People ask me how we manage to use the hundreds of jars of jelly, jam and marmalade I preserve each year. Can there be that much breakfast toast in the world? Probably, perhaps in the homes of family and friends, since I give away so much of the production in four-ounce jars, enough for a few days or a week. At our house, however, they become ingredients or condiments to provide a certain spark to our food.

The piquant marmalade that I make from Meyer lemons and tarragon is a surprisingly versatile ingredient. The abundance of peel offsets any tendency toward being sugary. Quite the opposite: it’s almost bitter. Stirred into steamed potatoes, or parboiled winter kale, or a root vegetable soup, it transforms ordinary ingredients into an extraordinary combination of flavors. Here I added the marmalade to pan-grilled salmon sitting atop seasonal spinach and “fried” leftover spaghetti. The combination of textures and flavors was terrific.

The time for making this marmalade, for me, is late March to early May, when seasonal organic Meyer lemons are still available, but waning, and French tarragon bursts forth in my pot garden, a seeming miracle after a winter of dormancy.  The recipe for Meyer Lemon Marmalade with Tarragon can be found here.

Categories: Fish, Lemons, PreservingTags: Citrus, Fish, Preserving