I have the cooking technique down (thank you, Carol, for your help with the French Plunge method) but the last batch was a bit too "lemony" (I'm using Madelaine Bullwinkel's recipe which calls for the juice of a lemon plus 10 strips of lemon peel for 2 pounds of strawberries and 1 pound of rhubarb).

I'm assuming the lemon peel adds pectin, since both fruits are low in natural pectin. Could I substitute some citric acid for, say, half of the lemon peel to supply the pectin and some tartness without the lemon taste? It's not the lemon juice I find too strong - it's the lemon peel. And I was very careful to cut off all the pith so it wasn't bitter, just too "lemony" if that makes sense.

Or maybe I should pick out all the lemon peel (or make a spice bag with the peels and seeds?) before I jar it up?? Opinions, anyone?

Some options to reduce the lemon "hit" but get the pectin would be to bag up any retrievable pulp and seeds and cook those with the mixture then remove. A lot of the pectin is in those elements but not the strongest lemon flavor as the peel has citrus oils.

I think you could cut the amount of peel without any discernable reduction in set. I would also shred any peel very fine. It will melt into the preserve and be less discernable.

The final option would be to follow Bullwinkel's technique and enhance with just a tablespoon or so of commercial pectin powder if you have it - just enough to assist.

Carol

I wasn't sure where the pectin was most prevalent in the lemon's anatomy (so to speak), and I have the set just where I want it. Now off to work on the flavor.

Thanks again :-)