One of my most prized possessions is my lemon, orange and clementine trees. All lovingly grown from saplings many moons ago.

Marmalade with Christmas Spices

Marmelade is, therefore, the answer. This recipe is super easy and spiced with cinnamon and star anise, which help pop the citrus flavour and give it a festive feel. You don’t need a clementine tree. Grab a bag from your local market and make a batch as Christmas gifts.

Finely slice the clementines and lemons, and put the pips into a muslin bag. Add the cinnamon and star anise, and gently simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours. Remove the muslin bag (squeezing the muslin bag juices back into the fruit). Remove the spices and cook the fruit with an equal amount of sugar for a maximum of 20 minutes. Leave it to settle, and bingo, you can bottle your marmalade.

I have a reputation for making very runny marmalade (and jam) as I struggle with using a lot of sugar. This batch was perfect as I followed Joan Wilson’s guidelines for making marmalade 😁. Also I had the added advantage of picking the fruit 10 minutes before, so the lemons were high in pectin. I would recommend using jam sugar if you are worried about reaching the setting point. The recipe is adapted from “Perfect Preserves” by Joan Wilson, a classic bible for jam making (1991, Penguin Group, London).

We spread it on soda bread, heavenly, ‘Christmas Morning on Toast’ 🎄, perfectly scented with a strong citrus flavour. It’s not sugary. By all means, swap clementines for mandarins, tangerines, kumquats, or satsumas. Here is a helpful link to understand the difference between them.

As well as a Festive Clementine Marmalade, we will soon be bringing clementine cake and clementine salsa to the Wild Epicurean🍊

Click here for all the festive recipes, plus an excellent recipe for a Classic marmalade straight after the festive season.