Meyer Lemon Marmalade

At first, I thought my window of opportunity to find Meyer Lemons had come and gone. I'd seen them in the store around Christmas, and then missed them for several weeks. They resurfaced, and I'm happy to say that I snagged some in my effort to make Marmalade this winter. Our teacher appreciation day is fast approaching, and with six teachers in all to appreciate, I thought this might be a nice gesture to give thanks.

• Meyer Lemon Marmalade
• Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
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• Ingredients: 
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• 6 Meyer lemons (1 1/2 pounds)
• 4 cups water
• 4 cups sugar

Cheesecloth

Kitchen string

Six half-pint Mason-type jars, sterilized with lids

Halve lemons crosswise and remove seeds. Tie seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Quarter each lemon half and thinly slice. Combine with bag of seeds and water in a 5-quart nonreactive heavy pot and let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature 24 hours.

Bring lemon mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 4 cups, about 45 minutes. Stir in sugar and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam, until a teaspoon of mixture dropped on a cold plate gels, about 15 minutes.

Ladle hot marmalade into jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of top. Wipe rims with dampened cloth and seal jars with lids.

Put jars in a water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot. Add enough hot water to cover jars by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Boil jars, covered, 5 minutes and transfer with tongs to a rack. Cool jars completely. Keep jars out for 24 hours to confirm that the lids sealed properly in the water bath.

Ready to go!