This delicious, bittersweet blood orange jam is made without pectin. Make our flavorful and easy-to-make jam recipe and enjoy it for breakfast.
Enjoy our sweet and tangy homemade blood orange jam, filled with the bold, tangy taste of ripe blood oranges. No fancy stuff, just a simple and delicious way to add sweetness to your breakfast or desserts and make the most of the blood orange season. Whether on toast or in your favorite recipes, our sweet spread brings pure, tasty delight.
Do you like oranges just as much as we do? Then try more of our recipes: Moist Orange Bundt Cake, Homemade Orange Mustard, Polenta Orange Cake, or Orange Tiramisu.
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🍊Why will you love this beautiful jam?
- Flavor: Pure, fruity goodness with the bold flavor of ripe blood oranges.
- Simple: No unnecessary frills or complicated processes – just straightforward, homemade taste.
- Versatile: A delightful addition to your breakfast or desserts. It is perfect on toast, scones, English muffins, or as an ingredient in your favorite recipes. This is the jam I used to fill half of the Orange and Jam Swirl Cookies.
Try more of our fruit preserves: Peach Jam without Pectin, Apricot Jam, or Blueberry Rhubarb Jam.
📋Recipe ingredients
- Blood oranges: A blood orange is a citrus fruit with bright red-orange inside. It's sweet and tangy, like regular ones, but with a hint of berry taste. The red color makes it stand out. However, as you can see in the pictures, not all blood oranges sold as such are very red; some are just orange…
- Lemons: You will need the juice of two medium lemons. The juice helps the jam set properly by activating natural pectin, and it balances the sweetness, making the jam more flavorful. The acidity in lemon juice acts as a natural preservative.
- Granulated sugar: Not too much; this blood orange jam is actually low in sugar (See Expert Tips).
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🍓Variations on the recipe
- You can also make this orange jam using other citrus fruits.
- Sweeteners: For even fewer calories, make this amazing spread using xylitol. You can add a bit more white sugar or sweetener for a sweeter taste.
- Spices: Add a pinch of cinnamon, a dash of ginger, or vanilla extract for a subtle spiced flavor.
- Berries: Mix in some berries like raspberries or strawberries for a mixed fruit jam. Or make this delicious Orange and Rhubarb Jam.
👩🏻🍳How to make blood orange jam?
Step #1: Peel ½ of the oranges in the regular way. Peel the other half with a very sharp knife or vegetable peeler, removing as much of the bitter pith as possible. Halve the oranges and remove all the pits.
Step #2: Process the orange halves in the food processor until smooth.
Step #3: Pour them into a large heavy-bottomed pot, add the fresh lemon juice and sugar, and mix well.
Step #4: Bring to a full rolling boil and then cook it on medium-high heat until it reaches the desired consistency (30-40 minutes).
Step #5: Transfer the jam into the sterilized jars. Clean the rims of the jars and close them tightly. Let them cool and place them in the refrigerator.
🫙How to store the jam?
- Due to its low sugar content, this jam is best kept in the refrigerator and consumed within a few weeks.
- Freeze it for longer storage.
❗Expert Tips
Sugar: Since there's not much sugar in this jam recipe, storing it in the refrigerator and consuming it relatively quickly is essential.
White pith: I remove the white membrane from half the oranges because the jam is too bitter for my taste if I leave it all on. If you don’t mind that, you can leave it on. If you make the jam with clementines, removing the white pith is unnecessary; their membrane is not that bitter.
Consistency: This jam will not set as much as jam made with pectin or jam sugar (which has added pectin). However, it is set enough to spread on toast and is not runny; it has a lovely silky-smooth consistency. Try this silky Watermelon Jam in summer.
❓Recipe FAQs
The jam is smooth and sweet, made with oranges and sugar. The marmalade has bits of peel, giving it a chunky texture and a more pronounced bittersweet taste.
Yes, but keep in mind that the flavor and color may vary.
You can try using alternative sweeteners like xylitol. You could try honey or maple syrup, but it may affect the texture and taste of the jam. I haven’t tried these two ingredients, so I can’t really say how much you need or how it works. Let me know if you try it.
Do you like this recipe?
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Blood Orange Jam
Equipment
- Food processor
- Jars
Ingredients
- 3 lbs blood oranges 1.3 kg, Note 1
- 1 cup sugar 200 g
- 2 lemons the juice
Instructions
- Prepare the oranges: Peel ½ of the blood oranges the usual way like you always do. But remove the peel of the other half of the oranges with a knife, trying to discard as much white pith as possible (Note 2). Halve the oranges and carefully remove all the seeds.3 lbs blood oranges / 1.3 kg
- Process the oranges in the food processor until smooth.
- Boil: Pour the orange puree into a pot, add the sugar and the lemon juice, and bring everything to a boil.1 cup sugar / 200 g + juice of 2 lemons
- Cook the blood orange jam for 30 – 40 minutes, uncovered, stirring regularly. Stop the cooking when the jam has thickened and reached the desired consistency. If not thick enough, you can cook it for a little bit longer. It will not jelly as much as a jam made with pectin, but it is how it should be.
- Store: Pour the jam into sterilized jars, leave it to cool, and refrigerate it. It will keep in the fridge for about 10 – 14 days. You can also freeze it for longer storage.
Notes
- Oranges: You can make this jam with blood oranges, regular oranges, or clementines.
- Peeling: I find that the jam turns out too bitter if I leave the white pith on all the oranges. This is unnecessary when making the jam with clementines; their pith is not so bitter.
TravelinGirl says
Do you remove the membrane on the orange segments or do you just throw it all into the food processor?
Adina says
Hi. Just the outer, thicker white pit, remove as much of it as you can, but don't worry if it's not perfect.
Jackie S says
I have a blood orange tree in Las Vegas! We gave some away to friends and relatives and now are planning what to do with left overs and this sounds perfect!! Thank you for the recipe
Adina says
Jackie, you cannot even imagine how exotic it sounds to me to have a blood orange tree in the garden. 🙂 I think you would like this jam, it is one of our favorites, although I never managed to make it red, the blood oranges we get to buy around here seem to have "bled" on the way, they are just as orange as the plain ones with some delicate tinges of red, which are not enough to make the jam red. The jam still tastes wonderful though.
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
So pretty Adina! I can't wait for citrus season!
Linda says
Will this recipe preserve well if I heat process the jars?
Adina says
I've never tried that with this particular jam, Linda, it doesn't contain much sugar so I cannot say how long it will keep if processed. You could try it and let me know. 🙂 This makes a rather small batch, if you would like to make more, you could also freeze it.
Judy T says
Can this be canned also?
Adina says
I think there is not enough sugar in it to make it keep longer. You can definitely freeze it though.
Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
This is such a beautiful story about how special oranges were as a child. And this blood orange jam looks so slicky and smooth. Absolutely divine for sure.
Adina says
Thank you, Anu! 🙂
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
I can appreciate your story—how those times of hardship managed to give you some cherished memories. I grew up in wartime Vietnam. My family went from wealthy to losing everything before I ever came around. I remember at the beginning of each school year, the school would give each child a cellophane wrapped package of school supplies...pencils, erasers, a ruler, and notebooks. We didn't celebrate Christmas, but it was like Christmas and so exciting for us kids. The Blood Orange Jam is so smooth and gorgeous! I have never made my own jam before. I love how easy it is to make!
Adina says
Thank you for this comment, Thao. I am happy that my own kids never knew any hardship since the day that they are born, but looking back, it was not all that bad after all, one doesn't miss things one doesn't even know and I think that thought me to appreciate more what I have now and to have more understanding for people finding themselves in impossible situations at the moment. I am thinking now about the Syrian, Afghan and so on refugees coming to Europe and especially to Germany, people who lost everything they had and about those unfortunatelly too many locals, screaming against it and having no understanding whatsoever (not even the desire to know and understand).
sue|theviewfromgreatisland says
This is just gorgeous, I have a blood orange jam coming up on my blog, too! That color would cheer me up any day!
Rachel @ Simple Seasonal says
This jam looks so delicious! I've tried my hand at marmalade once before and it was so much work that I've decided I won't be going to that trouble for a long time. This recipe is so much simpler without all the nonsense with the peels. I hope they have blood oranges for sale at the store this week so I can make a batch!
Oh... And I hope you find your perfect blood orange soon!
Adina says
Thank you, Rachel. I’ve never made marmalade because I find it too bitter. This jam manages to keep a better balance between sweet and bitter and that makes it so good. I might have to go to England again to find that perfect blood orange…… 🙂
Adina says
A salad with blood oranges sounds great. I hope you took some photos that we may see soon. 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Had a salad with blood orange for the lunch today...now I wish I could have some of your jam for the breakfast tomorrow :-)) It looks great, Adina.
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
I LOVE blood oranges and turning them into jam is genius! That color is so beautiful! I want to slather this stuff on all the things, including my fingers! 😉 Cheers, dear!
Adina says
Thanks, Cheyanne. Whenever I make a batch of this, we have nothing else for breakfast until everything's gone.
Meghan | Fox and Briar says
I love your story about how special oranges were as a child. It is so easy to take things for granted when they are always available. I feel like blood oranges are more special, as they are usually only available for a short time once a year. This jam looks so beautiful and delicious! I definitely need to get my hands on some blood oranges and make this asap!
Adina says
Thank you, Meghan. I hope you make the jam, it's so easy and quick and unbelievably delicious. 🙂
Chris Scheuer says
Your story sounds so familiar. Oranges were also not abundant when I was growing up. We got them in our stocking for St. Nicholas and were thrilled wit them. My kids would have never wanted oranges in their stockings. They could have them any time and they just weren't special. I still love them and love the beautiful blood oranges even more. I know I'd love this delicious jam!
Adina says
It's totally funny to think about the way my kids would react if they would only get oranges and chocolate for Christmas. They'll probably get traumatized. 🙂 And the jam is really something for orange lovers, you will love it.