Canning oranges is a great way to preserve the fruit’s delicious flavor all year round. Whether you have a surplus of oranges from your yard or you simply want to enjoy them long after their season has ended, canning is a simple and effective method to keep them fresh.

To a lot of people, winter means the canning season is over, but there are so many in-season things to can up in the winter that our canners never really take a break. Canning oranges when they’re in season is a great way to preserve the best citrus with the best flavors for use whenever you want to.

All oranges can be safely water bath canned whether navel oranges, clementines, mandarins, tangerines, and even tangelos. They’re all high acid, regardless of the type with a pH low below 4.6.

Preparing Oranges for Canning

You should begin with fresh, firm, ripe oranges that are free of blemishes. Unlike when making orange marmalade, which can benefit from slightly bitter oranges, sweeter oranges are better in this application.

Mandarins, clementines, and other thin peel oranges work well for canning because they’re so easy to peel and remove the white pith both of which can leave a bitter taste and even slightly tough pieces during the canning process.

Regardless of which you choose, you can can oranges whole, if they’re small such as mandarins or clementines, or in segments for any variety. That said, I prefer segmenting oranges regardless of the size simply because it makes it much easier to remove all of the white bitter parts.

Peel your oranges, and remove as much of the white pith from the outside as well as from the center. If you choose to leave your oranges whole, just stick your index finger through the middle and you can remove the stringy pith and flower end pith from the orange easily as they’ll slide out and off the orange.

Simple Syrup for Canning Oranges

The syrup you choose for canning oranges is really a personal choice. You can choose how much sugar, if any you add. Canning oranges in plain water is possible and safe, but they’ll lose their flavor so it isn’t recommended.

You could also can oranges in very heavy syrup (with more sugar than water) but not really a recommended sugar ratio as you’ll be lucky to wind up with slightly orange flavored sugar syrup at the end.

• Very Light Syrup – this will produce the most natural flavor, uses the least amount of sugar, and is what I utilize when canning oranges. 9 pint load requires 3/4 cups of sugar and 6-1/2 cups of water. 7 quart load requires 1-1/4 cups sugar 10-1/2 cups water.
• Light Syrup – slightly sweeter without being overwhelming. 9 pints require 1-1/2 cups of sugar 5-3/4 cups of water. 7 quarts require 2-1/4 cups sugar and 9 cups water.
• Medium Syrup – this is a little overpowering and has more sugar than I would recommend using for canning oranges. 9 pints need 2-1/4 cups of sugar and 5-1/4 cups water. 7 quarts need 3-3/4 cups sugar and 8-1/4 cups of water.

You can also use fruit juice to can oranges. White grape juice is the best juice utilized for canning as it will have little to no impact on the flavor of the fruit, but you can also use commercially produced apple juice or pineapple juice.

You can also use honey or maple syrup instead of granulated sugar. Use about 2/3rds honey or maple syrup of what you would use if using sugar to make a honey syrup.

How many oranges do I need?

The National Center for Home Food Preservation says you’ll need approximately 15 pounds for 7 quarts or 13 pounds for 9 pints. So if you chose to use half-pints, which are a great snack-size and did 9, you’d need about 7 pounds.

I find this measurement fairly accurate, as long as you’re packing them in tightly. The nice thing about canning oranges is they’re raw pack, so you can easily tightly pack the fruit in the jars.

So, if you find clementines on sale at the grocery store, grab at least 5 bags to can a 7-quart load, maybe 6 out of an abundance of caution, and eat fresh whatever is leftover!

How to Can Oranges

Again, oranges are raw packed, which means you simply pack them into warm jars and pour the boiling syrup over the top so water bath canning them is a pretty straightforward process. You can get exact measurements and complete instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Prepare jars, lids, and water bath canner. Wash canning jars and lids in hot, soapy water. Fill jars 2/3rds full of water and place them in a boiling water canner 2/3rds full of water. Bring everything to a simmer at 180°F and keep them there while you prepare the oranges and syrup.

Peel fruit. Remove all of the rind and white stuff from all of the oranges. You can use orange segments or whole oranges. I prefer orange sections over whole as it’s easier to remove the white pith from the whole orange.

You can reserve the orange peel for dehydrating, making candied orange peels, making orange infused cleaning vinegar, or even to keep pests out of your garden.

Make the syrup. Choose the syrup of your liking and put the sugar and water into a large pot, dissolve the sugar and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, keep hot while you pack the jars.

Pack jars. Carefully pack the warm jars with orange slices or whole oranges, by removing one jar at a time from the simmering water bath and tightly packing the oranges in the jar. Ladle the hot syrup over the jars to within 1/2 inch headspace.

Remove any air bubbles and adjust for proper headspace if necessary. Wipe the rim of the jar, center lid, and finger tighten screw band.

Process the jars. Place the jars back in the canner as they are packed. Once the canner is full, or you’ve run out of oranges, be sure the tops of the jars are covered by at least 1 inch of water. Place the lid on the canner and bring the canner to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.

Process half-pint jars, pint jars, or quart jars for 10 minutes. Adjusting processing time for altitude if necessary.

Turn off the heat, remove the lid, and allow the jars to sit for 5 minutes before removing to a towel-lined counter.

Leave the jars undisturbed for 12-24 hours before checking for proper seals. Remove the rings, wash them, and store in a cool, dry place for 18 months, or longer as long as the seal is maintained.

How long do canned oranges last?

Canned oranges that are properly processed and in sealed jars stored at room temperature will last a minimum of 18 months. That said, as long as a home-canned good has maintained a proper seal, they will last a long time, but the quality may begin to degrade after a while.

Fruit Canning Recipes to Try Next:

• Canning Peaches (how to easily can peaches at home)
• Canning Blackberries (homemade blackberries in syrup)
• Fruit Cocktail for Canning

If you try this simple canning oranges recipe tutorial, I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below! Also, I’d love if you could leave me a five star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ recipe review on the recipe card below. If you want more recipe inspiration, make sure to follow me on Facebook or Pinterest!