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 your cakes.
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!
These lemons 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.
So I think we can call this lemon marmalade too because it has lemon zest and chopped lemons with the skin on.
Making Lemon Jam
The recipe has a few straightforward steps. Please find the full instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
First, prepare the lemons. Dice one of the lemons. Grate the zest of the remaining three lemons. Then peel them completely and chop their flesh removing all membranes and seeds.
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 10 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 10 minutes and strain.
Third step is about making the jam. Put the cooked lemon pieces and zest in the pot along with the chopped lemon flesh, sugar and water. Bring it to boil over medium high heat and simmer for 45 minutes over medium low heat.
Add in the lemon juice and simmer for another 5 minutes. 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.
More Jam Recipes without Pectin
Sign up for the FREE Give Recipe Newsletter to get the new recipes into your inbox!
And stay in touch with us on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram for all the latest updates.
📖 Recipe
Homemade Lemon Jam
INGREDIENTS
- 4 large lemons (about 500 grams)
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare the lemons:
- Cut 1 lemon into small cubes with the peel on. First, slice it into thin rounds, then into strips, and finally into small cubes. Place them in a small saucepan.
- Zest the yellow part of the remaining 3 lemons (avoid the bitter white pith). Add the zest to the same saucepan.
- Peel those 3 zested lemons completely. Chop the flesh of them removing all membranes and seeds. Set the chopped lemon flesh aside for now.
Remove the bitterness:
- Pour enough water into the saucepan to cover the lemon cubes and zest. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Drain using a fine strainer and discard the water. Return the lemon cubes and zest to the saucepan.
- Cover again with fresh water, bring to a boil, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Drain and discard the water. (This process removes the bitterness from the lemon peel.)
Make the jam:
- Put the lemon cubes and zest back to the saucepan.
- Add the reserved chopped lemon flesh to the saucepan. Pour in 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water. Stir well and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it thickens slightly. Skim off any foam that forms on top.
- Stir in the lemon juice and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool. The jam will continue to thicken as it cools.
Store:
- Transfer to a clean jar and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 months.
- For longer storage, pour the hot jam into a sterilized jar, seal tightly, and turn it upside down. Let it cool completely at room temperature, then store in a cool, dry place or in the fridge.
NOTES
- After receiving lots of helpful comments from you, we tested the recipe again and updated the measurements. The previous version used ¾ cup sugar and 2 cups water, which required a much longer cooking time to achieve the right consistency. With the current ratios, the jam sets more reliably and still keeps a bright lemony flavor.
- If you don’t like your jams too sweet, you can reduce the sugar to 1 and ½ cups instead of 2. Just keep in mind that you might need to simmer the jam a bit longer for it to thicken properly.
- These ingredients make a small batch, about 350 grams jam, so double or triple the ingredients if you want a larger amount.
NUTRITION
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Vicky Melville says
I must have done something wrong. My jam is still runny and looks nothing like yours. I put the actual lemon in, should l have just put in the skin and not the inside of the lemon?
Yusuf says
Hi Vicky! Sorry to hear that you are having a problem. As stated in the recipe, we use 4 lemons. Use the zest of three lemons. Squeeze one of them so that you have 2 tablespoon juice. And chop one whole lemon into pieces. Did you follow these? If still runny after it waits for a while, you can always add one or two tablespoons lemon juice and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until it has a consistency. Hope this helps.
Vicky Melville says
I followed your instructions to the letter. I then did as you suggested and added more juice and cooked again. I have less liquid now but still runny. I’m going to give it one more try. I’ll let you know what happens this time.
Paulos says
I thank you for recipes I.m go na make my own jam
Anna says
Can the finished product be kept in the pantry until use, or does it need to be refrigerated/frozen right away?
Cecilia says
Seems to me only three lemons are necessary. The recipe isn’t clear.
Linda Bennett says
I refrigerated overnight, and by gosh is it tasty!; and pretty in the jar. It’s very soft though, so my question remains, are the units in metric? I did use US measures and it seemed like a lot of water and sugar compared to peel and juice.
With extra cooking down though, it came out a useable soft consistency.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Yusuf says
Hi Linda, soory to hear that you didn't end up with a thick consistency. I use a 250ml cup.
Could that be due to the lemon type you are using? The ones I use are really tangy and firm in texture.
Lynne Kowalik says
I have the same problem, the jam isn't set, but reading this reply perhaps it is because I used Meyer lemons.
Linda Bennett says
My lemon “jam” tastes great but end result was much more than 200 gr. Reread recipe and decided the quantities must be in Turkish metric, so to save recipe I put back on stove and boiled a little longer. Stopped when I had 200 gr.
Well, this doesn’t seem to be working either. Must think on it.
M says
How do you store your whole lemons so they last months? I love lemons and usually have several in my kitchen at any one time. I also keep my house on the cool side, around 68F/20C, but I always seem to have a couple lemons that go moldy.
Joanne Hartley says
How long can you keep this in your cupboard. What is the shelf life of this lemon jam
Yusuf says
Hi Joanne! Thank you for asking this. You can keep it for several months, even up to a year as long as you keep it in a dry place. Also you should always use a clean and dry spoon when taking some from the jar. Hope this helps.
Sandra says
I have questions! I spent the afternoon making this recipe and it did not work. I have two jars of thin liquid the consistency of water. In the last step I cooked the ingredients for 70 mins since they were not thickening after 30 or 45. At 70 mins I was out of time so put it in jars in the fridge. After cooling for 5 hours it's no thicker than when I poured it in.
What in this recipe was supposed to make it get thick?
Why are there 2 cups of water in the last step? That's an enormous of amount of water to add.
Yusuf says
Hi Sandra! Sorry to hear that it didn't work for you. Well, I'm not sure what the problem is. The only thing that thickens the jam in the recipe is lemon juice. 2 cups of water decreases and thickens as it simmers and results in about 1 cup of jam.
Pat says
Can you friize this jam?
Zerrin says
No, I don't recommend that.
Lexi says
Hello Zerrin!
This looks like a lovely recipe! I may have missed it, but how long does this jam last in the fridge? Thanks ever so much!
Zerrin says
Thank you Lexi! You can keep it at room temperature for several months. Just make sure that you always use a dry spoon to scoop jam from the jar. Any wetness causes the jam to go bad.
richard says
which is correct boil for 30 min. twice or for 10 min. twice
Zerrin says
Hi Richard! Sorry for the confusion. The right one is 10 min. Correcting it in the post now. Thank you for the heads up!
Peter says
The problem of this recipe is the method of removing bitterness, because this way you lose also a lot of zest aroma. The correct approach, but bit more work required is to peel just the zest, remove the white pith and then proceed without washing. That way you get all aroma, but very little bitterness...
Verena says
There is a huge amount of fat and protein in this jam. What else did you add?
Zerrin says
Oh no! Nothing else is added. There was an error and I just corrected it. Thank you so much for the heads up! Sorry for the confusion.
Lithenna says
Thank you for this beautiful recipe! This homemade jam could make a lovely gift for my friends' birthdays!
Zerrin says
Hi Lithenna! Can't think of a better birthday gift than this.
Mendy says
I made this jam today with the lemons my neighbor picked from their lemon tree. Love that bright color and the taste! However, these ingredients made very little jam. Will try the recipe with more ingredients next time.
Thanks for the recipe!
Ece Yürük Göksu says
Hi Zerrin!
I've been thinking of how to use my sweet Mersin lemons for a while. And that's it!
This weekend they'll be turned into jam! Yummy!
Thanx for sharing the recipe!
Love&kisses!
Ece 🙂
Zerrin says
Mersin lemons are the best, right?
Your house will smell fantastic this weekend!
Hugs and kisses 🙂