Preserve the Taste of Summer Using Indian River Citrus Fruits

Making your own fruit preserves is a great way to enjoy the taste of summer all year round. Preserving Indian River citrus fruits will give you rich and delicious orange and grapefruit jellies and marmalades to eat throughout the year. Having sweet grapefruit marmalade on pancakes when the weather is cold and the snow is swirling will be a wonderful treat. When the winter holidays come around you’ll love having sweet summer marmalades to share with friends and family. You can even give away gifts of your homemade preserves. Here are some tips from expert canners on how to make the best preserves at home:

Use quality fruit – The quality of the fruit that you use will have a direct impact on the taste of the preserves. Home canning experts recommend using Indian River citrus fruits to make preserves because of the delicious taste of Indian River fruit. People around the world look for Indian River oranges and grapefruits because they taste so rich and sweet when compared to other citrus fruits. So even if you end up paying a little more for Indian River citrus fruit the final results will be worth the cost. Your preserves will taste amazing. You should also use unprocessed raw sugar or honey to sweeten the preserves. Sugar is a preservative, so using natural unprocessed sugar will help keep the preserves once they are sealed in a jar.

Pay attention to proportion – One of the biggest mistakes that beginners make is to try to judge the proportions of the preserve recipe by eye instead of measuring. If you’re just learning how to can your own preserves make sure you measure everything. You don’ t want to waste all that delicious Indian River citrus fruit and have to start over! So go slow, measure everything, and pay attention to the proportions of the jam that you’re making. Once you’ve made preserves a few times it will be easier to know when you have the right proportions without measuring. Always do the freezer test to make sure the jam is ready to go into the cans. Take the lid of a jar and put it in the freezer. Place a spoonful of the fruit mixture on the cold disc. If the jam stays starts to solidify as it cools down then it’s ready to go into jars and be sealed. If it stays really liquid then it’s not ready and you need to keep working on it.

Taste the Sunshine with Hale Groves

At Hale Groves, we believe the best gifts come from the land, not a factory. For generations, our fruit has been grown slowly under the Florida sun, picked at its peak, and delivered fresh to your door. From sweet Navel Oranges to rare Honeybells, every gift shares the simple joy of real flavor—perfect for holidays, milestones, or everyday moments worth celebrating.

Shop Now