This is an easy Mandarin Jam Recipe (or Mandarin Marmalade) that will come in very handy when mandarins are in abundance.
Why Mandarin Jam?
This Mandarin Jam will brighten up your breakfast time.
Whether you prefer toast, croissants or crumpets, homemade Mandarin Jam is the perfect accompaniment – and I can certainly vouch for the croissant and jam option!
It's also an easy-ish recipe and solves the dilemma of what to do when you have lots of mandarins.
When mandarins come into season, they sure make their presence known.
I often see many trees around the neighbourhood, loaded with fruit that sometimes goes uneaten, and there's an abundance of affordable fruit in supermarkets.
Mandarins are so easy to eat, with their perfect packaging and pull-apart segments, that they often are thought of as a lunch box food only.
There are plenty of ways to enjoy mandarins in cooking, both sweet and savoury, and the skin can even be dried and used to infuse flavour in dishes.
Today, though, we're making Mandarin Jam!
Recipe for Mandarin Marmalade
I started with Nana Ling's original Mandarin Jam recipe dated July 1941, but have updated it quite significantly.
So please keep scrolling right until the end to find the recipe card with the updated ingredient list and instructions.
The original recipe contains 9 cups of sugar. Whoa!
But after checking other recipes, I discovered the fruit to sugar ratio was correct.
I did, however, cut down all of the quantities to so the recipe makes one large jar of jam.
If you have heaps of mandarins and want to make more, just multiply the recipe accordingly.
So, ready to jam?
The ingredients for Mandarin Jam
You'll need the following to make up this Mandarin Marmalade:
- about 4-5 mandarins
- ½ lemon
- water
- jam setting sugar.
Keep scrolling to the end of the post for exact quantities.
Which mandarins make the best jam?
All mandarins will make lovely jam, but those that are easy to peel with less seeds will make the process so much easier.
If you're planning to make jam, these two varieties are good options:
- Sumo: seedless, sweet, large and easy to peel.
- Imperial: few seeds, easy to peel and readily available.
This recipe calls for 2 ½ cups of chopped mandarin, which is roughly 4-5 mandarins.
Here, I've used Imperial mandarins since they were readily available.
How to make Mandarin Jam
First you'll need to prepare your jam jar or jars.
Sterilise jam jars by placing in the dishwasher on the hottest cycle and allowing to air dry.
The next step is to chop your fruit.
Remove loose pith as you go along with seeds. Rest assured that any stray seeds will float to the top during boiling and can be removed.
You then add the water and boil for just 10 minutes.
Next, add the sugar.
We use jam setting sugar in this recipe as it makes the whole process so much easier.
Stir a little to dissolve the sugar and then bring to the boil again. Within 15-20 minutes your jam will be ready.
Working out when the jam has jellied can be tricky. If you're new to the process, check out my post on how to tell when jam is set for some detailed instructions on getting it right.
Love jams and marmalades?
Check out the strawberry, fig, lemon, rosella, peach and tomato jam recipes, too!
Mandarin Jam
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups mandarin (peeled and roughly chopped and seeded) (about 4-5 mandarins)
- ½ lemon (peeled, chopped and seeded)
- 2 cups water
- 500 grams jam setting sugar
Instructions
- Peel mandarins, removing loose pith.
- Chop mandarins roughly (breaking up segments into 4 or 5 pieces), removing any seeds. You can also remove any stray seeds later as they float to the top during boiling.
- Place chopped mandarins into saucepan and add the lemon (also peeled, chopped and seeded).
- Add water and place over heat. Bring to the boil and continue to boil uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Add the sugar and continue to boil until the mixture jellies. This should take about 15-25 minutes, depending on the fruit and temperature. When ready, the mixture will start to thicken a little, turn a pale golden colour and will "grab" just slightly to the bottom of the saucepan when you stir the mixture.
- Remember to use jam setting sugar!
- Pour hot jam into a large sterilised jar. Seal with the lid and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Refrigerate and enjoy for up to one month.
jane
Whilst the taste was amazing - sorry to say it didn't set was extremely runny - even though I did use the CSR Jam Setting Sugar ( I live in South Australia)
Not sure why as I followed steps to the 'letter' Oh & I'm a jam maker and have never ever had something so runny
Libby Hakim
Hi Jane. That's a shame!! I'm not sure why your jam was so runny, especially with using the jam setting sugar. I'll be re-testing this one shortly.
Natalia
Hi is there an error in your measurements? 500 grams seems like a lot for the jam sugar.
Libby Hakim
The amount is correct - jam is basically sugar!
Francoise
I doubled the recipe, added 6 cloves, the juice of two oranges (adjusted the water to equal 1lt) and about 7 pieces of Buderim 'Naked ginger' (all the stuff that was left in the fruit bowl/packet) to the initial boil of the mandarin/lemon segments. I then picked out the cloves and blitzed the fruit and ginger with my blender stick before boiling in the sugar. Worked a treat and claimed (by hubby) to be the best jam EVER. Thank you Libby.
Libby Hakim
Wow - love your variations, will have to try it like this 🙂 Thanks so much, Francoise - hope you and hubby enjoy x
Joanne
Could I substitute a half a Lime as I have a lime tree?
Thanks
Libby Hakim
Hi Joanne. I think this should be fine. Just be aware that lime contains a lot less pectin than mandarins - however this recipe uses jam setting sugar (also contains a thickening agent, so no need for pectin as the thickening agent) so that shouldn't be a problem. Good luck! Should taste amazing!
Penny Bennett
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing. Penny
Libby Hakim
Awesome! You're welcome - thanks for the review and rating 🙂
Leeann Hargreaves
I don't have any jelly setting sugar on hand. can I substitute with gelatine in any way.
Brenton Stone
Top notch marmalade recipe kind regards Brenton 👍
Libby Hakim
Thanks, Brenton! Happy cooking 🙂
Elizabeth Denman
I have just picked hundreds of Mandarins if I double receipt by 5 for that quantity of jars should I be cooking longer or adding more water, new at this 😀
Libby Hakim
Hi Elizabeth! I'd recommend making a single batch first just to get familiar with the recipe. I wouldn't suggest x5 the recipe, but perhaps x2 (all ingredients) once you've cooked the first batch and know what the jam should look like etc as you may need to adjust cooking time. Jam making can be tricky as it depends so much on the fruit. Good luck!
Solange Gibbins
Hi Libby, your mandarin jam recipe is lovely! I have tried it last year and just now again. Although I’ve had to adjust measures in European measurements! I’m in Spain! I can’t get on with cups! I also find that there is too much water and have reduced it slightly. I always find it difficult to know when the jam is ready. I now find that with mandarines it is ready when still quite ‘liquidy’, so I just boil it for some 25 minutes once the sugar goes in. Once the jam cools down it thickens up. It’s a great recipe and I love it! I also have fig trees, so always do lots of fig jam or fig and mango jam too! Thank you very much!
Libby Hakim
Hello from Australia Solange 🙂 So glad you found my recipe. It is extremely hard to have a precise recipe for jam as the fruit varies so much. Glad it was helpful despite having to make a few adjustments. Happy jamming 🙂