When You Have Mandarian Oranges

My local supermarket had a special on bags of Cuties (mandarian oranges). Buy a bag get one free. I like to put one in my lunch box for a sweet after lunch treat at work. I also wanted to try canning them. Canning citrus can be fiddly. The white strings on citrus are what causes it to be “bitter” when canned. You have to spend the time trying to remove as much white strings and pith as humanly possible. The reason why commercially canned citrus is not bitter is the chemicals the food processor uses to remove the white pith/strings and also the sugary syrup used.

I used a light syrup to can my 12 small jars. The heaviness of the canning syrup refers to the amount of sugar in the mixture. I always go much lighter than commercially prepared fruits. This website does a very nice job of explaining the differences and has a handy chart I have used many times.

Anywoo I canned 12 small 4 ounce jars. I have already opened one of them. My DH told me they seemed slightly bitter. I did not taste any bitterness, just a lot less sweetener. They are also not brillant orange. In other words they look like real food.