This easy small batch mango jam recipe captures all the tropical sweetness and fragrance of fresh mango in a delicious preserve, using frozen mangoes to save on all the mess!
Mango jam
And now for something completely different! You don’t see a lot of mango jam on the shelves in the supermarket, but mangoes make a delicious conserve and it’s so easy with this small batch recipe
See also
- Mango compote is another lovely way to enjoy this fabulous tropical fruit.
- For another easy frozen fruit jam recipe, try this mixed berry jam.
- Peach jam is a great way to enjoy that taste of summer all year round.
Soft, tender and juicy, mangoes are glorious but they are also messy. Awkward to peel and stone if they are just under or just over ripe, it can also be difficult to find two fruits that are just right at the same time.
I have done away with the problem by using frozen mango in this mango jam. You can get a bag of ready prepared frozen mango chunks from any supermarket.
The fruit doesn’t suffer – if anything it is better quality than fresh mango, you get all that fabulous flavour and none of the hard work. It also means that can make your mango jam at any time of the year in a small batch that doesn’t take over your kitchen cupboards.
I like to use a conserve method for stone fruit jams (see my plum jam, and nectarine jam). This means soaking the fruit in sugar for several hours before cooking, to combine the sugar with the fruit juices.
This process is called maceration. It makes the whole process longer, but the hands-on time is, if anything, a little less. The reduced cooking time gives a fresher flavour and you retain some chunks of fruit in the jam rather than letting it all cook down into a mush.
Ii do recommend macerating the fruit. You can, however, skip the maceration and follow a regular jam process if you prefer. To do this, just leave out Step Three of the recipe.
Why make mango jam with frozen mangoes?
- It is easy – no peeling, stoning and clearing juice off every kitchen surface
- A delicious and unusual jam, full of tropical flavours.
- No waiting around for fruit to ripen or wrestling with sticky mangoes at different stages.
- You can make it in small batches, any time of year.
Small batch mango jam ingredients
- Frozen mango – absolutely fuss free!
- Sugar – regular granulated white sugar – no need for jam sugar
- Lemon – Roll it on a cutting board under your hand, using a little pressure to release more juice before you cut into it.
How to make mango jam – step by step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this small batch frozen mango jam recipe perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step one – Juice the lemon. Put the frozen mango, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl. Cover and leave for a few hours or overnight to macerate.
Step Two – When the sugar has drawn out the fruit juice, the mixture is ready to make jam. No a the sugar will have dissolved.
Transfer to a large, deep, heavy pan.
Step Three – While you are making the jam on the stove, heat your jam jars and lids in the oven, so that they will not crack when you fill them (read more on how to sterilize jam jars). If you have them, prepare a Pyrex jug and a jam funnel too.
Heat slowly at first, bringing the jam mixture to a simmer and stirring to ensure that no fruit sticks to the base of the pan and burns. Then when you are sure that all the sugar is fully dissolved, bring the heat up to a boil.
Step Four – Cook the jam at a rolling boil until it reaches setting point (see notes below). Stir frequently, running a spoon or spatula over the bottom of the pan so that none of the fruit sticks and burns.
This will take about 10 minutes, depending on the size and shape of your pan.
If you would like a smoother jam, use a potato masher to break the fruit up as it cooks.
How to test for setting point
This is the only tricky bit of making jam: checking it’s hot enough to set, so that when cool, it will be jam rather than liquid.
The temperature test. Digital jam thermometers are widely available, and not expensive. They are much easier to read than traditional jam thermometers. Heat the jam to the setting point (usually 105°C/221°F) and once your jam is there, you know it should be ready.
Caution: Use temperature only as a guide. Once the thermometer reads 105°C, I give the jam a good stir to get rid of any hot spots and then test with the wrinkle test.The wrinkle test. Put a couple of side plates in the freezer before you start work. Once the jam is boiling, start testing by placing some on one of the plates. Allow it to cool on the plate. Then push your fingernail through the jam. If you see it wrinkle up ahead of your finger, it is ready. This technique takes a bit of practice.
The flake test. Take a spoonful from the pan and turn it vertically to tip out the jam. If the jam runs off, it hasn’t set. If, however, some sticks to the spoon in a sort of wide drip that doesn’t fall, the jam is ready. Again, this works best with some practice.
For more in-depth coverage, read my full guide to jam setting point.
Step Five – Pour your jam into heated, sterilized jars. I find it easiest to do this by transferring the jam to a sterilized shatterproof jug and then pouring through a jam funnel.
Helen’s Pro Tip
Let the jam sit in the jug for a few minutes to cool and thicken. Then give it a stir and check the fruit is evenly distributed before you pot the jam. If you jar it when it is too hot, the pieces of fruit can rise to the top.
With chunkier jams you can get some tiny air bubbles in the pots. To avoid this, pour slowly. Give the tray of jars a gentle swirl or rap on the worktop. You can also stir slowly with the end of a sterilized spoon to dislodge them.
Wipe away any drips and seal the jars with the lids, making sure they are secure. Leave them to cool and then check that they have sealed correctly. The dimple in the lids will have popped down. If not, you should be able to pop it down with a gentle pressure.
If you have a jar that won’t seal properly, keep it in the fridge once cool and treat it as if already open, eating it within a few weeks.
Serving suggestion
Use your small batch mango jam just as you would any other jam. It is delicious on toast, muffins or crumpets for breakfast, on pancakes or on coconut rice pudding.
Variations
- Vanilla mango jam – Add a up to half a teaspoon of vanilla paste to the mix.
- Mixed stone fruit jam – Any mixture of stone fruit such as peaches or nectarines with the mango will work.
- Lime Mango Jam – swap the lemon juice for lime juice
- Chilli Mango Jam – add a small dried chilli to the fruit and sugar mixture to infuse as the mixture macerates Remove before cooking.
Storage
Check the jars have sealed. If any fail, keep them in the fridge and use those first. Once they are properly sealed, the jars should be kept in a cool dark cupboard.
Someone once asked me whether you could freeze jam. Jam is a method of preserving fruit that long predates the invention of the freezer and it lasts just as long as anything in the freezer.
Freezer jams are different, but this frozen mango jam is a traditional conserve. You don’t need to freeze it.
Hints and tips
- Always use a deep pan. Not only will the jam rise up high to fill most of the pan when it is hot, but it can spit and splash and it is sticky. Boiling jam liquid is hotter than boiling water. You don’t want to scald yourself. You should also use a long spatula or wooden spoon when stirring the jam.
- Make sure you heat the jars while you cook the jam, even if they have already been sterilized. If you pour hot liquid into cold glass, the glass may shatter.
- If you like making preserves, buy a jam funnel. They are inexpensive and save a lot of mess.
FAQs
I have found the flavour to be excellent with frozen mango, and it does save an awful lot of bother. Fresh mangoes can be very messy.
I’m sure it’s different if you live somewhere where there are mango trees at the bottom of the garden, but for me, frozen fruit works well.
If made correctly with the jars well sealed, your jam will keep for several years, though I think it is best enjoyed within 18 months. Once opened, store in the fridge and eat within a few weeks.
If you leave the lemon juice out, or you’ll be asking ‘why won’t my mango jam set?’ This mango jam needs the acid and pectin from the lemon. It is not there for flavour, but to make the jam set. Your jam will not taste of lemon.
No, there is enough pectin in the fruit and the lemon juice. You don’t need jam sugar or liquid or powdered pectin. If you cook it according to the instructions, it should set just fine.
More jam recipes
- Black cherry jam – easy to make and delicious with yogurt or in chocolate cake
- Nectarine jam – distinctive, delicious and tastest like summer!
- Apricot jam – so useful in the kitchen!
- Easy rhubarb jam – a pretty pink jam to make in spring
- Blackberry jam – a classic jewel-like jam
- A collection of the best jam and jelly recipes – all my favourite sweet preserves
Mango Jam
Ingredients
- 300 g prepared mango (frozen is excellent)
- 225 g granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and cover, leaving them to macerate for several hours (overnight is ideal).300 g prepared mango, 225 g granulated sugar, 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Transfer to a large, tall pan and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Continue until you are happy that all the sugar is well dissolved.While you are cooking the fruit mixture, heat 2 clean jam jars in the oven, ready to fill them with the jam.
- Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Stir to make sure the jam does not stick and burn. Continue until the jam thickens and the bubbles grow larger and slower moving.Check for setting point using a thermometer (105C/220F), a drip test or a wrinkle test on a chilled plate).
- Take the jam off the heat and cool slightly. Then transfer the jam to the jars. This is easier if you pour the jam into a jug and then use the jug and a jam funnel to fill the warm jars while it is still hot.
Notes
Yield
2 200 ml jars (about 1.5 cups)Storage
Check the jars have sealed. If any fail, keep them in the fridge and use those first. Once they are properly sealed, the jars should be kept in a cool dark cupboard. Someone once asked me whether you could freeze jam. Jam is a method of preserving fruit that long predates the invention of the freezer and it lasts just as long as anything in the freezer. Freezer jams are different, but this frozen mango jam is a traditional conserve. You don’t need to freeze it.Hints and tips
- Always use a deep pan. Not only will the jam rise up high to fill most of the pan when it is hot, but it can spit and splash. Boiling jam liquid is hotter than boiling water. You don’t want to scald yourself. You should also use a long spatula or wooden spoon when stirring the jam.
- Make sure you heat the jars while you cook the jam, even if they have already been sterilized. If you pour hot liquid into cold glass, the glass may shatter.
- If you like making preserves, buy a jam funnel. They are inexpensive and save a lot of mess.
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