candied clementines

These clementines might be my favorite thing I’ve canned. They’re easy, quick, seasonal, sweet with enough bitterness to be fun, and so pretty in a jar. When I first saw the recipe on Saveur, I knew I had to make them immediately, but then I got cold feet. What would people do with a jar of candied citrus? All manner of things, my wandering mind discovered.

Since they’re delicious, peel and all, you can use them to garnish cocktails, serve them alongside hot chocolate, dip them in chocolate, mince them and fold them into scones or mix them into icings, layer them on top of a cake, or just snack on them. Which is what I’ll probably do with most of mine. I think they’d also be nice served in a spicy Christmas ale.

Making them makes your house smell wonderful, too. The sliced clementines on the counter and the vanilla-infused syrup heating on the stove made my apartment smell like Christmas. Since it was 80 degrees in Austin that day, I’d have taken any tiny bit of Christmas spirit I could get. As citrus season is upon us, I’d like to try candying other sweet/sour fruits: Meyer lemons, key limes, tangerines. If you try another fruit, let me know how it goes!

The night I made them, I had about a pint of the sugar syrup left over, and it was so infused with the vanilla and citrus that I just ate half of it with a spoon, and then dreamed of all the wonderful things I could do with it. As I ate too many clementines right out of the jar, I thought of the following things to do with the leftover syrup:

• Use it in mulled wine.
• Make a lemon-rosemary cake, and soak it in the syrup.
• Use it in mojitos.
• Add powdered sugar to make a glaze for sugar cookies.
• Drink it. Straight up.

You might not have the leftover syrup that I had, but I sincerely hope you do, because it inspired me in a way that a leftover ingredient never has before.

Candied Clementines
Adapted from Food in Jars, via Saveur
Note: Marisa says she got a total of 64 ounces of candied clementines (8 8-oz. jars). I did 16-oz. jars, but only got 2 (32 ounces). Your mileage may vary.

You will need:
3 lbs. clementines, sliced (I discarded the ends.)
2 c. water
4 c. granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved

Prepare your jars for canning: sterilize the jars and rings, and simmer the lids in a small pot of water. Also prepare your canning pot by bringing a lot of water to boil.

Combine sugar, water, and vanilla bean in a large pot and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Add clementine slices and cook about 15 minutes, until clementines are softened.

Divide clementines up among your jars– I used tongs to fill each jar with clementine slices, then poured the sugar syrup over the slices until the jars were full to within 1/2″ of the top of the jar. Wipe the lips of the jars, and add lids and rings. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. Let sit overnight, without disturbing. Any jars that don’t seal, refrigerate immediately and use those first.

For a great canning primer, see the Food in Jars Canning 101 posts.

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