No need for pectin, powdered or liquid with this quick-fix marmalade— just rhubarb, sugar and lemon. The taste is lovely— sweet and tart with a shiny appearance.  All citrus skins contain pectin and some commercial products are even made from them.

Great on warm biscuits for breakfast.  For a quick parfait dessert, layer 3-Ingredient Rhubarb Marmalade with strawberry yogurt folded into whipped heavy cream.

Makes 3 cups.

1 pound rhubarb, fresh or frozen, cut larger pieces into 3/4-inch slices

2 cups sugar

Zest and juice of 1 large lemon

Place rhubarb in a medium-sized saucepan.  Stir in sugar.  Zest the lemon and stir into the rhubarb sugar mixture.  Let stand overnight.  Stir first thing in the morning and if the sugar has mostly dissolved, follow the next step.  If not, let rest another hour or so.

Squeeze room temperature lemon over the rhubarb mixture. Mix well.  Cover pan; turn heat to high and cook for 3 minutes.

Remove cover.  Stir. Turn heat to medium high and cook uncovered for 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  The marmalade will thicken when stirred and even thicker when chilled.  (If you prefer a thicker marmalade, cook another minute before removing from the heat.)

Let the mixture cool in the pan, stirring every so often to break up the large pieces.    Pour into suitable containers and refrigerate.

Original recipe by Pat Ernst Dugan

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