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Blood Orange Pâte (Fruit Jelly)

Blood Oranges | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Blood Orange Pâte is one of the 3 French Fruit Pâtes I made this week. Be sure to check out my recipes for Meyer lemon and rosemary pâtes and kumquat and vanilla bean pâtes.

How to Make Blood Orange Pâtes

Find the full recipe at the bottom of this post!

Equipment

parchment lined baking dish 9×9″
food processor
straight edged wooden spatula or tempered rubber spatula

In a sauce pan of boiling water cook the whole orange for about 10 seconds. This will soften the skin of the orange, which will be used in the recipe.

Boiling Whole Blood Orange | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Cut off the ends and discard.

Slicing Blood Orange | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Cut the cooked fruit into sections.

Blood Orange Slices | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

In a food processor finely chop the cut up orange.

Blood Orange Slices in Food Processor | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François
Blending Blood Orange in Food Processor | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Add the 1 1/3 cups of blood orange and process until the desired texture. I like mine with some bits of rind and my husband likes his smooth. If you want the pâte to be perfectly smooth you can strain the mixture at this point.

Blood Orange Juice | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Add the orange and the sugar to a medium size sauce pot and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling you will cook the mixture for 5 minutes. Half way through add the butter and continue to cook. Be sure to stir constantly and make sure it doesn’t boil over. You may have to adjust the temperature as you cook.

Blood Orange Pâte Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François
Blood Orange Pâte Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Once the mixture has cooked for the full 5 minutes turn off the heat and add the Certo.

Certo | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Stir until well combined.

Blood Orange Pâte Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Pour into prepared baking dish.

Blood Orange Pâte Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Let sit at room temperature until completely set, about 2 hours.

Blood Orange Pâte Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Cut with a sharp knife or cookie cutter and roll in sugar to serve. Can be served cold or at room temperature. Keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.

Also try:

Kumquat and Vanilla Bean Pâte

Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Pâte

Citrus Fruit Pâte | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François
Citrus Fruit Pates on a glass platter

Blood Orange Pâte (Fruit Jelly)

Blood oranges have the most beautiful red juice with a slight perfume scent to it making them perfect for these fruit jellies.
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Ingredients

  • 1 whole blood orange
  • 1 1/3 cups blood orange juice you can combine juicing oranges and blood oranges. Blood oranges are not nearly as juicy so it will take many more of them
  • 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp butter I used salted, but unsalted will work as well
  • 2 pouches liquid Certo pectin I’ve tried others and Certo is the best!

Instructions

  • In a sauce pan of boiling water cook the whole orange for about 10 seconds. This will soften the skin of the orange, which will be used in the recipe. 
  • Cut off the ends and discard. Cut the cooked fruit into sections.
  • In a food processor finely chop the cut up orange. Add the 1 1/3 cups of blood orange and process until the desired texture. I like mine with some bits of rind and my husband likes his smooth. If you want the pâte to be perfectly smooth you can strain the mixture at this point.
  • Add the orange and the sugar to a medium size sauce pot and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling you will cook the mixture for 5 minutes. Half way through add the butter and continue to cook. Be sure to stir constantly and make sure it doesn’t boil over. You may have to adjust the temperature as you cook.
  • Stir until well combined. Pour into prepared baking dish. Let sit at room temperature until completely set, about 2 hours.
  • Cut with a sharp knife or cookie cutter and roll in sugar to serve. Can be served cold or at room temperature. Keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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33 thoughts to “Blood Orange Pâte (Fruit Jelly)”

  1. Zoe,

    Could you make this with strawberries?
    It’s the season in Louisiana and would love to do this!!, would I have to change anything to do this? Would love your imput

  2. Hi Carol,

    They would be lovely! It is hard to believe you have strawberries already. I’m terribly jealous!

    This is what you will need:

    2 1/2 pints fresh strawberries
    2 1/2 cups sugar
    1 tablespoon butter
    2 pouches liquid Certo

    puree the strawberries and cook in the same manner as the blood orange pâte. But, you will cook for about 6-7 minutes depending on how watery the strawberries are. Then add the Certo and let set.

    Please let me know how it goes!

    Thanks, Zoë

  3. Thanks sooooo much Zoe!

    Will go to the store to get some pectin and I will let you know how it goes.

    fingers crossed!
    Carol

  4. Hi Carol,

    Make sure to get Certo, I’ve tried the others and it just didn’t set up as well!

    Good luck! I can’t wait until spring actually arrives here and I can make them with other fruits.

    Zoë

  5. Hello Zoe,
    I was so excited to see the recipe for the fruit gelees as they have always been a passover tradition in my family. So I had to try your easy recipe. I must have erred, because they just didn’t set. So I put the syrupy jelly back in the pot and cooked until 220 on a candy thermometer. The results are delicious, but more concentrated and of course sweeter than I prefer. I followed the recipe closely{which I rarely do}, but I did continue to boil the fruit syrup after the Certo was whisked in-perhaps that was a no-no.Any hints on what kept the mixture from jelling?all I had was a gel layer on top of the syrup.
    I would love to hear from you.
    thanks, Donna

  6. Hi Donna,

    Yes, I did the same thing the first time around. I figured it was like making other candies and cooking it would just make it set more. But, in this case cooking the Certo prevents it from setting as well. Once you boil the syrup for the proper time, then remove from the heat and add the 2 pouches of liquid Certo.

    Try that and you should be in great shape.

    Thanks! Zoë

  7. I would love to make these with limes. Is that possible? Also is Certo safe for ove-lacto vegetarians?

  8. Hi arness,

    It would work with limes, but you will have to adjust the sugar. It would probably be close to the Meyer lemon, but the limes are more sour and so you may want to add a touch more sugar? http://zoebakes.com/?p=405

    The Certo is just fruit pectin so it doesn’t contain any eggs or dairy.

    Let me know how it goes! Zoë

  9. Hey Zoe,

    I’m new to rotation, but I just wanted to say that these jellies look visually stunning and i really want to try them out if there are kumquats the farmer’s market. I just made pear cranberry pomegranate lime ones which were great, but very sweet.
    Are these very sweet too?
    I had to boil mine for a while, but in this recipe there doesn’t seem to be a need. Have they always set with no problem?
    Thanks!
    If your interested, check these out! http://kitchensidecar.blogspot.com/2009/01/festive-pear-pomegranate-fruit.html

  10. Hi Katie,

    I found that the trick is to boil the fruit and then turn off the heat and add the pectin. I once forgot the sugar in the recipe and tried to add it after, by boiling it all together again and it never set up after I added heat to the pectin. The science is all very strange with this stuff, but if you follow my directions it should set just great!

    They are quite sweet, which is why I used sour citrus!

    Thanks! Zoë

  11. Please help- What can I use to stabilize whipped cream rosettes so they hold up for a 4 hour car ride (outside temp approx 40)or overnight in the frig without getting mushy?

  12. Hi lynette,

    That is quite a challenge! Is it not possible to set up everything and pipe the whipped cream on at the last minute. It is always best freshly whipped. If not, you may consider using something other than whipped cream, like buttercream or an icing.

    There are some products that are available for stabilizing cream that you can find int he grocery store near the gelatin. I’d try it ahead of time and see what you think. Also, you may not want to use as much as they say or the cream gets a “greasy” mouth feel.

    Great luck and let me know how it works out!

    Zoë

  13. Hi Zoe, made the recipe with blood oranges. After 3 hours, still only partially set. One box of Certo contains two pouches, and I assumed those were the two pouches called for in the recipe–yes? Also, it is critical to use a glass baking dish rather than a 9-inch square metal baking pan?

    1. Hi Jane,

      This happened to me once when I tried cooking the mixture after the pectin was added to the pot. It broke down the pectin and it never set up. Is it possible that the pectin got cooked after you added it? It sounds like you used the right amount of the Certo. Is the metal a non reactive pan? In other words does the acid in the fruit seem to be discoloring the pan? If so, this could also be messing with the setting of the jellies?

      Thanks, Zoë

  14. Hi, I am thinking of making this in Israel. The only pectin I can find is powdered. Could you please explain the ration of powder, I assume, to water in order to try this recipe?
    TIA,
    Adina.

  15. I tried the strawberry version from the above comment. I didn’t let it boil after I added the liquid pectin, but 12 hours later, it still hasn’t set. I cannot bring myself to throw away 2 1/2 pints of expensive organic strawberries and all that sugar. How can I salvage this and make it edible?

    1. Hi Jocelyn,

      I would cook it down and make preserves out of the strawberries. It will probably not set up as tight as a jam, but it will be a lovely spread for toast or over ice cream. You may need to add more sugar and perhaps some lemon juice.

      Let me know how it goes! Thanks, Zoë

  16. Butter in Pate de fruits? That is news to me. I have been looking for pate de fruits recipe (MADE FROM FRESH FRUITS) instead of commercial purees – over-priced – and THESE RECIPES FIT THE BILL & pocket perfectly. THANKS. But could you share why you added butter? If I runt out of CERTO, can I use SureJell?

      1. I like that !! I use butter in dishes (savory & sweet) as much as possible. If I make pasta, I use 3/4 olive oil & 1/4 butter !! What about other pectins ( SureJell, Ball etc.) ?

        1. Hi Clarice,

          Sorry, I was so excited to talk about butter I forgot the other question! 😉

          I tried it with SureJell and didn’t like the results as well. I didn’t try Ball. If you do, please let me know how it goes!

          Thanks, Zoë

  17. You should probably reword your recipe a little bit, considering how much trouble some people have had with it. I, too, was unable to get the fruit pate to set. I realize now that I probably should have let the mixture cool a bit before adding the pectin, but your recipe does not say to let it cool–it says to add the pectin right after the mixture has been boiling for five minutes; obviously it is still hot at that point.

  18. Just made these and they are so beautiful and so tasty. A perfect holiday treat. Loved them and will make them in the future. Thank you so much for sharing these.

  19. I made the blood orange Pate de Fruit and after 12 hours it is still jelly like on the underside. The top is good. I have turned it over in hopes it will set. What could I have done wrong? I measured everything exactly, boiled for 2.5 min and added butter, then boiled for the remaining 2.5 minutes. The top has a skin on it but the underneath is not set up enough to cut it successfully. Maybe I should have changed pans and let the fruit mixture cool a bit?

  20. I just tried the this passionfruit and orange but it didn’t set. I think I didn’t cook it down long enough. I saved the syrup. Maybe I can use it as topping on ice cream or maybe on shave ice. I’m definitely will try again. Maybe the strawberries and I need to get a smaller glass pan. Thanks for the recipe.

  21. just got back from Paris and loved these ! Can’t wait to try it, thank you for posting ! If I make it out of apples which type do you prefer and does sugar amount compare to strawberry pate? Thank you !! Looking forward to reading more of your recipes.

    1. Hi Mary,

      This is such a good question. It will take some experimenting, since apples and strawberries have such different pectin, sugar and water content. If you try it, please let me know.

      Thanks! Zoë

  22. Hey Zoe, my jellies did not set but I was wondering if I added some gelatin and/or more pectin, could I re-heat it and re-congeal it into either a jam (for toast) or re-try letting it gel? I did get it to 240F but it is super humid out and I shouldn’t have tried 🙂

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