Mandarin jam is a delightful preserve that captures the aroma and flavor of this highly aromatic fruit. It’s easy to prepare and will allow you to enjoy this wonder even during the months when this fruit is not in season. The ingredients are just two: high-quality fruit and sugar (I prefer cane sugar, but obviously, you can also use white granulated sugar). Mandarin jam can be enjoyed at breakfast or snack time, but it can also be used to glaze desserts, accompany ice creams, fill tarts, like these.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 2 lbs and 10 oz
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 4.4 lbs peeled mandarins
- 1.8 lbs sugar
- zest of 2 lemons
Preparation
Wash 3 mandarins with a brush and grate their zest directly into the large, thick-bottomed stainless steel pot that we’ll use to prepare the jam. Peel all the fruits and remove the white filaments that would give the preparation a bitter note.
Transfer the fruits into the pot along with the sugar (which should be at least 40 to 50% of the total weight of the fruit, as it not only sweetens but also helps preserve the product longer) and the lemon peels, without the inner white part.
Using a fork, poke the mandarin fruits multiple times: this will not only help distribute the sugar evenly but also allow the juice to escape and form the syrup that will significantly shorten cooking times. Stir occasionally and let the fruit sit in the sugar for about 3 hours.
Sterilize the jars and lids that will be used to store the jam.
After the maceration time, place the pot on the smallest burner, on high heat, and cover until the mixture starts to boil.
At that point, remove the lid and, stirring occasionally, skim off the seeds that will start to float to the surface with a slotted spoon.
Continue until the mixture reaches the desired thickness for the jam (in my case, the jam cooked for a total of one hour and 10 minutes).
At first, the pot will fill with syrup. This isn’t a problem, as this syrup will gradually reduce significantly.
The jam should be checked very often to prevent it from burning or thickening too much.
The mixture of fruit and syrup will start to thicken more and more, and the syrup will be almost completely absorbed. At this point (after about 50–60 minutes), to see if the jam is ready, perform the “plate test.”
Place a teaspoon of jam on a dry coffee saucer, let it sit for about a minute, then tilt the saucer. If it slides off too easily, it’s still too liquid. Wait another 5 minutes and repeat the test. It’s ready when it slides down slowly.
Turn off the heat, remove the lemon peels, and immediately fill the jars, as the jam, when hot, appears more liquid than it will be once cooled.
Fill the jars up to one inch from the rim, seal them well, and immediately turn them upside down to create a vacuum. Let them cool completely without touching. Store them in a cool, dry place. The jam is soft and dense.
If you love citrus fruits, you might also be interested in grapefruit jam, orange jam, mixed citrus jam.
