Canning Mandarin Oranges

I brought a load of mandarin oranges up to the cabin from our river place--our tree doesn't look pretty but it sure does produce! After sharing bunches, I decided to can the rest (minus a few to eat fresh). It was much easier than I thought it would be. The most tedious part is peeling, sectioning and taking the pith (white stuff) off. It's worth the effort, considering canned mandarins aren't cheap and they are good as a snack, on salads, deserts, drinks...you know what I mean.

Canned Mandarin Oranges

Ingredients:

30 sectioned and cleaned mandarin oranges
6 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar (I chose to use 1/2 honey, 1/2 sugar)
This makes a very light simple syrup, which we prefer--we want to taste the mandarins. Click here to find additional simple syrup recipes.

Directions:
You don't have to use this many oranges, but simple syrup recipe is plenty for this amount (in fact I have some remaining that I will freeze for future use).

Sterilize your jars, lids and rings. Place the lids and rings into a pot of hot water and your jars in a slightly warm oven to keep them warm.

Peel, section and remove the pith from your mandarins. Use your fingernail to gently pull the pith away from the section.

This is the most time consuming step and is not absolutely necessary. But the pith can be bitter, so I recommend it.

 Once you have all your segments ready...

...put the honey, sugar, and water into a pot and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat to low to keep warm.

 Put your mandarin segments into the jar. I bang the jar on the counter to help them settle (you don't want to push them into the jar and break the skin). Fill the jar with the simple syrup, leaving 1 inch of space. Use a plastic utensil to run along the sides of the jar and allow air to escape. Gently pat the oranges down into the syrup.

Place the lid and ring on the jar and hand tighten.

Place the jars into a boiling water bath and process for 10 minutes (adjust for altitude as needed, click here for more). Place them on a rack to cool--don't forget to listen for the delightful ping--trying canning for the first time just to hear that sound is worth it!

This is what 30 mandarins turned into--8 8oz. jars, 3 pints and 1 quart! WOW!  

Have you ever canned mandarins?

Visit Flour Me With Love and The Prairie Homestead for more interesting recipes.

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise