This easy mandarin marmalade is bright and tangy. With just four ingredients it's an excellent way of using up lots of mandarins when your tree is producing heaps!
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This homemade mandarin marmalade is bursting with bright, zesty mandarin flavor. Perfect for breakfast or a snack on everything from freshly buttered toast to muffins and crumpets.
Why you'll love this recipe
- A great way to use beautiful fresh mandarins when they are in season
- A delicious way to preserve mandarins and enjoy them year-round
- Easy homemade marmalade recipe with just three ingredients plus water
Looking for more homemade preserve recipes? Why not try making my feijoa jam, feijoa chutney or refrigerated-picked beets. Delicious!
Ingredients
Mandarins: in Australia I use Imperial mandarins because that's what I have growing in my garden. They are easy to peel, don't have to many seeds and are easy to get during the Australian mandarin season, typically May to September.
White Sugar: also called granulated sugar, it's the simplest and cheapest option. You could use caster sugar which will dissolve a little easier, but its more expensive and really not needed.
Lemon juice: a little fresh lemon juice helps brighten up the flavor of this marmalade and helps it set. Lime juice would also work well.
How to make
Have your jam jars, lids and utensils washed, dried and ready to sterilize. Put a small plate in the freezer - you will use this to test if your marmalade is done later.
Hot tip: you will need a very large pot to make the marmalade. The marmalade will get very hot and bubbly and you need plenty of room in the pot so it doesn't splatter molten marmalade over you and everything else.
Slice the mandarins into quarters and remove the seeds. Slice the quarters thinly. Add to a large pot with the water and sugar. Bring to the boil and reduce to medium low, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Continue to simmer on medium low until the peel is soft and the pith is translucent, stirring frequently to prevent it from catching. This usually takes about a hour, but can take longer.
Put your lids into the boiling water and your jars in the oven to sterilize at 160°C. Dip the utensils in boiling water for a few minutes to sterilize. The jars and the lids need to be heated for ten to fifteen minutes to sterilize fully. They can be left in boiling water/oven until you need them.
Increase heat under marmalade to medium high until it's boiling again. Carefully skim off any foam that forms in the centre and on the edges. Add the lemon juice. Boil rapidly for ten minutes, stirring frequently to prevent it catching.
Remove from the heat and test to see if the marmalade is set. Put about ½ teaspoon of marmalade onto the frozen plate. Allow to cool, then use your finger to gently push the edge. If it starts to wrinkle as you push on it your marmalade is done.
If not, return to the pot to the boil and boil and boil for another five minutes to ten minutes, stirring frequently, then re-test. Remember to put your plate back into the freezer after testing.
Ladel pipping hot jam into hot, sterilized jars and screw on sterilized lids. Allow to cool completely, then label with the contents and date.
Hot tip: when I am not taking pretty photos of them I like to use dissolvable labels on my marmalade jars. It makes them a breeze to wash and re use for the next batch!
How to serve
To serve this zesty mandarin jam spread it liberally on toast or your baked good of choice. My personal favorite is on toasted English muffins but it works well on freshly buttered bread. For something different use it as a topping for a decadent chocolate orange cheesecake.
How to store
Unopened jars: in a cool, dry pantry for up to a year (in properly sterilized jars).
Opened jars: in the fridge for up to four weeks.
Hot tip: Always inspect homemade marmalade before consuming. Discard immediately if it shows any signs of going bad.
Tips for success and frequently asked questions
I can't get Imperial mandarins. What can I use instead?
Look for sweet, fragrant, thin-skinned mandarins that are low in seeds. Sumo mandarins are another good option.
In the US look for commonly available Halos. Nules or Sumo are less common but also good options.
In the UK try clementines (which are actually a type of mandarin) such as Nules or Fina clementines.
Do I need to soak the peel overnight before making the marmalade?
Soaking overnight in theory helps soften the peel and pith before making the marmalade. In orange and lemon marmalad it helps the skins release that all-important pectin.
Our tree has so many mandarins this season I ended up making several batches of marmalade. I tried making it with and without soaking overnight and to be honest I found soaking overnight didn't make much difference for this mandarin marmalade, so I found it's easier to skip that step. The slow simmer of the peel until soft before boiling effectively does the same thing.
Do I need to use jam set or setting sugar in this marmalade?
No the mandarins and lemon juice have enough naturally occurring setting agent (known as pectin) on their own. There is no need for jam set or setting sugar, just use regular sugar.
Do I need to strain out the pith?
Nope, I found with mandarins the pith isn't too thick and pretty much disappears into the marmalade. Do pick out the pips before slicing however for smoother marmalade.
My marmalade hasn't set, help!
This probably means you haven't boiled your marmalade for high enough for long enough. Make sure your skin is nice and soft, then boil rapidly on high heat for at least ten mins, then test for doneness.
Make sure your testing plate is nice and frozen so you know how set the marmalade is once it cools properly.
Also don't skip the sugar - yes there's a lot of it, but it's needed to offset the bitterness of the citrus peel and to help the marmalade set.
Can I make this with a sugar alternative?
No idea, never tried. But if you have and it was successful let me know how it went in the comments below 🙂
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📖 Recipe
Mandarin Marmalade
Ingredients
- 1 kg mandarins
- 2 liters water
- 1.5 kgs white sugar
- ½ cup lemon
Instructions
- Wash and dry your jars, lids and utensils ready to steralize. Freeze a small plate.
- Slice the mandarins into quarters. Remove the pips.
- Thinly slice the mandarins.
- Add the mandarins, water and sugar to a large pot.
- Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolved. Reduce heat to medium low until the peel is soft and the pith is going translucent. Usually about 1 hour, but can take longer. Stir frequently to prevent catching.
- Steralize you lids, jars and utensils.
- Increase the heat to medium high and bring to the boil.
- Skim the foam from the edge and centre of the marmalade.
- Add the lemon juice.
- Boil rapidly for 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent catching. Remove from heat.
- Test the marmalade is done. Add a small amount to the frozen plate. Cool. Gently push the marmalade with your finger. If it wrinkles, it's done.
- If not, boil the marmalade for a further 5 mins and retest.
- Transfer piping hot marmadae into hot, steralized jars and screw on steralized lids.
- Cool completely, then label with contense and date and you're done!
Notes
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