This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
I adore the delicious, fresh citrus that is readily available at the market at this time of year! The bright colors and the fresh scents are the perfect antidote to a dreary winter day!
This time of year, there are also some great deals on Mandarin oranges – and a half-price sale at our local supermarket this past week inspired me to grab a few bags, and prepare this gorgeous, sweet Mandarin Marmalade.
I have to admit, I’m not a super huge fan of orange marmalade – but this mandarin marmalade is a whole different story! It has a sweet, orangey taste – and a hint of lemon mixed in prevents this marmalade from becoming too sweet.
My favorite part of this Mandarin Marmalade are all of the little bits of peel that you will find in each spoonful of this jam! With this marmalade, your morning toast is about to get so much more delicious!
Before we share the recipe below, I do want to give kudos for this delicious Mandarin Marmalade to the blog, Z Tasty Life, where I found the original recipe. Please take a look over there if you’d like to see some wonderful process shots of this Marmellata di Mandarini being made, as well as the family story behind this recipe.
While you are there, you’ll probably notice that Amelia’s oranges and lemons yielded quite a lot of seeds – and she uses the natural pectin from those seeds to thicken her marmalade. When we made this Mandarin Marmalade recipe, our mandarin oranges were seedless! So our adapted recipe below uses a small amount of powdered pectin as a thickener. We give you some tips below in the recipe to help determine if you will need to add the pectin (or not) as you make this fantastic marmalade.
We’re also sharing a free printable for those cute Mandarin Marmalade labels you see in our photos! They are sized for these two-inch round labels to stick to the top of half-pint decorative canning jars, or to create a gift label as shown in the photo at the top of this post. And last but not least, be sure to come back tomorrow because we’re sharing a delicious recipe for Mandarin Pork Tenderloin Medallions– made with this delicious marmalade!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Mandarin Marmalade
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 pounds mandarin oranges
- 2 lemons
- 1 quart water, divided
- 3 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 up to 1 tablespoon of powdered pectin (if necessary)
Instructions
- Wash the mandarin oranges and lemons very well in warm water.
- Cut the mandarin oranges and lemons in half and squeeze out all of the juices in a bowl. Place any seeds in a small bowl with about ½ a cup of the water (you will be soaking the seeds overnight to release their natural pectins). Place the peels in another bowl.
- Once you’ve squeezed out all of the juices, take each peel and remove any remaining pulp and empty segments, then use a sharp knife and scrape off as much of the white pith from the inside of the peel. (Like the original recipe we adapted, the method that worked best for us was to cut each half peel in half (to make a quarter) and flatten it, then we scraped the pith with a sharp knife from the middle of the peel to each tip. You can do this process with the lemon peels if you wish, or just the mandarin peels.
- Once the pith is removed, slice the peels into thin julienne strips. As you cut the strips, place them into a large, heavy-bottomed pot.
- Add the reserved juice and the remaining water to the pot with the cut peels. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Cover the bowl with the seeds in water and allow them to soak overnight at room temperature.
- In the morning, strain the seeds from the water – keeping the seeds and also reserving the liquid as you strain the seeds. (NOTE: If that liquid is thick and gelatinous – then you likely will not need to add any powdered pectin to your cooked marmalade. If there is no noticeable thickening of the liquid, the powdered pectin will probably be necessary in Step 9 below.) Add the liquid (thick and gelatinous or not) to the pot with the peels, juices and water. Tie the seeds into a pouch of clean cheesecloth. Add the pouch to the pot with peels, juice and water.
- Bring the pot of peels, juices and water to a boil over medium high heat. Once the mixture boils, use a large spoon to remove the foam that rises to the top. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the mixture reduces by half (a great tip is to dip the end of a wooden spoon into the mixture to note the original liquid level and use that as your gauge) – stirring occasionally. (For us, this took about an hour or so but depending on the size of your pot, it could take longer.)
- While the mixture reduces, start a big pot of water to sterilize your jars, lids and canning tools. (See here for expert advice on preparation for canning.) Our batch of this Mandarin Marmalade made 5 one-cup jars but that yield could be more or less depending on the size of your oranges.
- At this point, you’ll need to test if adding the powdered pectin is necessary. To test – place a spoonful of the reduced mixture on a saucer and chill it in the freezer for a few minutes but do not freeze it completely. Then use your wooden spoon and “draw” a line through the mixture. If it wrinkles, additional pectin isn’t necessary. If it is still orange liquid, you may want to add the additional pectin like we did.
- Still at medium heat, add the pectin to the hot mixture and stir until it dissolves. Then add the sugar, stirring to dissolve, then cook for 20 minutes more. You should notice that the marmalade is starting to thicken up a bit.
- Once the 20 minutes have passed, remove the marmalade from the heat, remove the seed bundle, and ladle into your prepared jars. Process for 10 minutes using the water bath method.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Notes
Start this process the day before you plan to cook and can your jars of marmalade. • This recipe relies upon natural pectins found in the citrus seeds to create the jelly-like consistency. If you are using seedless mandarins like we did, adding powdered pectin during the cooking process may be necessary. In Step 6 and 9 below, we will help you decide whether or not to add the powdered pectin. • Prep time listed is mostly waiting for the seeds to soak overnight to release their natural pectins. Active prep time is 1 to 2 hours to process the fruits.
You may also like:
Mandarin Pork Tenderloin Medallions
Grilled Polenta with Bacon Jam
Martha, It came out very good.
Now you know, if people mess up like me, not a big deal! 😉
Thank you again.
Great news Silvia! So glad the marmalade worked out! (Thanks for letting us know!)
Ups, my bad! It is marinating with the sugar already, too late. I will let you know how it came up, after is done tomorrow.
Thank you for your prompt response.
Beautiful blog and I love that you added the print labels.
Thanks Silvia – Hope you enjoy the marmalade!
hi there, I can’t find when do you add the sugar, is it me, or you didn’t make a not about it? I suppose it needs to be added with the juice and water to marinate all together. Thanks.
Hi Silvia – It’s actually added toward the end – see Step #10!
I love the good-old-fashioned-ness of this recipe! Honestly, there’s nothing I like better than cooking things from my garden methodically, listening to good music, a fire going the next room. This just takes hours though. I almost fell asleep last night. Maybe commercial fruit takes less time because the peels are thicker and there is less juice. I did use pips, and the water was gelatinous this morning, but the freezer test showed the marmelade wasn’t “wrinkled,” so I added a little pectin too. Now, jarring it, I can see it’s going to be way too thick and I’m too tired of it to remake it. Plus the pips. It was cool to see the chemistry of it! But pips are bitter. Just chew one up. I won’t do it again because of the taste. Unless there is a zombie apocalypse. Then that will be cool to have pectin in the backyard. Beautiful color. Also, I used half-cup jars, so that was more satisfying. There were ten exactly.
Thanks for your feedback Sharon.
No mention what to do with the pulp and empty segments. Should these be soaked and put in the pot like the seeds in a cloth pouch or just dispoesed of ?
Thanks for your note – we just disposed of the pulp and empty segments.
This looks tasty! I really love the flavor of mandarins/tangerines over the flavor of oranges!
Did you realize that the pith is what contains the most amount of pectin in citrus? It is actually used to make homemade pectin for other canning recipes.
Thanks Beth!
i tried it, its excellent. Too much work though.
Thanks for sharing your feedback.
Look at Nigella Lawson’s methods for making marmalade. She loves shortcuts and making things easy. She boils the oranges whole then cuts them up, adds the sugar and boils till you get the consistency wanted. Mind-blowingly easy. Considered by my marmalade critics to be excellent.
Thanks for the suggestion Kate!
I am going to make this marmalade tomorrow.
We hope you love the marmalade Connie!
I agree with you about orange marmalade. I think Seville oranges can be too bitter and have been working on something with maybe clementines or mandarins. I will definitely give this a try and hopefully get a little bit more of the sweetness and a little less bitterness.
We hope you love this recipe Neil!
Thrilled to find a mandarin marmalade recipe on your lovely blog posted on the first day of Chinese New Year ( 8 Feb ) no less. Was that intentional or a lucky coincidence ?
The recipe sounds pretty straightforward and I can’t wait to try it using the loads of mandarins we have at home during this festive period. The label is precious 🙂
Hi Aileen! Posting on Chinese New Year was, I would say, “slightly intentional” – we made the recipe originally to take advantage of some in-season fruit that was also on sale at the supermarket. But when I saw that Chinese New Year was on the 8th, I thought it was the perfect day to post the recipe! 🙂 We also figured there might be some readers looking for a way to use up mandarins this time of year. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we did!