Koji’d lemon skin marmalade

Recipe

6 May

Written By R&D by Kim Wejendorp; words by Eliot Beeby, with Aly Beveridge and Josh Evans

This is part of our series on upcycling fruit and veg by-products.

Table of Contents

Recipe final product displaying the fermented lemon koji marmalade in glass bowl with spoon.

i. Background

This recipe uses our k ōji'd lemon skin base recipe, prepared with cold-blanched lemon skins, to make a bright marmalade. The Aspergillus luchuensis helps to break down the lemon skins, giving a lovely smooth texture reminiscent of a Sicilian bitter marmellata.

ii. Recipe

Ingredients

Kōji’d lemon skin, diced or chopped, 1 part
Water or apple juice, 1 part
Sugar, 1 part

Method

Add the kōji’d lemon skin to the water or apple juice. Bring the boil and cook for 30 minutes.
Replace any of the water which evaporated then add the sugar.
Cook until the marmalade reaches 104℃.
Remove the marmalade from the heat and add it to and seal within a sterilised jar while still hot, so that it is shelf-stable. Otherwise it can be stored in the fridge or freezer.

iii. Adaptations

If you experiment with growing A. luchuensis on the peels of citrus fruit other than lemons, they might also work well as a marmalade. Worth exploring.

Contributions & acknowledgements

Kim performed the original culinary R&D. Aly reproduced Kim’s recipe. Eliot wrote the article following further discussions with Kim. Josh contributed editorial feedback. Aly photographed the final product in our food lab.

This recipe has roots in Kim’s previous work as Head of R&D at the former Amass Restaurant in Copenhagen. Thank you Amass for facilitating such trailblazing work in culinary upcycling and holistic sustainability.

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