What do you do with a glut of cucumbers? Just two plants grown in the greenhouse this year and still an abundance of fruits. After making as much Tzatziki and Michoteta as I could eat and having had enough of Greek salad, I started to think about what else I could make. I vaguely remembered writing down an American recipe for cucumber marmalade so I dug it out and here it is. It’s from a website called The Cooking of Lost America:

Cucumber  Marmalade

1½  pounds cucumbers peeled,seeded,  and chopped finely or ground (two cups)
(Use the food processor if you want it smooth)
4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
⅓ cup  lemon juice
½ bottle fruit pectin (eg. Certo)

1. Place the cucumber pulp in a large saucepan. Stir in the sugar, lemon rind, lemon  juice and mix well.
2. Place over a high heat and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for one minute, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the pectin. With a metal spoon, skim off any foam. Stir and skim for five minutes to allow the marmalade to gell slightly and prevent floating cucumber. If you have used a food processor this won’t be a problem.
4. Ladle into hot sterilized jam jars. This makes about 4 one pound jars

It comes out a little on the green side – you could add a little yellow food colour if you want as the predominant taste is of course of lemon.