Tangerine & Lime Marmalade

As part of the Tigress' Can Jam, I made Tangerine & Lime Marmalade. I've never made marmalade before, but I thought making lemon curd would be a total cop out since I make it regularly - it's best to try new things and see what you think. There were several other options, but the tangerines were so pretty (and on sale) that I thought I would go with them and then find a recipe to work. Citrus is perfect this time of year - even my little potted Meyer Lemon tree produced two beautiful lemons this year - which will be made into lemon curd this week. I had thought too of getting clementines as well, but we'll see - their season is short so if I'm going to, I had better make up my mind. 

The recipe was from A Passion for Preserves by Frederica Langeland and is the first recipe from the book that I have made. It's really simple which is a plus for a new recipe. Now, of course, I did mess w/it a bit, but that's normal for me. And I did it in the step method, which I'm realizing is easy as long as you think ahead a bit. 


Tangerine & Lime Marmalade
9 Tangerines
3 Limes
5 cups H2O
6 cups Sugar*

Wash all fruit, juice them and slice rind as thin as you can (I thought about using a mandoline, but went with a super sharp knife instead). Put the juice/rind/water in saucepan.

NOTE: There are a ridiculous amount of seeds in tangerines so pay close attention to not have those end up in your marmalade.
Bring mixture to a boil and reduce to simmer until the rinds are soft  - this took me about 1 hour 15 minutes. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved and continue to boil until set - this took, for me any way, longer than the 20-30 minutes in the recipe, but it wasn't a big deal. 

Ladle into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims, put lids in place and tighten down. Invert the jars for a few minutes, then place upright and let cool completely. Check seals, label, and store in cool dry place.  For me - this recipe made 6 half pints of marmalade - tasted the little bit of left overs - so. very. good. 
Step Method: Complete to the point just before you add sugar. Cool and refrigerate. In the next day or two (at the most!) put mixture back into a sauce pot and heat and add sugar and continue recipe. 


*I only used five cups of sugar. Have you ever looked at six cups of sugar? Good lord that's a lot of sugar  - that is perhaps while it took a little longer for my marmalade to set, but again it's not that big of a deal.