One of the dangers of becoming a proficient canner is that every time you run across unusual, or interesting, or just exemplary fruits or vegetables, you are bound to buy a (usually unreasonable) quantity and find a delicious way to pack them into jars for safe keeping. So it was a few weeks ago, when perfect little pints of kumquats turned up in a market nearby.
For most of my life, my only exposure to kumquats was their annual appearance in my mother's Thanksgiving centerpiece. While we were assured that they were edible, peel and all, they were generally eaten only on a dare; in my experience, the bitterness of citrus peel holds little appeal for American children.
Last Thanksgiving, I bought a bagful of them for purely aesthetic reasons and fashioned my own centerpiece out of kumquats and pomegranates. One of my guests, an Argentinian woman, swooned over them and taught us all how to eat them properly: roll them between your fingers to release their juice, then bite into an end and suck out the insides and finish by eating the peel. Oddly, their sweetness is concentrated in the peel, which nicely offsets their assertive tartness. To my grown-up palate, kumquats are the ideal expression of citrus, with their perfect balance of sweet/tart/bitter/perfumed. When I found them this spring, it struck me that they would make a fine marmalade.
I had a devil of a time finding a recipe that felt right. Too many included other fruits or exotic spicing, or prescribed boneheaded preparation of the fruit (remove the seeds and grind the kumquats coarsely?). All asked for way too much sugar, and two even called for added pectin (this last sent me for a brief lie-down with a cold cloth to my forehead). In the end, I faked together my own treatment, and the result was perfect. I've made marmalades from grapefruit, limes, Seville oranges, Meyer lemons, and mixes of several of these; I'll never bother with any of them again. Kumquat marmalade it shall always be.
• • • • • • • •
Makes about 4 half pints.
3 pints kumquats
3 - 4 cups granulated sugar *
3 – 4 cups cold water
* A general rule of thumb for making fruit jams, preserves, etc., is to add sugar in equal weight to the cleaned fruit (e.g., 1 pound of sugar to 1 pound of fruit) but, for my taste, this makes unpleasantly sweet jam. I limit the sugar to no more than 3/4 of the weight of the fruit, and usually as little as half. For citrus, I go for the higher end of the range to balance the bitterness.
When I made this, 3 pints of cleaned sliced kumquats weighed in at 800 grams (28 oz. or 1.75 lbs.), so I used 600 grams (21 oz. or 1.3 lbs.) of sugar, which just happens to be 3 cups. If you have a scale and want to be absolutely right on, by all means weigh everything. Or just use 3 cups of sugar (4 if you like it sweet) and call it good.
There are lots of times you can fake it in the kitchen with a dull knife, but fiddling with little tiny fruits and vegetables isn't one of them. The best tool for this job is a razor-sharp paring knife; you can pick up a decent plastic-handled one for about 6 bucks.
Wash the kumquats in a sink full of lukewarm water.
Take a thin slice off the end of each kumquat, then slice it in half lengthwise. Notch out the central membrane core and prick the seeds out with the tip of the knife. Reserve the membrane and seeds in a small bowl (these contain a high percentage of the natural pectin, which will be 'harvested' to help set the marmalade).
Slice each half crosswise very thinly.
Layer the fruit and sugar in a large nonreactive bowl and stir gently to combine. Cover and let stand for about 12 hours or overnight. Stir every few hours if you're nearby.
Tie the seeds and membrane in several layers of cheesecloth and place in a large sauce pan with 3 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand until cool enough to handle.
Gently squeeze the cheesecloth bundle over the pot to remove most of the liquid, then set the the pot aside (you'll use this liquid in the final preparation).
Working over a small bowl, squeeze and massage the cheesecloth bundle to extract as much translucent goo as you can (this is the pectin). Using a finger, scrape the pectin off the cheesecloth into the bowl. Then scrape the pectin into the reserved cooking liquid and whisk to combine. Measure the liquid and add enough water to bring it back up to 3 cups.
Scrape the fruit into a large heavy-bottomed pot and stir in the pectin liquid. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches the gel point, generally pegged at 221°F; my preference is for marmalade with a slightly softer set, so I stop it at 218°F.
Remove the pan from the heat immediately once the gel point is reached. Let stand for about 5 minutes, then stir gently to distribute the fruit. Ladle into hot, clean half-pint jars. Screw or clip on lids, then process in a water bath for 10 minutes.
Kumquats are still available, but will soon be gone for the summer, so find some now. They should be back in markets around Thanksgiving time.
On the overnight while the kumquats were sitting in sugar, I remembered this lovely post from Lucy Vanel about preserving clementines in sugar syrup, and I thought ‘hmmm, maybe kumquats would like this, too?’. So I sent Mr. Mora out for another 3 pints the next day; they finished their treatment yesterday, though - curiously – there are only about half as many as I started with. They're so absurdly delicious I haven't been able to resist sampling a few every time I upped the sugar bath. I need to confit another several pints and hope I can save a jar full to share.
Why dont you just remove the pips and leave the pith in, far less trouble if you are not planning to exhibit your wares.
Posted by: Audrey | 16 May 2010 at 08:47 AM
I saw Lucy's post as well and had the exact same thought as you about doing it with kumquats! Please let us know how they turn out.
Posted by: noëlle {simmer down!} | 17 May 2010 at 10:08 AM
You have made me curious to try the fruit. This is my first visit to your blog. I found you by chance and planned only to say hello. I, instead, started reading your earlier posts and stayed far longer than I intended. I really like your blog and will be back as often as I can. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary
Posted by: Mary | 27 May 2010 at 10:06 AM
I've made this a couple of times now - it's delicious - best marmalade I've ever made! Thank you!!
Posted by: Erin | 27 August 2010 at 10:39 PM
Just came across this by chance- I live in Florida and it's almost that time again, page bookmarked. Thanks!
Posted by: Elle Ross | 16 October 2010 at 06:48 PM
If you can find them, Calamondins also make a great marmalade. They were originally a decorative tree for indoors, but occasionally you find a large one growing outdoors. Like Kumquats, the are pretty tart for eating fresh, but make good marmalade.
Posted by: Pat Allums | 18 November 2010 at 05:19 PM
I am so glad that they turned out absurdly delicious! Fond regards this holiday season!
Posted by: Lucy | 24 December 2010 at 04:49 AM
I found your blog looking for a Kumquat Marmalade recipe and your was the best (and one of the easiest) of the lot. It turned out great. I would love to try the confit as well. Did you need to increase the quantities of sugar and glucose syrup - since 3 pints weighs in at almost 2 lbs.?
Posted by: BIna | 11 January 2011 at 11:38 PM
Bina, I just used the quantities as given. And thanks for bringong my attention back to this – I need to get some clementines and start a confit!
Posted by: GG Mora | 12 January 2011 at 08:52 AM
I'm sorry to see this blog withering on the vine. It was one of my favorites.
Posted by: velvet goldmine | 20 February 2011 at 10:10 AM
I'm new to making marmalades and jams. I was wondering if it'd be okay to leave the fruit/sugar standing like 24 hours? I really would like to make this, but I'll be working all day tomorrow and won't be able to get cooking at the 12 hour mark.
Posted by: Vanike | 01 May 2011 at 02:07 PM
I have a small Kumquat tree with 60 ripe pieces of fruit. Can't wait to try this recipe...
Posted by: Lisa Hoffman | 20 November 2011 at 05:24 PM
I am an executive chef and I'm going to Try your marmalade. It sounds great and easy. I recently moved from NH to Alabama and seem to have an abundance of this fruit available without alot of uses. I'm also an instructor at a culinary school. I'll let you know my findings. It's Thanksgiving and I;ll give it a try. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
Posted by: John Lear | 23 November 2011 at 10:16 PM
I have made kumquat preserves that friends love, but have never boiled the seeds and membrane. I am eager to try that.
In Louisiana our citrus trees are loaded so I will make my usual batch of about 18 jars.
There are diabetics I know who would be interested in sugar free preserves if anyone has a recipe.
Posted by: Jeanne | 31 December 2011 at 07:43 PM
I am not a marmalade fan, I do like to use it to glaze grilled chicken, but when I tried this recipe it totally changed my mind! I ate a whole 1/2 pint jar by myself! (Not in one sitting mind you!) Do you have a new blog somewhere else? I see this is your most recent post and it was May of last year.
Posted by: Mindy | 05 January 2012 at 11:54 AM
I just came back from the Kumquat Festival with a half peck of kumquats. I've checked out several recipes (including one from the Kumquat growers), but plan to try yours, as it seems to be most like what I'm looking for. It's amazing how many different methods there are.
Posted by: Kathy Reddy | 30 January 2012 at 02:16 PM
We harvested our tree and made this marmalade over the weekend. Excellent! It was a lot of work, preparing the fruit, but well worth the effort! 4 1/2 pounds prepared fruit yielded 12 half-pint jars. Thank you for sharing your technique. I will definitely make this again!
Posted by: Brenda Shoop | 12 March 2012 at 01:42 PM
I live in Florida. A neighbor gave us a small bag of kumquats from her tree. I like eating them whole, but searched Google for a good marmalade recipe as I thought they'd make a fine marmalade. I found your recipe, which seems like the simplest & smartest recipe for a marmalade I've seen in years. I'll be visiting with the neighbor again as she always has an abundance of fruit & always wants me to take more. I will be trying your recipe as soon as I get more kumquats. Your marmalade sounds fabulous. Thanks for sharing the tip about the seeds, etc. I've never seen that before, but it sure makes sense.
Posted by: Carol Walker | 19 March 2012 at 02:06 AM
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I followed your instructions and the result was perfect. May is the beginning of winter in South Africa where I live and kumquats are abundant at the moment.
Posted by: Petra | 18 May 2012 at 01:17 AM
Since I am fighting the over use of sugar, how can i use some other healthier sweetener like agave? Can you suggest how much agave in lieu of sugar?
Posted by: Dolores Robinson | 01 June 2012 at 12:01 PM
Dolores, I've never cooked with agave, and I've never made marmalade with sweeteners other than sugar. I wouldn't feel comfortable making recommendations.
Posted by: GG Mora | 01 June 2012 at 12:23 PM
I live in Australia and make cumquat marmalade every winter. If you can find a citrus knife used to separate grapefruit from its skin ready to eat, this is a great tool for dealing with cumquats. Cut in half then ease the top of the contents away with the citrus knife, leaving you with a shell of peel. Slice each half into three with scissors. Place pips and flesh in a muslin bag, then throw in the ceramic bowl with the muslin bag of pips etc. Barely cover with water and leave overnight.
Measure and count each cup of peel and liquid into a stainless steel pan then bring all this to the boil and simmer until the peel is tender, adding the muslin bag. Now add one cup of sugar to each cup of previously measured liquid, (i.e. not the liquid after it has boiled down)Bring to a fast boil until setting point (around half an hour) Allow to cool until settled, then stir gently and bottle and seal while still hot. As you have used scarcely any pulp, it will be quite translucent.
This is Stephanie Alexander's (Aussie doyenne of cooking) method and makes beautiful marmalade whatever citrus you use. For ordinary marmalade, you don't need to fiddle with the fruit like you do cumquats- just slice it.
Cumquat brandy is also wonderful.
Wash cumquats and dry. Prick several times with a needle, then pile into a large preserving jar and cover with caster sugar. Gently tip to distribute sugar then add brandy. Keep in a dark cupboard and turn every couple of days until the sugar has dissolved. After four months (better kept a year) you can drink it as liqueur, and chop the fruit small to use in cakes. Will keep for years- even after you have polished off the brandy!(You don't need to use expensive brandy)
Posted by: Lynne | 09 August 2012 at 01:47 AM
This was the best recipe I found online - easy, clear and explicit instructions. This recipe yielded exactly 6 half pint jars. The two things I did differently was not remove the center membrane (just the seeds) and chopped up about 12 slightly greener fruit and processed those like the membranes and seeds for the pectin. That was a huge time saver and got a lot pectin goo.
Posted by: Amy T. | 25 January 2013 at 10:11 AM
What a great blog! Thank you for the recipe-- I have tried the "usual" recipe for kumquat marmalade, and never made an exciting one. I am going to make this one right now. They are in season and I can't wait to post the result here.
Also, many thanks for the link to the clementine confit! I will reserve some kumquats to try that one as well!
Posted by: Chris | 22 March 2013 at 10:42 PM
I tutor a Chinese lady (as a volunteer) and she told me to wash and dry my kumquats then jar them using salt. aA layer of salt, layer of kumquats (whole) keep layering until jar is full, top with salt. Put in a cool, dark place (I use my inside bar) after 4 months they are ready. The idea is to s ip the liquid when you have a sore throat, or upset tummy etc. These are very expensive in Asian stores. I have put several jars away as well as making my marmalade, since i had a huge crop this year.
Posted by: Lee Bingham | 02 June 2013 at 05:23 PM
That sounds amazing. I'm always on the lookout for interesting natural remedies – I'll have to try this the next time I have a surplus of kumquats!
Posted by: GG Mora | 02 June 2013 at 05:31 PM
what is a nonreactive bowl? can a stainles steel bowl be use for the 12hr sugar, kumquat process ? posted by:JJ
Posted by: Jan James | 17 January 2014 at 03:47 PM
As I read all these cute and entertaining posts, my hubby is sitting on the Couch, watching his Spanish soccer and is slicing a Dutch oven full of Kumquats and taking out the insides. He is very patient doing this and he is the residence Kumquat maker here. I am totally ok with it, he did it last year too.
But, we use a lot less sugar than you all, but he totally eyeballs this, so I don't know how much he puts in, he never weights anything. In any case there is less than half sugar of what anyone suggest, we like tart!!!!
I will try to make him measure fruit and sugar, so I can tell you all about it, I'm not sure he will do it, maybe if I beg.
Posted by: Doris K. Eckel | 17 March 2015 at 01:44 PM