Blueberry Marmalade – A Friend Favorite

One of my favorite marmalades to make and eat is Blueberry Marmalade. This isn’t a flavor most of my friends and family would chose as a first or even third choice in the store, but when you share this homemade marmalade with them it seems to be the crowd favorite! Blueberry is a strong flavor and it needs something else to break up the bold; the orange and lemon segments in this recipe are the perfect complement.

Here’s the recipe I follow and a photo of my getting it ready this year.

1 large Valencia orange

1 lemon

¼ cup water

¼ cup strained fresh orange juice

¼ cup strained fresh lemon juice

½ cup water

4 cups blueberries (about 2-3 pints)

½ teaspoon unsalted butter

5 cups sugar

1 (3-ounce) pouch liquid pectin

Using a zester, remove only the outer colored peel of the orange and lemon. Peel the fruit, removing all the white pith (the pith will make your marmalade bitter). Separate the orange and lemon segments from the white membrane and remove any seeds. Discard the membrane and seeds. Finely chop the fruit and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the drained peel, chopped citrus fruit, orange juice, lemon juice and ½ cup water. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Sort, stem and rinse the blueberries.

Add the blueberries and butter to the citrus mixture and simmer, uncover, for 3 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Gradually stir in the sugar. Heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the entire contents of the pectin pouch. Return the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Skim off any foam.

To prevent floating fruit, allow the marmalade to cool 5 minutes before filling jars. Gently stir the marmalade to distribute the fruit. Ladle the marmalade into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace Wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean, damp cloth. Cover with hot lids and apply screw rings. Process half-pint jars in a 200F water bath for 10 minutes, pint jars for 15 minutes.

Recipe from, “Blue Ribbon Preserves” by Linda J. Amendt