Brighten your holiday season with our Christmas Marmalade—a delightful blend of juicy oranges, zesty lemon, tropical pineapple, and vibrant cherries.
This beautifully colorful jam captures the essence of festive gatherings, adding a sweet and tangy touch to your holiday table. Perfect for spreading on fresh-baked bread, pairing with cheeses, or gifting to loved ones, this marmalade is a true celebration in a jar. Bring the warmth and cheer of the holidays to every bite!
I’ve had this jam on my list to make for several months. I got a food processor as an early Christmas present so I decided now was the time. I broke in my food processor last night by chopping up fruit for this marmalade and two other marmalades. I was in heaven — it made things so easy!
This recipe makes several jars so I plan to give some away as Christmas gifts, but I’m also keeping some for my family to enjoy.
I had a little bit of jam left that wouldn’t fit in the jars. I’m putting it to good use by spreading it on toasted 7-Grain Bread.
Festive Christmas Marmalade
- Yield: About 7-8 half-pint (8-ounce) jars 1x
Description
Christmas Marmalade, made with oranges, lemon, pineapple, and cherries is a beautiful Holiday jam perfect for festive gatherings and gift-giving.
Ingredients
- 3 oranges
- 1 lemon
- 1 large can (1 pound, 14 ounces, crushed pineapple)
- 3 pounds sugar
- 1 small jar Maraschino cherries, chopped
Instructions
Tip: If you have a food processor, it speeds up the process when making this marmalade.
Peel the oranges and lemon and cut into quarters. Leave some of the white rind on the oranges because the rind is where a lot of the pectin is.
Place a small plate in the freezer (to be used to test for gelling).
In a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, working in batches, pulse oranges and lemon until finely chopped. Do not puree.
In a deep, stainless steel saucepan, combine chopped oranges, lemon, and crushed pineapple with juice and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil hard, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to sheet from a metal spoon (20-30 minutes).
Add cherries and boil until the mixture reaches the gel stage, about 5 (or 10) minutes. Remove from heat and test for gelling using the plate method.
Plate method to test gelling: Remove the plate from the freezer and place about a teaspoon of jam on it. Put the plate back in the freezer for about 2 minutes. Remove it from the freezer and gently push the edge of the jam with your finger. If it is properly gelled, the jam should wrinkle a bit. If it is still runny, continue cooking the jam for 5 minutes more and test again using the plate method.
If the gel stage has been reached, skim off the foam.
Ladle hot marmalade into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust the headspace if necessary.
Center lid on jar. Screw the band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
Process in a boiling-water bath for 5 minutes, up to 1,000 feet altitude. If you live at a higher altitude or need more detailed instructions on water-bath canning, please refer to the instructions on this site: National Center for Home Preservation.
Wait 5 minutes, then remove the jars from the canner, then cool, and store.
Notes
Adapted from: from Keeping The Harvest: Discover the Homegrown Goodness of Putting Up Your Own Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs by Nancy Chioff & Gretchen Mead
- Category: Jam
- Method: Water Bath Canning
Happy Canning and Baking!
Cathy
Here are some of the references I use in my canning adventures. You might enjoy them as well:
- Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
- Keeping The Harvest: Discover the Homegrown Goodness of Putting Up Your Own Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs
- National Center for Home Preservation
Here are some delicious breads that would go well with this jam!
Hanaâ says
That looks beautiful! Love the color. I love making fruit jams, especially those that don’t require pectin. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Cathy (breadexperience) says
Thanks Hanaâ! It’s delicious as well. This one is real easy so you could make it in time for the Holidays.
Jennifer says
Did you peel the oranges and lemon or place them rind and all in the food processor?
Cathy says
Hi Jennifer, I peeled the oranges and lemon before placing in the food processor. Be sure to keep some of the white rind on the oranges because this is where a lot of the pectin is. I’ve updated the instructions accordingly.