Oh I really enjoyed making this jam. The colors and flavors were fabulous. Even if you have never canned before, please give it a try. You will be very proud of your efforts! I got the same response from every person who tried it: that long, deep, “Wooooow.” Then you know you got it right. 🙂
After peeling, I put the oranges in a food processor and gave them a spin. I then poured the juice through a strainer and squeezed the pulp with a wooden spoon to get “every drop of juice.” That was a good method. Squeezing unwaxed oranges through a sieve seemed like a difficult plan. I think I got more juice that way too.
I used the wooden spoon method to test, but only ran my finger over the back once. It is very hot! For the rest of the testing, I used a spatula instead of my finger. I’d recommend dripping a little liquid onto a small plate and running through it with a finger substitute to test. My wooden spoon is shiny and it was very difficult to see exactly what was happening with each test.
I would recommend a funnel for filling the jam into jars. I didn’t have any, but was able to form a “cone” out of parchment paper to ensure the jars stayed clean when filled. The jam has a very sticky, honey-like consistency and is also very spicy.