Blood Orange Marmalade

Blood orange marmalade is a stunning preserve with a deep crimson hue and a perfect balance of sweetness and citrusy tartness. Its rich, berry-like undertones make it a delicious spread for toast, pastries, or even as a glaze for roasted meats.

Blood oranges have a deep sweet red flesh, and a surprising that combines citrusy tartness with hints of raspberry and floral sweetness. Their naturally high pectin content makes them ideal for marmalade, as they help achieve the perfect gelled consistency. Making your own allows you to control the sweetness, balance the flavors, and avoid preservatives.  

Plus, it helps use up a bumper crop of these fun citrus fruits in season!

Unlike some other citrus varieties, blood oranges have a thinner peel and less bitterness, allowing for a quicker marmalade-making process without compromising depth of flavor. With just a little patience, you can enjoy a beautifully textured marmalade that highlights the best qualities of these exceptional oranges.

Ingredients for Blood Orange Marmalade

This recipe is adapted from the All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving. To make approximately 5 half-pint jars of blood orange marmalade, you’ll need:

• 12 blood oranges, divided (about 4 ½ to 5 lbs.)
• 8 cups granulated sugar
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (using 2 to 3 fresh lemons)

This blood orange marmalade recipe uses the “traditional” method of making marmalade, which takes two days to prepare. 

It is essential to be patient and follow the recipe steps carefully since we are not using powdered pectin but instead extracting pectin from the orange peels.

This occurs by soaking and boiling the peels to soften them and to get the natural pectin to come out. Old-fashioned marmalade seems to turn out better than using the quicker method of adding powdered pectin, plus it saves money!

Making Blood Orange Marmalade

This is a two day recipe made without pectin, and the fruit are prepared on day one and then left to sit overnight to extract their pectin.  On day two, you’ll prepare a canner and finish the marmalade.

Day 1

Wash the blood oranges well using a soft vegetable brush or rubbing them with your hands.

Taking six blood oranges, or half the total used in this recipe, cut each orange into quarters, cutting lengthwise. Next, cut the orange quarters in the other direction, crosswise, into thin slices. 

You want the rind pieces to be relatively thin in your finished marmalade, so cut them into very thin slices. This can also be accomplished using a mandoline.

As you cut the slices, retain as much juice as possible.

Place the orange slices and retained juice into a large saucepan and add water to the orange slices until they are covered.

Over high heat, bring the orange slices with water to a boil, and then remove the pot from heat.

Cover the saucepan and leave this mixture on the counter overnight or at least 8 hours, at room temperature. 

Day 2

The next day, take the remaining six blood oranges that are not sliced and juice them.

Get as much juice as possible, extract the juice from the oranges into a 1-quart glass measuring cup, and discard the remaining flesh and rind.

Returning to the saucepan of oranges that have been soaking, use a slotted spoon or a small strainer to separate the orange pieces and rind from the soaking juice, retaining both parts.

Place the strained orange slices in a large Dutch oven or jam pot.

Take the liquid the orange slices have been soaking in, and add enough of this liquid to the juice extracted from the blood oranges until you have enough juice plus soaking liquid to measure 4 cups. Discard any remaining soaking liquid.

Add this juice mixture to the strained orange pieces in the Dutch oven or pot.

Measure 8 cups of granulated sugar and add to the orange mixture.

Using your juicer, extract ¼ cup of lemon juice from your lemons, and add the lemon juice to the orange and sugar mixture.

Place the pot over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil, stirring often to dissolve the sugar and prevent scorching. 

Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the marmalade reaches set point, leaving it uncovered and stirring occasionally.  It should take about 20 minutes, but sometimes can take a bit longer.

You can use one of two methods to test for the gel stage: a candy thermometer and the “cold plate” test.

Turn the heat back to medium-high and maintain the marmalade at a low, steady boil.

If you use a candy thermometer, boil the mixture until it reaches 220 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the “cold plate” test, place 3 or 4 small plates in the freezer while the orange marmalade is simmering. 

Once the marmalade has reached a steady boil, take a plate out of the freezer, drop about a tablespoon of marmalade onto the plate, and return the plate to the freezer for two minutes.

After two minutes, remove the plate with jam from the freezer, and with your fingertip, gently push or “nudge” the dollop of jam to see if it has started to set.  It will appear to have a skin on the top that “wrinkles” when you nudge it if it is ready.

If your finger slides right through the jam, continue to cook the mixture and do another test after several more minutes. Continue until you end up with a sample that starts to look like jelly.

Remove the pot from the heat and ladle or pour the orange marmalade into your jars or freezer containers, leaving ¼” headspace at the top for expansion. Stir the marmalade while distributing it into the jars to ensure a relatively even amount of orange pieces goes into each jar.

Wipe the rim of the container with a clean cloth and put on the lids.

Canning Blood Orange Marmalade

For canning, prepare a water bath canner, jars, and lids before cooking your jam (after the peels have soaked overnight). 

When the temperature of the marmalade has reached 220 degrees Fahrenheit, or it has reached the gel stage using the cold plate test, remove the marmalade from the heat.

Carefully pour or ladle the marmalade into prepared hot jars, ensuring the orange peels are distributed relatively evenly among all the jars.

Leave ¼” headspace at the top of the jars to achieve proper canning seals. Do not overfill, and remove any air bubbles from the marmalade before placing the lids on the jars.

Wipe the rims of the filled jars using a clean, damp cloth, then apply the 2-part canning lids.

Using a jar lifter, carefully place the filled jars into the preheated canner and bring the water to a full rolling boil. After it has started boiling, set a timer for 10 minutes (or 15 minutes above 6,000 feet in elevation) and let the jars process.

Once the processing time is complete, turn off the heat and let the jars sit in the water for 5 minutes. Then, using a jar lifter, remove the jars from the canning water and set them on a towel on the counter to cool. 

The processed marmalade jars should remain undisturbed for 24 hours, and then check to ensure the jars have sealed. Store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator for immediate use.

Store your sealed marmalade in the pantry or a cool, dry place for up to 18 months for maximum peak quality. Marmalade may still be eaten after 18 months if it remains properly sealed.

Refrigerate after opening.

Blood Orange Marmalade Variations

Ginger is a delightful flavor mixed with blood orange and is perfect for this marmalade. Use fresh, grated ginger for the best results. Add 2 teaspoons of grated ginger to the marmalade when adding the sugar and lemon juice. The rest of the recipe is the same.

In addition to lemons and limes, blood oranges pair well with fruits such as apricots, mangos, peaches, and strawberries. Make the recipe as shown using six blood oranges to cut and soak to make the liquid pectin mixture. 

When dividing the blood orange pulp from the soaking liquid, you can remove about 1 cup of orange pulp and replace it with one of the fruits listed, mashed to a pulp. 

Alternatively, you can retain the entire quantity of blood orange rinds and pulp and add some other fruit pulp when adding the lemon and sugar. However, if you add too much other fruit, the marmalade may not set up as firmly, and your yield will be slightly higher. 

Blood oranges are also known to have a slight floral note, and adding some edible flowers, such as fresh lavender or hibiscus flowers, to your marmalade will give it a more distinct floral boost. 

Ways to Use Blood Orange Marmalade 

Most marmalades can be used as a glaze for cooking meat, and the sweetness of blood orange marmalade brings a fantastic flavor to grilled or broiled chicken and lamb chops. It’s also a great alternative to barbeque sauce for ribs!

 Blood orange marmalade is excellent with a breakfast muffin or your favorite bread. Try it with peanut butter instead of grape jelly for a fun PB&J.