For the holiday season, this Gingered Cranberry-Orange Marmalade is my new go-to. With the assertive and slightly bitter tang of an orange marmalade, combined with the holiday-esque flavors of cranberry and ginger, this preserve is super-versatile. It has a slightly loose set, so it’s easily spreadable, but it’s still firm enough to generally hold its shape. It’s a delightful breakfast treat, slathered on scones or toast, for overnight guests, but it’s equally at home on the holiday dinner table, as an accompaniment to roasted turkey or other meat. It adds a bright note to many desserts as well. Enjoy it dolloped onto thumbprint cookies, as a topping for cheesecake, or swirled into vanilla ice cream! Recipe developed by Allison Carroll Duffy.
Servings 7 8oz jars
Ingredients
- 3 small-medium oranges
- 1½ pounds fresh cranberries (2 12oz bags)
- 2 Tbsp ginger root peeled, finely-chopped (optional)
- 3½ cups water
- 4 Tablespoons lemon juice bottled
- 3 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
- 3 cups sugar
- 4 1/2 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin mixed with sweetener
Instructions
- Before You Begin, prepare calcium water. To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
- Wash and rinse jars, lids, and screw bands. Set screw bands aside until ready to use. Place jars in boiling water bath canner with a rack, fill at least 2/3 of the way full with water, and bring to a boil. Boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize (add 1 additional minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level), then turn down the heat and let jars stand in hot water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small pan, bring to a low simmer, and hold there until ready to use.
- Rinse cranberries, then set aside.
- Wash the oranges thoroughly. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the orange part of the peel from two of the oranges. Slice these peels into thin, lengthwise strips about 1 inch long, and set aside.
- Peel the remaining orange and discard those peels.
- Remove and discard any remaining white pith from all of the oranges.
- Pull apart into segments all of the oranges, then chop these segments into small pieces.
- Combine the chopped orange, the sliced peel, the cranberries, the finely-chopped ginger root, and the 3 1/2 cups of water in a large saucepan. Cover the mixture and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Transfer the mixture into a bowl or other heat-proof container. Then, measure out 6 cups of the mixture. (If you have any left over, you can use it for something else.) Pour the measured quantity of the mixture back into the saucepan. Add the lemon juice and calcium water, and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and pectin powder. Mix well and set aside.
- Put the saucepan on the stove and bring the cranberry-orange mixture up to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the sugar-pectin mixture, then stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, still over the highest heat, to dissolve pectin. Return marmalade to a boil, then remove from heat.
- Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with marmalade, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, and put on the lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
- Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, return the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
- Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then, remove jars from canner.
- Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Then, confirm that jars have sealed. Remove screw bands from sealed jars, rinse off outside of jars if necessary, label jars, and store for later use.
David
I’eve noticed that in some of your older recipes you give a range of sugar amounts but in others like this one you do not. How low can I go on sugar here, if you do not have a range?
Sara Wolters
Hi David, our FAQ page has this info for you:
This table gives you the minimum amount of sweetener required for adequate disbursement of the pectin:
Pectin to add: Minimum amount of sweetener required:
1 teaspoon (or less) : 2 Tablespoons sugar or honey
2 teaspoons: ¼ cup sugar or honey
3 teaspoons: 3/8 cup sugar or honey
4 teaspoons: ½ cup sugar or honey
5 teaspoons: 5/8 cup sugar or honey
6 teaspoons: ¾ cup sugar or honey
7 or 8 teaspoons: 1 cup sugar or honey