Exotic citrus for marmalade

I have a fondness for marmalade. It's slightly tart flavor and sunny disposition is always a happy addition to breakfast on a rainy winter morning. Each winter I make at least one variety of marmalade and recent batches have been a bit out of the ordinary.

Last winter, a box of citrus appeared at the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) headquarters in Davis after the annual citrus tasting event at the UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center. 

Among the treasures in the box was Buddha's Hand, an especially fragrant variety of citron. Buddha's Hand is often used decoratively; but cooks who can think beyond the fruit's strange shape will find a complex flavor without bitterness, making it perfect for candied peel, Lemoncello or simply zesting over a salad, pasta or fish.  Of course,  I promptly turned mine into "Buddha-lade." Buddha's Hand has little flesh or juice, so cooks need to augment their recipe with juice from another citrus. Meyer lemon is a nice choice because of its relative sweetness.

A few months ago I splurged on a jar of yuzu marmalade and immediately fell in love with the flavor, if not the price. So I was delighted to find yuzu available at the Davis Farmer's Market this winter. 

Yuzu is a tart citrus prized by Japanese cooks. It forms the base flavor of ponzu sauce. Mine of course, is destined to become marmalade!

As with Buddha's Hand, Yuzu has little to no juice so it is not well suited to a more traditional marmalade recipe. Japanese cooks make yuzu marmalade by quartering the fruit then separating the peel, membranes and seeds.  

As with any marmalade, the peel is thinly sliced. Since the fruit contains so little juice, you can hand squeeze the membranes to extract any juice. The separated membranes are boiled to soften, then chopped. The chopped membranes then become the base of the marmalade. 

Marmalade is equally delicious with lemons, oranges or grapefruit; and is only slightly more difficult to make than jam, which is to say it's easy. If you'd like to try your hand at marmalade, UC ANR has published a free publication Oranges: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve and Enjoy that includes a recipe for citrus marmalade.  The publication also covers tips for selecting citrus at the grocery store, safe handling and links to canning and preserving resources.

Whatever recipe you choose, always follow the safe preserving procedures from the USDA and the National Center for Home Food Preservation. If you are interested in learning more about safe home food preservation, find a UC Master Food Preserver Program near you.