Japanify: Yuzu Marmalade

It seems like there are two types of people in this world: people with too many yuzu in their lives and people who are always in search of yuzu. Unlucky for me, I am in the latter category. But hold your tears! I met someone who has too much yuzu in her life and she gave me 14 yuzu the other day!

This sudden bounty took me off guard and I wanted to take advantage of it somehow. Sure it was okay to freeze the fruit when coming across a yuzu or two, and shave off a little frozen piece for when you need a little garnish peel throughout the season, but I wanted to preserve and capture the freshness of these (14!) yuzu -- and still have it last for the next year. So I decided to make yuzu marmalade.

I used to dislike marmalade as a child, but I got some orange marmalade as a gift last year, and it's been a late-life discovery. I initially made these thinking I'd give these away as gifts for Christmas. It'll be really hard not to eat all of it before then.

Yuzu Marmalade

INGREDIENTS
14 or so small yuzu (diameter 3 inches)
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
10 or so empty loose leaf tea bags
7 Eight-ounce canning jars



METHOD

1. Wash the yuzu well. Cut in halves.



2. Squeeze the juice. Yuzu peels are pretty delicate so be careful not to apply to much pressure or they'll tear apart against the juicer.



3. Strain out the seeds from the juice. Save the seeds and put 20 or so in each empty loose leaf tea bag.



Set aside.



4. Remove as much of the membrane from the insides rinds. It is okay to keep the pith (white part) attached to the peel.



5. Cut the rinds into 1-2mm slices. This step took the most patience.



6. Soak the rinds in water for 15 minutes. This subdues some of the bitterness. Strain after 15 minutes.



7. Add yuzu pieces into a non reactive pot. Add enough water to cover the pieces. Bring the water and rinds to a boil. Let it boil for 1 min and then strain out the rinds.

8. Put the rinds back into the pot along with the juice, sugar, water and seed packets. Bring to a soft rolling boil, then bring it back down on low heat.

Add juice...



Sugar...



And seeds...


The seeds have lots of pectin on them, so they are added to achieve a jam-like consistency

9. Keep on low heat for 30 minutes or until the mixture thickens



10. Can and label!

Olivia Pope and Fitz' dream come true!



Except I don't live in a country home in Vermont.

Panda spoon photo bomb:







This marmalade recipe is simple and I like how it didn't take an unwieldy amount of ingredients that left my kitchen a disaster. And the taste! A dollop of this marmalade really tastes like a just-picked yuzu burst in your mouth! It is amazing how much the freshness of the yuzu is captured.

To everyone out there: please contact me if you have any more yuzu. I'm back to being the type of person who is in search of this fleeting citrus.