Boiling Mandarin oranges to make a jam (not brewing)

[Jokester]

I got a few of these mandarin oranges in light syrup, food service size 6lb 9oz cans I'd likely not get to till best by date. So thought I would boil them into a jam, with no added sugar or pectin, just boil away till they're ~1/2th. 105 oz to ~20. It has 14gm total sugar in 122 gm of it but the thing doesn't seem to set or taste sweet. In fact it is more tart than them right out of the can.
Any one know why it may be. Cans are a few months from their best by date and undamaged and intact.
Like I said they taste sweetish sour out of the can and the syrup was even a shade sweeter.
They were seedless, and the simmer process took 4 hrs and no glitches. And got to the 1/4 I was hoping just fine. Edible, but more tart than before. Consistency like a weak soup. These were seedless, skin and rind less and even we're peeled before canning in light syrup.

 

[Jokester]

I may have some approximate math on this, in case any one ever was trying to make the mandarin cans into jam. The cans are 105 oz, and I was shooting for 25 oz after boiling. It may have been more. Because I put it in a 64 oz pickle jar as an intermediate step I eyeballed it, it could have been 30 or even more, my idea was to do 3 cans into 2 mason jars. which would be the perfect 6 3/4 qt into 2 qt reduction counting for tasting along the way.
It said 14gm sugar in 122, and a 1/4 would be 14 gm in 30 - which should be a lot thicker than 14 gm in the 35 or so I had. Literally I had the thing be like gulab jamun syrup. Perfect for a gulab jamun but not a jam. I also didn't juice the mandarins, just mashed them as they were cooking, holding more of the sugars in the fruit over releasing and helping thicken. So the 2nd can as it neared its finish, I added the first can back in and cooked it out to 1 1/2 mason jars. Thicker. 210 oz into 48. Ok that's for its thickness. Its cooling now, if it still isn't up to my preferance, I may opt to put a little chia seeds in it (which I have to buy).
It tastes like concentrated mandarins and I'm interpreting it as tart. It works fine because I have the option of adding extra sugar or icing etc per the mood of the eater (likely not me mostly because I am on a keto kick a lot). At this point 2 into 1.5 Mason jars is fine and I'll call it a success.

 

[Jokester]

I invented a life hack in this whole jam session.
Those huge cans that are 6"+ across and 7+ To open them with a can opener you have the problem of the can not wanting to spin as you are cutting, you have to stop and turn the can. If you took the turntable out of your microwave and put it on the counter with the rollers under it, it will now turn as you cut and make cutting it a lot easier.
Anyway jam's great, tart but basically very nice.

 

[Skeeter686]

Don't you need to add pectin to make most jams?

 

[Jokester]

Didn't want to. Its close enough, I could have boiled it another 10% down and it may have got there by itself. As would likely if I had pureed 1-2 batches instead of just potato mashering in 1 of the 4 big cans.

 

[Jokester]

So basically I got a 1 to 4 reduction with just the mandarin oranges and syrup. Simple for a rather fun end product.

 

[Agent]

As a fellow with 300% of my family's yearly jam usage already made, I feel this.

Then I keep making more, and make wine out of the stuff we didn't use.

 

[Jokester]

LOL, I thought I was the only one with 300% and I can almost repeat this 4x over. Next idea - ginger, garlic, habanero in it. And may keep it on the thinner side. It would be one amazing asian sauce/glaze. Most store bought teriyaki has faaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr toooooooo much salt. Oh yea I have tons of ginger and garlic taking up space in the freezer as well as habanero, that's why. Proving that neccesity is the mofo of infection again and again.

 

[Jokester]

Hilariously this thin and runny jam (just mandarins and syrup, not got to the marinade yet) will not freeze. It is thicker but still runny. Like 10w40 turned into 90wt gear oil.

 

[Skeeter686]

As a fellow with 300% of my family's yearly jam usage already made, I feel this.

Then I keep making more, and make wine out of the stuff we didn't use.

This is the problem I have with brewing, sausage making, and canning (well, no garden anymore, but we still do jams and jellies). We enjoy making it, but it's always more than we can consume!

 

[Jokester]

This is the problem I have with brewing, sausage making, and canning (well, no garden anymore, but we still do jams and jellies). We enjoy making it, but it's always more than we can consume!

Mine is a 1 time 15 or so cans that I got free. I wont be doing this any more.

 

[Jokester]

OMG the "teriyaki" sauce is sooooo effing good. Only mistake, I should have ground up the ginger. Maybe a few cloves more garlic. I'd call it a glaze, marinade and a sauce. The problem is - I am out of other ideas for a "jam" or anything else, I still have 14 effing cans of it.