Tangerines are associated primarily with the New Year holidays and gifts. Who would have thought that from the orange sweetness they cook very tasty, healthy jam. Such bright fruits saturate the dish with a pleasant sunny color, envelop with the unique aroma of childhood.
How to choose tangerines
The nutritional value of the product does not depend on the variety. Fruits are imported from different countries, this is due to the variety of colors and characteristics:
- Abkhazian - fragrant, sweet and sour fruits of different shades.
- Spanish - giant tangerines, thick-skinned with orange porosity, few pits.
- Turkish fruits - with yellow-green peel, a large number of seeds and a sour taste.
- Moroccan - the joy of lovers of sweet, thin-skinned, medium-sized, seedless.
- Israeli fruits - glossy in appearance, sweet, easy to clean.
The ripeness of a mandarin is determined by its weight lightness, but it is difficult for inexperienced consumers to understand. The main indicator of ripeness of all types is the release of juice from the pores when pressed on the peel and the elasticity of the fruit. Fruits with spotting, soft to the touch are stale, they should not be bought.
Before buying it is important to remember:
- tangerines should not be covered with white bloom - this may indicate that they were ripped off unripe and treated with ripening gas during transportation;
- the surface of high-quality fruits cannot be wet, this indicates their preliminary freezing;
- excessive gloss speaks about processing by fungicides when transporting;
- the presence of brownish spots may indicate the defeat of the fruit by the larvae of the fruit fly.
Tangerines should be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of + 2 ... +4 degrees, each fruit wrapped in paper.
Recipes of fragrant tangerine jam
In Russia, at all times, evening gatherings were organized and tea was drunk with jam. And how great the surprise will be when not ordinary raspberry or strawberry, but something else will be served on the table. Especially since the following recipes can be done even by non-professionals.
Slices without crusts
This step-by-step recipe provides the following sequence:
- We clear sweet tangerines from a peel and a white film, we divide into parts on 2-3 segments.
- We fill up with sugar at the rate of: for 1 kg (kilogram) of peeled fruits 300 g of sugar. Optionally, for piquancy, you can add at the rate of 5 kg of peeled mandarins: 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 2 tsp. vanilla sugar and 5 pcs. dried cloves
- We mix products in an aluminum basin or saucepan and set on slow fire for 5 minutes to warm the mass and accelerate the secretion of juice.
- Remove the ingredients from the heat and wait 2 hours until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Then over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, bring to a boil and turn off. We remove the foam released during the cooking process. Defend the jam until the mass is completely cooled and repeat the procedure 3 more times (total: 4 cooking cycles).
Calorie product - 133 kcal per 100 g
This method of cooking will preserve the integrity of the fruit and pleasant freshness. You should keep the jam in the refrigerator or roll up in jars. Perfect as a filling for pies.
This recipe is applicable to other fruits, for example: oranges, kiwi, cherries. If the fruit is sweet (peach, late-type cherry), the amount of sugar should be halved.
Skinned
Ingredients for the Georgian recipe: 1 kg of small tangerines, a liter of water, 1 kg of sugar, lemon juice.
Stepwise execution:
- Tangerines shift into the pan, completely fill with boiling water, cover with a lid and defend for 10 minutes.
- Drain and rinse fruit with cool water.
- We dry the tangerines and gently pierce the center of the fruit with a toothpick so as not to touch the flesh.
- Pour water into the dishes for cooking and pour sugar, at the maximum we bring the mass to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium level, cook for 5 minutes.
- Put tangerines in boiling syrup and boil for 5 minutes.
- We remove from the stove and insist 2 hours.
- Next, bring the jam to a boil, reduce the temperature to a minimum level and cook for 10 minutes, then insist 2 hours.
- We repeat the procedure twice more, increasing the time of each subsequent cooking by 5 minutes (total, cook four times, the last approach lasts 20 minutes).
- At the end of the last cooking leave the jam "rest" for 10 hours.
- Then boil the mass and boil on low heat for 30 minutes.
- 10 minutes before the end of cooking add the juice of 1 lemon to the mass.
Properly prepared syrup should be a light yellow color, not a sticky consistency.
How to cook tangerine jam in a slow cooker
The slow cooker will add a special taste to the jam due to the effect of the Russian stove.
Components:
- pitted sweet tangerines - 1 kg;
- sugar - 3.5 cups;
- lemon - 1 pc .;
- cold water - 1 l;
- vanilla - 1 pod.
Recipe:
- Wash the fruit with cold running water.
- We clean the peel and divide into slices.
- Put the fruit in a deep container and add the flesh of the vanilla pod.
- Add water to the mass, set on fire, boil for 5 minutes after boiling.
- Pour sugar and stir.
- Pour cold water into the bowl of the multicooker and set the heat-resistant dishes smaller than the bowl.
- Pour the jam into the dishes and set the “Soup” program for 3 hours.
The finished product is transferred to the prepared container, twisted and consumed for a maximum of 2 years. Calories 152 kcal per 100 g
Useful tips
The council concerns owners of the multicooker. Cooked jam has some nuances: precisely calculate the portion (because the maximum volume of the bowl is 6 liters), stir the mass, remove the foam, remove the steam valve in advance so that the moisture can be boiled away. If there is no program "Soup", you need to cook sweetness on the program "Quenching".
It is not recommended to use copper and brass containers, as fruit acids corrode copper, and metal ions destroy ascorbic acid. Aluminum utensils also can not be used, since under the action of acids, aluminum molecules get into the product. The safest are enameled pots (without chips) and stainless steel pans.
The pelvis is more suitable as a convenient tank, since the mass is distributed in a thinner layer, it boils faster, it cooks evenly. To preserve the jam, cook over low heat, often but gently stirring.
At the same time with this dessert, you should not stew meat or cook soup, as jam can be fed with excess flavors.
Reflecting on the benefits of tangerines, it should be remembered that the peel of the fruit has no less value than the pulp, as it contains ascorbic, citric acid, mineral salts, essential oil and pectin. From it you can make delicious candied fruits.
Cooking jams and confitures are also often practiced, in which mandarin can "play a leading role" or serve as a composition feature of the dish, for example, in combination with gooseberries. Dare, experiment, and everything will work out.
