Ingredients:
8 cups supremed grapefruits segments (I used Duncan)
5 cups sugar
1/2 box liquid pectin (3 oz., one of the little packets in the box)
3 stalks lemongrass (thick bottom parts only)

Directions:
Prep jars/lids for canning. Add the grapefruit segments and lemongrass into a large, heavy bottomed pan. Add the sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring carefully to avoid splashing, break up the segments, occasionally. Boil until it begins to reduce and thicken. Stir in the pectin. Continue cooking at a low (rolling) boil for 10 minutes or until it looks jammy. Fish out the lemongrass. Fill the jars leaving 1/4 inch headroom. Process in the hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Yield: 6-7 8-oz jars.

Note: A great source for canning information is the Blue Book guide to preserving. I highly recommend it for learning how to can. Here is a bunch of other canning books and equipment I find useful.

My thoughts:

Grapefruit is not one of my favorite fruits. I mean, I like it but I find it a bit too much to eat regularly. But I can’t resist buy fruit when they are in season, especially during the winter when nothing local is in season. So I bought a couple of truly huge bags of grapefruit, ate some and then boiled some up with lemongrass to create this sunshine-y jam. I like making jam with citrus fruits even though it is more unusual than jam made with berries and of course, citrus fruit is most often turned into marmalade. It is easier than marmalade (no pith removal/slicing the peel) but still has that strong citrus flavor. Plus I love having peels to toss in my compost bin during the winter, it really seems to help things along.

Anyway! This jam is the perfect match of sweet and tart and the lemongrass provides this lovely floral note that just pushes it to the next level. Perfect on scones or pretty much anything. It would make a wonderful holiday or hostess gift.