# Has anyone successfully canned Mandarin Oranges?



## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

I can pineapple and that turns out really well. But I have read some things about canning orange juice and things going bitter and wonder if that would be the some problem with the mandarin oranges. 
If you are wondering why we need to do this it is because they are putting citric acid now in all the canned citrus. The citric acid is from corn (actually a mold grown on corn)which we are allergic to (called company's to verify that it is from corn).

If I can find a cheep source of unwaxed mandarin oranges(aka tangerines).:nanner:


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## KIT.S (Oct 8, 2008)

We scored a whole box of mandarin oranges and I skinned, picked the white off and canned them. However, I think they were just too old and pithy to be high quality. I just BWB canned them with light syrup, and basically they came out fine, except the meat was kind of dry. Again, I think they were just too old, which is why I got them free in the first place.
Still, they go well in Jello salad.
Kit


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

Did you make sure that you got every little bit of white off or did you just peel then segment? Just wondering how picky I need to be. I heard the white stuff can make it bitter but not how much white stuff needed to come off. Thanks for the info.


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## KIT.S (Oct 8, 2008)

I tried to be pretty thorough getting the white threads off, but when I tried to peal each segment, they just fell apart, so I didn't peal. Mine aren't bitter, they just don't have the right texture.
Kit


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

Thanks next time they go on sale I am going to try it.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

I did some oranges last year, they didn't come out bitter but the flavor was not as good as a real orange. I made sure there was no pith or anything except orange (a bit of a pain to do!). At the time I read you should put a few grapefruit slices in with the orange, it was either to improve flavor or color, but I didn't have grapefruit! 

Certainly worth trying.


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## Cajun Arkie (Jun 11, 2012)

I tried it a few years back with satsumas. I was very unhappy with the outcome and eventually threw it all out. They turned out bitter and slimy. Just couldn't go that.


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

Did not know what kind of that was. So I looked it it and found this about them....

Because of their relatively similar size and appearance, satsumas are often confused with tangerines and clementines, all members of the mandarin orange family. The main difference, says Aliza Green, is what lies inside the satsuma: particularly thin membranes filled to capacity with liquid, which mean less pulp and more of the prized juice.

Maybe that is why it did not turn out? Thanks for letting me know I will try to stay away from this one.


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## Old Swampgirl (Sep 28, 2008)

I have successfully canned satsumas, since that's what I had a bunch of. They did well & lasted 3 or more yrs.


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

Well,then throw my idea above out.:help::happy2:


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## alpacaspinner (Feb 5, 2012)

I canned some last year. I got a box of the cute little citrus - whether they were mandarins or something else I'm no longer sure. Hubby likes the look of them about the house at Christmas, but wasn't all that keen on eating them for some reason. Rather than waste them I canned them up - peeled them, and pulled them into segments, taking off as much of the pith and strings as possible. Covered them in a light syrup. WBC 30 min. for pints, 35 min for quarts. Just opened a couple of jars to add to a salad for a ladies group the other day, and got numerous comments about how nice they were, nicer than "regular". I plan to do some more this season.


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

Well canned some..about 15 pints....seemed fine...but next time I might go for a higher syrup level (I did a really light one).


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

I've canned tangerines, mandarins, tatsumas and clementines, as well as every other citrus, with the peeling method described at PickYourOwn. For larger citrus, I find it's easier to can supremes, but peeling and segmenting works fine for small citrus. You don't have to go super crazy getting all the white pith off, just do the best you can since it can get bitter. You do have to get all the seeds out though, and that's usually more a problem with mandarins/tangerines than getting the pith off.

All the sweet citrus will look and taste better if you add a couple segments or the juice from one of the sour citruses with them. For tangerines, etc I normally add a lemon segment to each jar, the juice of 2-3 lemons and tangerines to the very light syrup, and add 1 tsp bottled lemon juice to each pint to make sure the acidity is there. Larger oranges are best with grapefruit.


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

PlicketyCat-Good to know I will try that next year. Wow! Your in Alaska. Citrus must cost and arm and a leg there.


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

Ziptie said:


> PlicketyCat-Good to know I will try that next year. Wow! Your in Alaska. Citrus must cost and arm and a leg there.


I does indeed cost a small fortune to get fresh or canned citrus up here. That's why I order a full case citrus at a time from the southern groves when they're in season and then can it myself  Still spendy, but waaaaayyy cheaper than commercial canned and much better than the yucky citrus they pawn off as "fresh" in the grocery stores.


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

Have you tried canning or freezing OJ?


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

I always use the juice to can the fruit in, so don't normally have enough left over to can OJ separately. If I do have a cup or two of citrus juice left over, I just freeze it in ice trays and store the cubes in an airtight container.


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## KIT.S (Oct 8, 2008)

We get citrus fruit when we pick up boxes of fresh veggies & fruit for the pigs. Our pigs don't care for citrus, so we make juice from them. If we have enough, we freeze the grapefruit juice separately, but if there's not much, we just mix it with the orange juice and freeze in 1-quart plastic boxes with good lids, or plastic mayo jars with good lids. 
We freeze limes and lemons whole, without squeezing the juice, so the zest is also available to use.
Kit


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