» Yuzu Marmalade Recipe

In spite of the restricted watering due to the drought, our 8’ yuzu tree yielded over 200 pieces of fruit this winter. They are certainly much smaller (2” in diameter) than usual. Yuzu is self-fertile, but I believe bumblebees contributed to more fruits as I remember they were hovering frequently over the tree during the flowering season.

I used the first 100 yuzu to make marmalade. This is very labor intensive (no wonder you don’t see yuzu marmalade in stores … even in Japan). Allow yourself all day for the project … seriously.

Ingredients:
Serving for (15) 8 oz. mason jars

organic yuzu	8 lbs. (50 to 100 yuzu’s, depending on the sizes). Organic ones are ideal because you use the peel.
refined sugar	6 cups (depending on your sweetness preference)
water	4 cups

Directions:

Scrub and rinse yuzu well.
Cut in half and squeeze juice.
Separate rind, juice and seeds. Discard membrane (for less bitterness).
Finely slice yuzu rind with a sharp knife (a food processor does not slice well). This is the most time-consuming part as it is not easy to finely slice rind.
Place sliced rind in a big deep stainless steel pot. Add water and soak for one hour.
Wrap seeds in cheesecloth and tie the top with cooking twine. Seeds are important ingredients as they work as pectin to solidify the marmalade jelly.
Place the seed bag on the top of the pot.
Simmer yuzu (rind, juice, seeds) for about two hours until the marmalade is no longer runny. Check the thickness by spooning small amount and let it cool for five minutes. The stove needs to be kept the lowest heat and the pot needs to be stirred occasionally the entire time, or it will caramelize the bottom as it happened this time. See the brown spots 🙁
Add sugar gradually and taste for sweetness.
While cooking, wash jars and sterilize them in boiling water for a few minutes.
Pour marmalade into dried jars. Close the lid tightly.
Soak jars in boiling water again for a few minutes. Take them out and tighten the lids even more.
If the jar is sealed completely, you can keep it at room temperature for one year.