandolin, cut the slices into 6 (not 4 like in the recipe for lemons) - you don't want the peels in the marmalade to be unmanageably long. Citrons have very little natural "pulp" and liquid. Add the juice and pulp of 1 lemon for each pound of fruit before pressure cooking.
share this hip page!
|



Lovely!
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I made this marmalade with 3lbs of Kumquats! Took a little longer because they are too small to use on the mandolin. Also, I only needed 1x the sugar. I have three citrons sitting on the counter waiting to be "jammed". I'm addicted - no citrus is safe, now!
ReplyDeleteCiao,
L
This post is perfect timing for me! I just started learning about canning because I had too many serrano peppers on hand, and needed to preserve them. In the books I'm reading, making jams and jellies seems like too much of an intimidating mess to bother with, but I think I can do your recipe!
ReplyDeleteIn a few weeks, my small Mexican lime tree is going to give me a surplus of limes. I would love to try this recipe with them, so I plan to do it when my little crop comes in. I trust their tough peels won't present a problem.
BTW, I LOVE your site, Laura. It's inspired me to get back into pressure cooking and try new things.
--JulieSA
Julie, I can't wait to hear how this recipe goes with limes! If for some reason the peels are not tender enough... just pressure cook a few more minutes! I have found that after 10 minutes for the lemons and kumquats the peel was almost too tender and I had to be very delicate with it when stirring in the sugar.
DeleteHowever, when you spread the jam on toast you'll appreciate not finding any chewy bits!!
Ciao and welcome back to pressure cooking!
L
how super cool! i have 5 pressure cookers,.. i think i need to use them for something apart from beans!:)
ReplyDeleteWelcome Richa! Leave me a note at the bottom of the recipes and techniques you try!!
DeleteCiao,
L
I made these tonight with the Honeybell oranges my parents sent me from Florida. I got a pressure cooker for a wedding gift but just used it for the first time today - I tried your eggs first (wound up overcooking going for softboil). Then I made hummus (pressure cooking the chick peas). And finished with the marmalade. Phew! I think I've got the basics figured out finally. I expect to use your blog a ton to help me learn to use my gadget to its fullest potential - thank you!
ReplyDeleteOh, wow Jen! What a great way to inaugurate your pressure cooker. You started out with two very advanced recipes (the egg and marmalade). It takes time to figure out how low the heat can be adjusted to maintain pressure - but I'm sooo glad it got you to open up that box and start using your pressure cooker!!! I'm looking forward to reading what you'll pressure cook, next. Check out the Beginner Basics Recipe Series, too!
DeleteCiao and welcome,
L
I just made this with Meyer Lemons - I LOVE it! I added some shredded ginger, 15 gm of ginger to 410gm of lemon; next time I'll double the ginger.
ReplyDeleteI posted about it here and hope that others will try it also. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cooking/msg031856583692.html
Thank you for another great and easy recipe.
Lee, great additions to the recipe and photos and thanks for mentioning the source of the recipe- I also linked to it from Facebook.
DeleteCiao,
L
Could you put an old sock around each jar to protect them from clinking around? Not sure that'd be easier...
ReplyDeleteTry it!
DeleteHi Laura,
ReplyDeleteI like to make pannetone, the rich Italian sweet bread, with candied orange bits. But what a chore.
Can this recipe be adapted to make a thicker slice of citrus so you'll end up with something you can chop and put in a batter?
Two other questions:
Just made pea soup. Peas on bottom burned. How do I control this?
And...Is there any way to can tomatoes in a dinky 6-quart cooker?
Thanks! You are so creative.
Here's the secret of this technique: Any step that is usually done by do boiling - like softening citrus peels to candy or marmalade them - you can pressure cook! I think the only problem you may have is getting the peels TOO soft TOO fast! So, do everything you would to make candied peels, but just pressure cook a few sacrificial pieces for 10 minutes with natural release to see if you like the consistency.
DeleteI'm not familiar with your pea soup recipe. But remember that dried peas are legumes and should be treated as such (less than 1/2 capacity, oil, ect). Also, I recommend bringing the contents to a boil before locking on the lid- that should limit the time the pressure cooker is at high heat.
For canning tomatoes. If you can fit it in your pressure cooker, you can can it. Use smaller jars or only can 1 jar at a time - sorry I don't have a better answer!
Ciao,
L