Satsuma Jelly
- Brianne Thomas
- Oct 6
- 5 min read
Whether you have a bounty of fresh satsumas from your garden or have picked some up at the local farmer’s market, this jelly is a perfect way to preserve their essence for enjoyment throughout the year.
I have a sweet older neighbor who has a beautiful Satsuma tree in his yard. Due to his age and health, he isn’t able to pick the bounty himself. Rather than seeing the beautiful fruit go to waste, I offered to pick as many Satsumas for him as I could reach. He was happy for the help and gifted me a huge basket full. Now I just had to think of what to do with them. Of course, we enjoy eating them fresh, but I wanted to enjoy the flavor all year round. What better way than a delicious batch of Satsuma jelly?
How To Prepare for Home Canning
To prepare jars for canning, I like to place my clean, room-temperature jars into my canning pot with room-temperature water. I allow my jars and water to come to the same temperature at the same time. You don’t want boiling water; you’re just heating everything up.
Place a clean kitchen towel on the countertop where you intend to place your hot jars once removed from the canner.
Once your sauce is ready for canning, carefully remove the jars from the pot using your canning jar lifter and empty the hot water back into the pot. Place the hot jars on the prepared kitchen towel and begin ladling in the sauce.
Tips & Tricks for the Home Canning Process
If you have a water bath canner, you’ll want to use it here. I don’t have a separate canner for water bath canning, so I just use my pressure canner with the rack. However, I do not lock the lid in place and allow the canning lid to sit slightly ajar.
If you don’t have a water bath or pressure canner, no worries! You can simply use a large stock pot with a makeshift rack. Your pot should be tall enough so that the water covers the jars.
To make a DIY canning rack, you can simply tie five or six canning rings together and place your jars on top. If you have an Instant Pot rack, you can use that instead. The main thing is you don’t want to place your jars directly inside the pot. Air and heat need to be able to circulate around the jars completely to ensure proper processing.
When placing your rings onto the jars, you want to tighten them with just your fingertips. If the rings are too tight, your lids will buckle which can result in an unsealed jar. If you don’t tighten them enough, the water can seep into your jar and ruin your product.
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How to Serve Satsuma Jelly
Of course, it is a delicious spread on home-baked bread. For an extra burst of citrus flavor, add a bit to a slice of Orange Dutch Baby Pancake!
Recommended Canning Equipment for Making Satsuma Jelly
Canning jars with lids and bands
Water Bath Canner or Large Pot with rack
Jelly or candy thermometer
Cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer
Ladle
Funnel
Jar lifter
Kitchen towels
Ingredients
4 cups of freshly squeezed satsuma juice (approximately 30-40 satsumas)
1/4 cup of lemon juice
5 cups of granulated sugar
1 packet (1.75 ounces) of powdered fruit pectin
Directions
Wash the satsumas thoroughly. Cut them in half and extract the juice using a juicer or by hand. Strain the juice through a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer to remove any pulp and seeds.
In a large pot, combine the satsuma juice and lemon juice.
Add the powdered fruit pectin and mix well.
Bring the mixture to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
Once boiling, add the sugar all at once and stir continuously to dissolve.
Return to a full rolling boil and boil for 1-2 minutes. Check the temperature with a jelly thermometer; it should reach about 220°F, which is the setting point for jelly.
Remove the pot from heat and skim off any foam from the surface. Use a ladle and funnel to fill the hot, sterilized jars, leaving about 1/4 inch of headspace at the top. Wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth.
Place the lids on the jars and secure with bands. Secure to just “fingertip tight”. Do not overtighten, as this can cause the lids to buckle and not seal properly.
Place the filled jars into the canning kettle, ensuring they are fully submerged in water. Boil for 10 minutes to process and seal.
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After Processing
Once your Satsuma Jelly has completed the 10 minutes in the canner, remove the lid from the canner completely. Allow the jars to rest in the pot for about 5 minutes or so. This will allow them to adjust to having the lid taken off the canner.
Carefully remove the jars from the canner using your canning jar lifter and place them on the prepared kitchen towel. Allow the jars to rest on the counter for 24 hours and listen for pops of the lids (my favorite part).
Remove the rings from the jars and gently tap the center of the canning lid on each jar. If the lid pops back up, your lid did not seal properly, unfortunately. It happens! If it is just one jar, place that one in the refrigerator and use it within a couple of weeks. If it's several jars, remove all of the lids, wipe the rims of the jars with vinegar, add new lids, and reprocess them again in the canner.
If your jars are all sealed properly (YAY!), use a little vinegar or soap and warm water to wipe the outside of the jars before storing.
How to Store Satsuma Jelly
After washing jars to remove any sticky residue, store jars in a cool, dark place.
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