Vanilla Brandy Tangerine Jam Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Vanilla Brandy Tangerine Jam Recipe

My Vanilla Brandy Tangerine Jam Recipe is 'beginner easy' and makes a lovely Spring gift for giving or for your personal indulgence!

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Maceration3

Total Time4

Course: Condiment, Jam, Jelly, Preserve

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1/2-pint jars of jam

Author: Jenny DeRemer

Cost: $1.79 per pint

Equipment

food processor
sharp chef's knife
cutting board
4 half pint jam jars with lids and rings
large pot
candy thermometer
cheese cloth or food grade muslin bag
kitchen twine

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds tangerines with seeds washed thoroughly, halved, and each half sliced into 1/8-inch slices; juice and seeds saved
2 cups granulated sugar
¼ cup brandy
1 vanilla bean split and opened to expose seeds
2 cups water

optional

1 or more cinnamon sticks

Instructions

Wash thoroughly and prepare tangerines. Add to the barrel of a food processor as you slice them. Cut an 8 x 8-inch square of cheesecloth and place all of the seeds in the middle of the cloth as you process the fruit. Save all juice as you process by tipping your cutting board into a large, wide bowl. Once the tangerines have all been sliced, pulse the food processor 2 or 3 times. Por the processed fruit into the large bowl containing the reserved juice. Add the granulated sugar, the water, the split vanilla bean, and the cinnamon stick IF using. Stir.
Use kitchen twine to tie the gathered ends of the cheesecloth square into a loose pouch. Tuck and submerge the pouch filled with the pectin-rich seeds into the mixture. Cover with plastic film and allow the fruit to macerate for 2 to 3 hours, or until the juices have thickened slightly. It is not necessary to stir it, but I do so that the pectin distributes.
While the fruit macerates, sterilize the jars, their lids, and their rings. Add the jars right side up in a large pot and fill them with hot (not boiling) water. Then add hot water to the pot, submerging the jars by 1-inch. (Lids and rings may be dropped into the boiling water in between the jars). If you have a boiling water canning container with a rack, use it otherwise you will need very sturdy kitchen tongs. Bring the pot of water with the water-filled jars to a boil over high heat.
Once the water reaches a full rolling boil, begin timing, and boil the jars for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Use the kitchen tongs to CAREFULLY REMOVE THE JARS from the boiling water bath and set them right-side up atop clean kitchen towels placed beside the stove. The sheer heat from the boiling process will allow any remaining water droplets in the jars after being emptied to evaporate quickly. Ensure the insides are dry before filling.
Once the fruit has properly macerated and the juices have thickened, transfer the contents of the bowl to a very large saucepan. If you had chilled your mixture, it is important to allow it time to come up to room temperature before the next step.
Bring the mixture to a hard boil over high heat stirring constantly to keep the fruit and fruit sugars from scorching the bottom of the saucepan. Use a wooden spoon to stir the jam. The mixture must boil for 25 to 35 minutes until properly gelled and when it's reached 220°F on a candy thermometer inserted into but not touching the bottom of the saucepan. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Remove the seed pouch and allow it to cool before squeezing all of the liquid from it into the jam. Also remove the vanilla bean and further scrape to ensure you've gotten as much of the seed as possible removed and into the jam. Discard the pod. Stir in the brandy. Funnel the jam equally between the sterilized jars leaving 1/2-inch space at the top. Stir to remove any air bubbles and wipe the rims of the jars clean with a dampened cloth. I find using a chopstick to stir the hot jam keeps things neat.
Apply the lids and the rings to finger-tip tightness. Fill a large pot with fresh water and add the jam-filled jars. The water should come to 1-inch above the top of the jars. Bring to a boil and process the jam in the water bath for 10 minutes. Use the tongs to remove from the water bath onto the towels again. Let them cool undisturbed for 12 to 14 hours. You may begin to hear a metal sounding 'clink.' These are the jars sealing themselves. This process isn't necessarily fast, so allow it to happen overnight, if necessary, on the towels on the counter.
The jars have sealed correctly if when pressing down on the lids, they won't wiggle and will feel solid when you press on them. If, however you see one or two that have not sealed on their own, those will need to be refrigerated and eaten first.

Notes

It's vital that you sterilize the glass jars in any fruit or vegetable preservation method where the directions call for 10 minutes or less of processing time in boiling water. In other words, for this recipe, you cannot skip sterilizing your jars. If you are not quite ready to begin filling the jars you can leave them in the hot water for up to one hour.

If you cannot process immediately, it's fine to refrigerate the fruit mixture overnight and start fresh the next day. If you refrigerate however, the mixture MUST come up to room temperature BEFORE you boil it.

Nutrition