Fresh and creamy, mandarin jelly is a typical Sicilian dessert that you can easily prepare with only 3 ingredients: mandarins (or clementines/tangerines), cornstarch, and sugar. This is similar to other recipes like watermelon jelly, strawberry jelly, and orange jelly. It’s excellent as an after-meal dessert for its refreshing and digestive taste and can also be suitable for an elegant dinner: you just need to get some special single-serving molds – there are many beautiful ones: I used these, but there are also these which are beautiful – and, after the resting time in the fridge, you can easily unmold your mandarin puddings that will maintain the mold’s shape. The starch allows you to give the pudding the right consistency, firm but not gelatinous as sometimes happens when using gelatin. Mandarin jelly is the perfect dessert to serve in this winter season when mandarins and clementines are at their best.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 6 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Sicily
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
- Energy 164.95 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 42.23 (g) of which sugars 33.43 (g)
- Proteins 0.66 (g)
- Fat 0.25 (g) of which saturated 0.03 (g)of which unsaturated 0.10 (g)
- Fibers 0.25 (g)
- Sodium 1.45 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 130 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 4 servings of mandarin jelly
If you are celiac, make sure the cornstarch is labeled “gluten-free”.
- 2 cups mandarin juice (or tangerine, about 1.5 lbs of mandarins)
- 5 tbsps cornstarch
- 7 tablespoons sugar
Tools
- 1 Citrus Juicer electric
- 1 Strainer
- 1 Glass
- 1 Teaspoon
- 1 Pan with a thick bottom
- 1 Hand Whisk
- 4 Molds single-serving of 1/2 cup each
How to prepare mandarin or tangerine jelly
To prepare mandarin or tangerine jelly for 4 people, you need precisely 2 cups of mandarin or tangerine juice – to be measured after filtering – which corresponds to about 1.5 lbs of fruits. Squeeze them with an electric citrus juicer (1) or manual and strain the juice through a strainer (2) to remove pulp and seeds.
This step is important for two reasons: 1. the pulp and any albedo would give the pudding a bitter aftertaste; 2. if you strain the juice, your jelly will have a shiny and transparent appearance, thus looking aesthetically better. In the end, you should obtain half a liter of clear juice (3).
Pour about 1/2 cup of it into a glass and add the cornstarch (4). Stir vigorously with a teaspoon to completely dissolve it. There should be no lumps (5).
Pour the rest of the juice into a thick-bottomed pan and add the sugar. Place it on the stove on low heat and, stirring occasionally, bring it to just before boiling (6).
At this point, slightly lower the heat and add the mandarin juice in which you’ve dissolved the starch (7). Immediately stir with a hand whisk or spoon and continue cooking the pudding for about 5 minutes, on low heat, until the mixture becomes thick like a cream (8).
Pour it at this point into 4 single-serving molds of 1/2 cup each (9) or into a single mold of half a liter. Let them cool first at room temperature, then in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.
Shortly before serving the mandarin jelly, turn each mold over onto a dessert plate and gently unmold the pudding. The molds I used have a very practical system: by removing the upper cap, the puddings slide out of the mold easily; in other cases, you can help by gently detaching the pudding from the mold with a knife blade.
Storage
You can store mandarin jelly in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days. Freezing is not possible as they lose their consistency once thawed.
Tips and Variations
With this same recipe, you can make puddings using the juice of any fruit you prefer: depending on the sweetness of the fruit, you can increase or decrease the amount of sugar. If you have dietary needs, you can also replace sugar with sweeteners (stevia, aspartame, erythritol…).
