During the frigid season of winter I look forward to two things: seed catalogs and citrus fruit! Clementines may just be nature’s perfect fruit. Underneath their thin-skinned peel lies a juicy-sweet, seedless burst of delicious sunshine! Of all the citrus, clementines are my favorite!
Having never made marmalade, I felt the time had come to embark on that adventure. Since citrus peels are naturally high in pectin, I decided to rely on this fruit’s own ability to achieve a semi-firm set and added just a touch of clear jel. The consistency that resulted was perfect!
Clementine Marmalade - yields 4 half-pints
1.75 pounds of clementines
3-1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsp bottled lemon juice
3 Tbsp Clear Jel – cook type
Day 1 Wash clementines and place in the fridge to chill; this helps to firm them up. Cut fruit into halves then slice very thin. Cut each slice in half to create small thin triangles. Combine clementines, 3 cups of sugar, and lemon juice in a thick-bottomed pot and bring to a simmer. Remove fruit mixture from heat and transfer to a bowl; cover, cool, and place in the fridge overnight.
Day 2 Place fruit mixture back into a heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a light simmer. Mix clear jel with 1/4 cup sugar, then add to the hot fruit mixture stirring well to incorporate. Bring to a boil while gently stirring. Once mixture begins to thicken (5 minutes) ladle into hot, sterilized half-pint jars, wipe rims and adjust two-piece lids to fingertip-tight. Process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes and allow to cool on a wire rack, undisturbed, for 12-24 hours. Wipe jars and store in a cool, dark place for a year.
Images and content copyright © 2009-2012 Danielle R Limoge. Recipe adapted from What Julie Ate
Sounds delicious…I love marmalade, but how in the world do you leave it alone for a year?
Well, when you put up as many jars as I do, it takes a while to get through it all!
I’m currently working on a cranberry orange marmalade, I can’t wait to slather that on some toast!
I made some of this a few weeks back and it is so sunny and nice!
Nice! My experience with store-bought marmalade has been off-putting, so I decided to take things into my own hands. I love how this turned out!!
Hi Danielle,
Man that would be so good I have often thought to experiment and try clementines this way, but never did, I absolutely love orange marmalade, next best to homemade apple butter. I will certainly have to try this out.
Hi Mitchell! I absolutely agree with you, homemade apple butter is the bee’s knees!
Made a batch of this just this morning! A great, easy last-minute Christmas gift. I didn’t have Clear Jel, so I did some quick Googling and just used a pouch of liquid pectin– seems I may get a slightly firmer set. I’ll let you know how that turns out!
You can always sub powdered or liquid pectin for clear jel, and you are right about the firmer set. I’d love to know how it turns out!
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