Lemon-Honey Jelly (and an Accidental Syrup)

A three-ingredient jelly recipe that uses no sugar? It almost sounds too good to be true… Except it is true, and truly good whether it’s spread on English muffins or Southern cornbread. If you harvest your honey and lemons from a backyard or a farmers’ market, this is about as local as you can get….

Linda Ly
Lemon-honey jelly

A three-ingredient jelly recipe that uses no sugar? It almost sounds too good to be true… Except it is true, and truly good whether it’s spread on English muffins or Southern cornbread.

If you harvest your honey and lemons from a backyard or a farmers’ market, this is about as local as you can get. Both flavors complement each other beautifully without turning too sweet or too tart.

Admittedly, when I first made my test batch, I forgot to add the pectin. I couldn’t figure out why my jelly would not set, even after two days of being tucked away in cool temperatures. Doh! But rather than re-boiling all the jellies with pectin, I decided to keep one jar as-is in the refrigerator. That single jar of lemon-honey syrup has become one of my favorite ways to sweeten a cup of hot tea, and it makes a delicious drizzle over vanilla bean ice cream. I might try it in oatmeal, too.

So whether you decide to make jelly or syrup, intentionally or unintentionally, you will love it either way!

Lemon-Honey Jelly

Makes 4 half-pints

Ingredients

5 to 6 lemons
2 1/2 cups honey
3 tablespoons (or 1 packet) low-sugar powdered pectin (I use Ball RealFruit Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin)

Making Your Lemon-Honey Jelly

Wash and scrub your lemons thoroughly. Using a Microplane or fine grater, zest your lemons and set aside 1 tablespoon of zest for your jelly. The remaining zest can be stored in the freezer for future use (we don’t want to waste any part of the lemon!).

Wash, dry, and zest your lemons

Squeeze enough juice from your lemons to measure 1 full cup. If necessary, strain any pulp or seeds from the juice. The liquid does not need to be crystal clear as you’ll be adding zest to the jelly.

Set aside 1 tablespoon of zest, freeze the rest, and juice your lemons

Squeeze enough juice to measure 1 full cup

In a large pot, combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, and pectin, and stir well. Don’t use any pot smaller than 4 quarts, because when this thing boils and bubbles up, it really expands!

Combine lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, and pectin in a large pot

Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for a few minutes, then remove from heat.

Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil

Ladle the hot jelly into hot, clean jars. Wipe the rims with a damp towel to ensure a safe seal, then secure with lids and rings.

Ladle the hot jelly into hot, clean jars
Lemon-honey jelly

Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, adjusting the time as needed for altitude.

Lemon-honey syrup on home-baked cornbread

Did I mention the syrup version is really good on cornbread? Home-baked cornbread, at that. Mmmmm.

Yield: 4 1/2 pints

Lemon-Honey Jelly

Lemon-honey jelly

A three-ingredient jelly recipe that uses no sugar? It almost sounds too good to be true… Except it is true, and truly good whether it’s spread on English muffins or Southern cornbread.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 5 to 6 lemons
  • 2 1/2 cups honey
  • 3 tablespoons (or 1 packet) low-sugar powdered pectin (I use Ball RealFruit Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin)

Instructions

  1. Wash and scrub your lemons thoroughly. 
  2. Using a Microplane or fine grater, zest your lemons and set aside 1 tablespoon of zest for your jelly.
  3. Squeeze enough juice from your lemons to measure 1 full cup. If necessary, strain any pulp or seeds from the juice. The liquid does not need to be crystal clear as you’ll be adding zest to the jelly.
  4. In a large pot, combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, and pectin, and stir well. Don’t use any pot smaller than 4 quarts, because when this thing boils and bubbles up, it really expands!
  5. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for a few minutes, then remove from heat.
  6. Ladle the hot jelly into hot, clean jars. Wipe the rims with a damp towel to ensure a safe seal, then secure them with lids and rings.
  7. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, adjusting the time as needed for altitude.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 733Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 36mgCarbohydrates: 201gFiber: 5gSugar: 180gProtein: 2g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Did you make this recipe?

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15 Comments

  1. I caught a very bad cold& sore throat while in Bulgaria and the women who owned the guesthouse we were staying in made me a wonderful cup of tea using a honey syrup she had made…. honey, grated ginger, lemon, and a pinch of cayenne. Your syrup reminded me of this. It’s even good without the cayenne…. just add a couple of teaspoons to boiling water and sip.

  2. Hi, I just now found your blog, but already I love your style,
    you have pugs and chickens! (we had one pug, sadly she passed and I would love to have chickens) will come back to read some more, thanks for sharing,
    take care, Maureen

  3. Oh yummy! and hoorah, I now have another new way to preserve an abundant crop! Thank you!
    Nancy
    wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com

  4. Lemon-Honey looks delicious!  So, you had no trouble getting it to set without any sugar?  That’s amazing!  I’ve got all three ingredients so I’m going to try this tonight.

    1. Just make sure you use no-sugar needed pectin in your batch! The cold spoon test (to test for jell) also helps in case you need to adjust the amount of pectin before you can everything up. I was too lazy to do it the first time, oops!

      1. I didn’t make it last week but I made it today and I must say, you were correct:  This is great!  So nice and tart with a hint of sweetness.  I think this is going to be really good as an alternative to lemon chicken.  Maybe on grilled fish or as a glaze on carrots or asparagus.  As a very experienced canner of jelly, jam, and marmalade I was not optimistic this would turn out, but it surely did.  My daughter asked for it as she is not fond of overly sweet things and she is going to love it.  Thanks!!  I recorded my progress making it and eventually when I blog about it, I will give you credit and refer my followers back to you blog!

        1. I’m so thrilled it turned out for you! It’s just one of those canning recipes that seems almost TOO simple, LOL.

          I’m sure you’ll find endless more uses for it too… I think I’m going to add my jelly as a glaze on pork chops next. I like that it’s so versatile for other recipes besides just breakfast and tea!

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