Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Scrub the lemons clean (this is especially important if you've bought lemons, since citrus fruit is often sprayed with wax to keep it shiny looking). Cut the lemons in half and juice them, reserving the juice. Use a sharp knife and plenty of patience to slice the lemon shells crosswise as thinly as possible for a smoother, creamier marmalade. Or, save time and potential aggravation by cutting the halves in half crosswise and then running them through a food processor fitting with the slicing disk. Fish out any particularly large pieces and run them through again or otherwise chop them. The final marmalade will be chunkier, but just as creamy and sweet.

Put the sliced lemons in a large pot and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until the peel is tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the peel and rinse it thoroughly with cold water. Rinse out the pot too.

Return the lemon slices to the pot with 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil (the lemons will release some of their own moisture as they heat and create enough liquid to almost cover the slices). Stir in 3 1/2 cups of the sugar. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the mixture is thick and creamy looking and the lemon slices are very tender, about 1 hour.

Taste and add up to 1 1/2 cups additional sugar to taste. Stir in 1/2 cup of the reserved lemon juice (save or freeze the remaining juice for another use).

Put the jars and lids on a large baking sheet or pan and heat in a 225 F oven for 15 minutes or boil them in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes.

Carefully transfer the hot lemon mixture to the hot jars (a wide-mouth funnel is useful here if you have one), leaving about 1/2-inch head-space in each jar between the top of the mixture mixture and the the top of the jar. Put the lids on the jars and twist on the rings. Process in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes or run through an otherwise empty dishwasher on the "sanitizing" cycle or any cycle that will include 10 minutes of high heat.

Let the jars cool on a counter before storing them in a cupboard for up to 6 months. Once opened, keep them refrigerated.