7. Lemon Marmalade!

Lemon jam is a particular jam, with simultaneously sweet, acidic and bitter notes. Its preparation requires attention and some care for its success.

• Jam and not jam:

jams must be distinguished from jams, in fact there are very specific rules in this regard. The jam is obtained from pulp, puree, juice, aqueous extracts and citrus peels. While jams are defined only as those preparations that are made with all types of fruit that are not citrus fruits. Lemon jam is certainly excellent for spreading on buttered bread, but also suitable for filling tarts and desserts. It is delicious with mature cheeses or ricotta.

• The secrets to making good lemon jam

The delicate balance of a perfect lemon jam is hidden in the contrast between acid, bitter and sweet. Obviously if the flavor tends mainly towards bitterness it means that something went wrong during preparation.

The secret to making a good lemon jam lies first and foremost in procuring the best quality fruits, with specific characteristics suitable for obtaining a jam with a sublime taste.

To prepare lemon jam you necessarily need organic lemons, but being untreated is not the only quality these fruits must have. They must be sweet and aromatic like Sorrento lemons, or some varieties that have similar characteristics.

Whether they are Sorrento lemons or not, it is essential that they are fresh, of excellent quality and well ripe. Like all fruit, lemons are sweeter if harvested when ripe, only these are perfect for making jam because they release less of the bitter taste.

• Reduce the bitter taste

To be sure of eliminating the bitterness from lemons it is necessary to eliminate all the seeds before a preventive bath in cold water and subsequent blanching of the slices. These are the necessary operations even when you have fruit with the characteristics just indicated available.

Remember that correcting bitterness doesn't simply mean adding more sugar. In extreme cases, before slicing them, peeling the lemons to remove the white layer under the peel is decisive!

So, if you don't have quality lemons to make jam with, or if you prefer a more delicate and less intense flavour, remove the peels and the white part of the lemons and you'll see that the jam will be to your liking!