Make the best Lemon Jam at home with this super easy recipe. You need 3 simple ingredients only: lemons, water and sugar. No pectin here. Fill your crepes or top your cakes and tarts with it.
This jam has a zesty, refreshing and a little tangy flavor, so it’s good for warm spring days! You can either have it at breakfast, spread it on biscuits or use it as a topping on Lemon Bread. I have another plan with it though. I’m going to make lemon thumbprint cookies and fill them with it very soon!
Don’t you think even the name of this recipe sounds so tempting? I know it’s not the jam season yet, we mostly make it at the end of Summer or in September here in Turkey. So why did I make this lemon jam last night? Why am I that crazy to make it at night? Did I tell you that I forget about time concept when it comes to cooking?
My parents sent us a big box of lemons from their garden a few months ago and we’ve finally come to the end of these lemons! It was really hard to accept this sad reality when I saw last night that we had about a kilo left! “I must find a way to keep these beauties longer!”, I thought.
What makes these lemons so special? They are coming from Mersin, which is a city famous for its citrus fruit. The lemons from there have such a heavenly fragrance that when you cut them in halves, you feel like you’re in a citrus yard!
So making jam with those lemons was my solution to keep the flavor of those wonderful lemons longer in our kitchen. It was the first time I was making it, so I was a bit excited and curious about the result. Despite all my fears, it came out perfect! No recipe could go wrong with these incredibly fragrant lemons! So use the best lemons you can find to make this jam.
What Goes In Lemon Jam Recipe
We don’t need many ingredients for this recipe. You can make it right now if you have lemons, water and sugar. Nothing else is needed. This is the basic version of making lemon jam. If you want to enrich the flavor, add different ingredients like nuts or ginger.
Lemons are used in three different forms in this jam:
- Lemon zest
- Chopped lemons
- Lemon juice
Lemon Marmalade or Jam?
Do you know the difference between marmalade and jam? To my childhood knowledge, they have two main differences. Marmalade is thicker than jam and looks more like fruit puree. This is how we know in Turkish cuisine. When I searched these terms on the Internet, I discovered a few more details.
For one thing, jams contain fruit pulp and are like a combination of smashed fruit and sugar.
Marmalades, on the other hand, are made with citrus fruit and contain the peel of the fruit. Please read more about this on Primer Magazine:
What’s The Difference Between Jelly, Jam, Marmalade, Preserves and Fruit Spread?
So I think we can call this lemon marmalade recipe too because it has lemon zest and chopped lemons with the skin on.
Making Lemon Jam
The recipe has three straightforward steps.
First, prepare the lemons. Grate the zest of three lemons in a small bowl. Squeeze one of them. Put the lemon juice and grated lemons aside. Slice the fourth lemon into thin strips or chop it in bite size pieces or even in rings.
Second step is about removing the bitterness of lemon peel. Put the lemon zest and chopped lemons in a pot. Pour water over them and bring it to boil. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Strain the lemon zest and lemon pieces, put them back in the pot with clean water and repeat this step for the second time. Bring it to boil, simmer for 30 minutes and strain.
Third step is about making the jam. Put the cooked lemon pieces and zest in the pot along with sugar and water. Bring it to boil over medium high heat and simmer for 30 minutes over medium low heat. Let it cool in the pot and then keep it in a jar. You will see it is still runny when you remove it from heat. Don’t worry! It will get the right consistency as it cools down.
I’m leaving the image in the original post which was published in 2013 when we don’t have much experience about food photography.
Homemade Lemon Jam
Zesty, refreshing and fragrant lemon jam with three simple ingredients.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 1 small jar (200g) 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients
- 4 lemons
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups extra water to boil lemons zest
Instructions
- Grate 3 lemons into a small bowl.
- Squeeze one of them to have 2 tablespoon lemon juice. Put the other two aside. We are not using them.
- Chop one lemon or slice it thinly into strips or rings.
- Put the zest and chopped lemon pieces in a pot.
- Pour 1 cup water over them. Bring it to boil over medium high heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- Strain and repeat this step one more time. The bitterness of lemon zest will be removed this way.
- Add sugar, lemon juice and 2 cups water over strained lemon zest in pot.
- Bring it to boil over medium low heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. It will be runny at this step but gets thicker as it cools down.
- Keep it in a jar.
Notes
These ingredients make about 200 g jam, so double or triple the ingredients if you want a larger amount.
Keywords: easy lemon jam, lemon zest
This post was originally published in 2013 and has been updated with new pictures and additional information.
I made the jam and it was delicious but too thin. I cooked it 30 minutes. Could it be that my lemons were too small and I should use 4 lemons zested instead of 3? Help……..I love the taste!
Linda, it’s most probably about the size of lemons you used. If the jam is too thin, you can grate even 5 or 6 lemons and slice 2 or 3 lemons instead of 1. Glad that you love the taste.
I tried this recipe today, excited & prepared to can. I was going to do 8 jars & 4of Orange. However w/ a few bad lemons, I decided on 7 jars of lemon. I Alterd the recipe & set out hopeful. The larger amount & Being a busy Mom of 5, it took me much longer than I expected. Grating 21lemons is NO Joke! In the end, my jam is STILL runny & no where near as pretty as yours 🙁 & the taste is a bit bitter. (I used Papa’s Lemons. They’re the size of my fist to a med Orange.)Any suggestions on a quick fix so i can wrap it up for the night? ?? More Sugar or Zest for flavor & sweetness? I thought about chia seeds for thickening? Idk? Don’t wanna throw out a good days work….
Hi Christina, I’m really sorry that the recipe didn’t work for you. You grated only the zest of lemons, didn’t you? It’s my fault that I didn’t stated it in the recipe. We should grate the yellow parts only and be careful not to grate the white parts as they give a sharp bitterness. Sorry but I’m not sure whether adding more sugar helps it. As for its consitency, did you change the amount of lemon juice in the recipe? What gives the jam the right consistency and thickens the jam is lemon juice. I used 2 tablespoons for 4 lemons. So I guess you should have used almost half of a lemon and get about 10 tablespoons of lemon juice. So to thicken it, you can put it over heat, bring it to boil and add lemon juice, let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes and then remove from heat. You can check it with a spoon. Mix with a spoon and if the jam sticks on the back of the spoon, it’s done. Hope these help.
I am a little confused. Do you use the 3 lemons you zested, or only the one you sliced into rings, or all of them? I could not figure out when and how to add in the 3 lemons.
★★★★
Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe! I found this in March of this year, and have made three batches of this since then! We have a very bountiful lemon tree, so I made five times the recipe at once. The end result was delicious – almost reminiscent of a tart lemonade! I found some lovely limes and ruby red grapefruits at the market the other day. Tomorrow I’m planning on trying this recipe, but substituting a grapefruit or perhaps a few limes for some of the lemons. Do you have any advice, or have you perhaps tried this recipe with other citrus fruits? Thanks again for such a deliciously spritely recipe, without the heavy bitterness common to most marmalades!
Thank you for sharing your feedback on my lemon jam. It is one of the greatest hits, isn’t it? Well, I tried the same recipe for orange leaving all the skins, but not with grapefruit. I think the skin of grapefruit is not so appealing, so you might leave them out or just use little. Would love to hear the result when you try!
The first instruction says to “grate 3 lemons”. Does that mean zest/grate the peels, or grate the entire lemon?
No not the entire lemon, just the zest.
Hi Zerrin,
It came out AMAZING. Do you think it would be okay to double the amount without affecting the beautiful color of the jam and would it take 60 instead of 30 minutes to cook. Not sure if you tried. Thank you soo much for sharing your recipe.
I made this Jam and it has been very popular i ended up with just one jar for my household will make it again but keep it a secret
Thank you Zerrin! I love the idea of making Lemon Jam late at night-I too lose all track of time in the kitchen. I have made lemon curd but never lemon jam. I am blessed with a lemon tree and can’t wait to try this one 🙂
Hello, Zerrin ! Love your site, it makes me dream of my beautiful holidays in Turkey, where I go with my husband almost every year (near Marmaris). A question, please: do I have to squeeze the juice from the 4 grated lemons ? Or is it enough to put only 2 tablespoons ? Thanks and all the best to you and your little one !
Hi Gabriela! Thanks for stopping by! Turkey is a wonderful place for summer holidays, isn’t it? And the west of it has the best sea!
As for your question, add just 2tbsp lemon juice to give the right consistency to the jam. The lemon flavor will be from the grated zest.
Cheers from Turkey
When you say grate the 3 lemons do you mean the whole lemon or just the zest?
Hi Sarah! I mean just the zest of lemons.
I am glad that you are telling us that NOW……after I wasted 4 lemons , sugar and time. When I read to grate that is what I do. I will try again now that I know how it is to be made.
Do you happen to know if this can be canned? It seems like it should be acidic enough, haha. Looks great but if I make it I want lots of it 🙂
This jam can be kept in jars for months! You need to make several jars of it then:)
Love how it came out clear and sure it is so delicious like it looks.
Hi Samah! It has a great tangy flavor! We still have a little left. Thinking on how else I can use it!
Uses: on top of ice creams, puddings, inside little filo dough pillows, on pancakes, waffles, crepes, toasts, bagels, muffins, English Muffins, as a glaze with grilled or baked meat and fish, g(Salmon.. Chicken .mmm) on top or in, chicken or fish salads, add to sweet or savory smoothies. Pasta (Linguine, Orzo) Rice., Filling inside cupcakes, tarts, topping on full sized or mini cheesecakes. My mouth is now watering, have some fresh lemons from my neighbor’s tree, going to go make some. Thanks for the beautiful photos and recipe!
All these are great ideas Patricia! Would love to hear your thoughts when you try it.
It’s not often I see a lemon jam Zerrin! I LOVE it! So refreshing and pretty! Like lemon sunshine. I’m off to check out your cookies!
This lemon jam is not too sweet, its fragrance and tanginess are outstanding, so we love it! Its color is great, isn’t it?
Looks and sounds delicious … and got an OOOOH out of me as I was scrolling through posts in my Reader feed. 🙂
Lol! Thank you Chris! It is that good when combined with a little butter on bread:)
My lips are puckering and my mouth is watering. I love lemony lemon desserts and I know this would be beautiful as a topping on so many things. I know how you feel about being in a time warp when we are creating and cooking in our kitchen. I totally loose track of time. I love your cloth napkins and ornate spoons so beautiful to see some of your favorite things on display.
I’ve already used it to fill thumbprint cookies today and it was perfectly tangy! It balances the sweetness of cookies. Happy to hear that you love the props!
This is going in my TO MAKE list! Looks and sounds so good. I have never attempted to make lemon preserves, but this recipe is very tempting. Great shot too! Thank you for sharing, Zerrin!
Hi Feride, you will love the lemon zest in it! I cut them in big slices, but you can chop into pieces too!
Don’t bother. I have just spent several hours with this shocking recipe. The final result is only half a jar of jam that isn’t even set. It is an absolute shocker!
I love how sharp the jam looks…How clear! Wonderful, Zerrin. I will try this jam recipe for sure. We are not that much into very sweet jams and marmalade but this one will be a good one to make and keep around with its tangy flavor.
Thank you Ilke! It is not too sweet, so I’m sure you will love it! Try to use fragrant lemons for this jam.