Greetings! Last week, my friend Katzcradul was a guest on the Goathollow radio show on the Prepper Broadcasting Network. What a fabulous show that was. During the program she talked about how she had canned mandarin oranges. I was excited to give this a try. They are very simple to do and the end result is amazing! Not only do these oranges look beautiful in the jar, they are an important and nutritious addition to your home food storage. Packed with vitamin C and antioxidants, these oranges are a healthy treat to dig into any time. In the time of a crisis, having these on your shelf will help you avoid vitamin deficiency syndromes such as scurvy! If for no other reason than to have fresh fruit on hand that you have processed yourself, these are definitely worth tackling. I have used 20 pounds of "Cuties" mandarin oranges that are seedless. Rick and I peeled them and I left them whole for the most part. I packed them into clean/sterilized jars and filled the jars with a light syrup made by boiling together 2 cups of sugar and 5 cups of water. This will give you a very light syrup. I did three recipes of the syrup in total. I wanted to ensure that I did not run out while canning. You will see that I had too few jars prepared for the amount of fruit I peeled, so I just put those oranges in the fridge for eating. I had about a quart of simple syrup left over and just allowed that to cool and put it in a bottle in the fridge so that my family could use it to sweeten their iced tea. I processed the jars in a boiling water bath canner for 20 minutes after the water came to a full rolling boil. I removed them at the end of that time and allowed the jars to cool completely on a bath towel I had placed on my counter away from any drafts. In the morning I removed the bands, tested the seals (everyone sealed perfectly) and washed the jars in warm soapy water to remove the sticky syrup that clung to the jars as a result of the transfer inside the water bath canner. In total I had 20 beautiful jars of home canned mandarin oranges in a light syrup. They will make lovely gifts and welcomed snacks for my family and friends in the coming months. The other perk about doing this is that you buy the fruit when it is in season at a low price. When the fruit is no longer in season and at a higher price, you will already have them on your shelf to enjoy anytime you wish. I never thought of canning citrus until Katzcradul mentioned it. I think it is a splendid idea! I have learned so much from others here on YouTube including my friend Bexarprepper. She is one woman who will can anything that doesn't can her first! I believe now that if you can fit it in a jar, you can probably preserve it in one way or another. I hope you try this an I hope you enjoy it. Happy Canning!

• published: 05 Mar 2012
• views: 16099