Clementines are one my favorite winter fruits. No, they aren't at all local to my Montana home, they are however; sweet and generally a fairly frugal indulgence. In an effort to try and preserve some for later, I wanted to some kind of spread with them. Clementine Rum Marmalade is a deliciously sweet spread with just a hint of bitterness and rum perfect for toast and cake.
Natural Pectin
The peels and pulp of most citrus fruit is loaded with natural pectin. Traditional marmalade always takes advantage of this natural pectin for gelling. No need to add commercial pectin for a wonderful set to this marmalade. Getting that natural pectin out of the pith and peel requires a good bit of cooking time – don't short cut this.
Slightly Bitter
Because the peel including the pith is left in the jam, there is a slightly bitter flavor left in the marmalade. It is not as intensely bitter as traditional orange marmalade, however. The pith of clementines is smaller and sweeter meaning there is some bitterness but not overwhelmingly so. There's a good bit of added sugar as well.
Amazing Texture
Because the peel is left in the marmalade, the resulting texture is pretty special. There is a combination of thick, almost creamy jam with soft, spongy peel that is equally good spread on toast or poured over ice cream. Spread it between cake layers, too.
Clementine Rum Marmalade
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Pounds of Clementines, well scrubbed
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 6 ½ Cups Hot Water
- 5 ½ Cups Granulated Sugar
- ¼ Cup Rum
Instructions
- Place a dampened cheesecloth on the inside of strainer on top of bowl. Cut the clementines in half cross-wise. Squeeze juice into the cheesecloth. When finished squeezing juice, pull the pulp off the rind and place on the cheesecloth. Tie the edges of the cheesecloth, making a large spice bag. Place the juice from the bowl, lemon juice, and bag of pulp in a jam pot.
- Cut the peel into thin strips and place all of that into the jam pot with the hot water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat but keep boiling, stirring occasionally until reduced by half and peel is tender. This takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Place the cheesecloth bag into a wire mesh strainer and press with a spoon to squeeze out juice. Measure out 4 1/2 Cups of juice, peel mixture. Put that in a pot with 5 1/2 cups sugar. Boil until gel stage is reached - this took me about 20 minutes. Add the rum and boil for another two minutes.
- Pour into jars. Process in a water bath for 15 minutes (adjusting for altitude).
maggie mack says
April 23, 2012 at 7:37 amyum
Christine @ Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers says
March 5, 2014 at 7:10 pmThat sounds fabulous! :)
Connie says
August 21, 2014 at 8:12 pmIf you peel off as much of the white part of the peel ,it won’t be so bitter
Debra says
December 25, 2014 at 10:27 pmWhat the hay is a jam pot? You do yourself no favors using fancy names for a pot.
Kathie says
December 26, 2014 at 6:24 amA jam pot is a fairly traditional and typical canning term. They’re usually copper but in today’s canning terms it generally means any wide & shallow pot that can allow for quick heating of high sugar foods (and development of natural pectin from the fruit) while not allowing the ingredients to scorch.
Kim says
October 17, 2015 at 10:50 amUsed your recipe last night with small modifications. FAB candied clementine flavor!!
1. Used a zester (not a grater), then peeled the skinned pith from from the fruits.
2. Pulsed whole fruits in a food processor.
3. Put pith in a cheescloth ball and put all ingredients into the pot at once, except rum!
4. Boiled the hell out of it until reduced and jammy. Downside is a certain amount of peel sticks to the cheesecloth ball, but upside is this method eliminates a step. I feel like the finished marm has enough peel, so no harm no foul, right?
5. Added rum at the end, brought to a quick boil, and then filled jars.
Homespun Seasonal Living says
October 17, 2015 at 1:13 pmThanks so much for sharing your modifications and letting me know how it turned out!
Janet says
December 31, 2016 at 4:31 amI made this and it taste fabulous, Touch bitter with tangerine rinds but great flavors. I did add 2 drops yellow and red food coloring to enhance the color a touch. TY
Homespun Seasonal Living says
December 31, 2016 at 5:37 amThank so much for letting me know about your results! Traditionally marmalades are always a touch bitter because of the rind and I was trying to keep it somewhat traditional. Enjoy!
Kaz doyle says
January 6, 2017 at 2:51 amI am from UK and we make our marmalade from Seville oranges but have to wait until end of january to buy them and then we have to be quick as they all go within a week or so. I look forward to trying your recipe as it could be made all year round. Very happy to have found you through facebook. Thanks.
Homespun Seasonal Living says
January 6, 2017 at 5:47 amThanks so much for saying hello! I’ve had marmalade made from Seville oranges and that is a beautiful thing. Happy marmalade making!
Vanessa Cato says
January 20, 2019 at 8:32 pmBeing from the UK, I have really missed those lovely bitter Seville oranges in the seven years I’ve been living in Utah. I like my orange marmalade chunky, and it is easier than all that grating! I also use a pressure cooker. I will certainly try this recipe, though.
One thing that intrigues me is why Americans feel the need to ‘can’ their jams and jellies. I’ve been making them since I was a kid, and never canned them, and they last really well in a cool pantry.
Kathie Lapcevic says
January 21, 2019 at 8:55 amCanning is about the only way to guarantee you won’t have mold, especially if making a low-sugar jam or jelly (though this particular recipe isn’t low sugar at all). Plus, it’s recommended for safety here and I don’t ever want to get in trouble for recommending something isn’t considered ‘tested & approved’
Adrienne O says
January 14, 2017 at 3:11 pmI am making this now with half clementines, and half Cara Cara oranges … so far it looks amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Homespun Seasonal Living says
January 15, 2017 at 7:09 amThat sounds amazing!
Billy says
November 13, 2018 at 11:24 amThis looks oh so delicious! I’ve never made clementine marmalade with rum included but now I am scratching my head wondering why! Can’t wait to try this at home.
Lisa from Iroquois says
January 20, 2019 at 11:17 amquestion: Your instructions say Measure out 4 1/2 Cups of juice, peel mixture …. I am taking that to mean … 4 1/2 cups of liquid from the pot plus all of the peel mixture. As opposed to scooping out liquid with peels in it, making the quantity of peel variable.
Kathie Lapcevic says
January 21, 2019 at 8:52 amYou could do either – I generally just scoop. This way you can control how much peel. There isn’t likely to be a whole bunch leftover.