INTRODUCTION

Every Chinese New Year, my house will be full of mandarin oranges. I am sure other families are facing the same problem.

This Chinese New Year, I only bought 10 mandarin oranges. When I did my gift sending, the other parties are returning the gift with a box of mandarin oranges that have at least 20 of them. So this year, I have 50 oranges sitting in my house. Of course we ate some, had some for decoration, some for new year visiting, and some for praying in the temples. That still leaves us about 20 in the fridge.

By hook and by crook, I must get rid some of the mandarin oranges and this year, I have decided to churn it into mandarin oranges jam. I personally think that it is worth the try as preparation is very easy and taste is good.

I have tried spreading on a piece of bread, I do not I have anything to complain as its consistency is good and sweetness is just right for a piece of plain bread. I have also diluted it in cold water become a drink, it taste exactly like a sweeten orange juice. That is good as if we can’t finished, we can just dilute it to become a cold drink.

WHAT IS REQUIRED

• 500 grams of orange flesh (about 5-6 mandarin oranges)
• 220 grams of rock sugar or white sugar
• 2 tablespoon of maltose (maltose water (水麦芽）* preferred)
• Half a medium size lemon (squeeze into juices)

“Maltose water is a type of maltose which is transparent like water but have the consistency of maltose.  You can always use the brown colour traditional maltose. You can get the water maltose in bakery shops.

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Take off the skin and soak the skin of one mandarin orange  in hot water for at least half an hour to get rid of pesticide and soften the skin. For the flesh, remove the seeds. For the softened skin, use a knife to cut off the pith or the whitish part. Otherwise, your jam will be bitter (note: if you wish to have a stronger flavour, you can use the skin of more oranges. For me, I have used the zest of one orange to 5 oranges)

• Put the flesh and the skin in a blender and blend until as fine as you wish. Some will prefer very smooth jam yet some may prefer a jam with rougher texture.  Transfer the puree to a shallow frying pan. Bring to boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer until starts to thicken. Give it an occasional stir to ensure even cooking. Once it is not watery (about 15 minutes later), add the rock sugar and maltose. Stir fry until it thickens and gels to jam consistency. Before dishing up, add the lemon juice, stir until well mixed.  Cool completely before transfer to sterilized bottle. The jam will further thicken when cooled.

CONCLUSION

If you are always purchasing breakfast spread for bread, you should try this simple recipe. Of course no comparison with the those sold in the stores. What you can be assured of is it is free of preservatives and you can easily adjust the sweetness level.

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