Preserved: Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Somewhere between a conventional lemon and a mandarin orange, the Meyer lemon is plump, juicy, and surprisingly sweet. This simple Meyer lemon marmalade showcases the fruit's bold, bright flavor, and it's the ideal topping for blueberry muffins or cornbread.

Sometimes, I can be a lazy eater. Picking the meat out of Maryland crabs can be such a bother. Ditto for stripping every last bite off a Buffalo chicken wing. But when it comes to seeding a Meyer lemon (which can contain up to 10 seeds), I believe it's well worth the effort.

This marmalade takes a bit of elbow grease on the front end (you have to peel and mince the zest, and then seed and chop the fruit) but the results are truly sensational. It might look like regular ho-hum lemon marmalade in the jar, but it packs a serious flavor punch. Save one jar for yourself and give the rest to friends. Tied up with a pretty ribbon and delivered with a fresh loaf of gingerbread, it's just the thing to cure those late winter blues.

About the Author: Lucy Baker is a food writer and the author of The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets. She is currently at work on a second book about homemade food gifts. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and dachshund.