Kumquat Marmalade
These are my words of wisdom to you: Go make kumquat marmalade while you still can.
Get 1.5 lbs kumquats and slice them up thinly, reserving the seeds. Tie the seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Put the kumquat slices and the bag of seeds together in a non-reactive pot with 4 C water and cover it and let it sit for 24 hours.
The next day, put the pot on the stove and bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Once it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and let the mixture reduce down for 45 minutes to an hour, or until it has reduced down to about 4 C.
Once that’s done, 4 C sugar goes in with constant stirring, and everything cooks for another 15-20 minutes, or until it hits about 215-220 F and a teaspoon of mixture dropped onto a cold plate gels. Actually, you don’t even need a cold plate - just drip a bit onto a spoon and blow on it until it cools. It’s easy to see it gel that way, even.
Remove the bag of seeds at this point, and the marmalade is done. You can safely seal it in canning jars, freeze it, or keep it in the fridge.
This stuff is seriously simple and sublime. We made a batch using earl grey tea instead of water, too.
March 19th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Yum! Is it kumquat season? Chez Pim just posted candied kumquats. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten them any way but fresh, and they always struck me as strange as a kid, but in a nice way (”You only eat the skins? Really?”).
March 19th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Wonderful… I love candied kumquats so I bet this is delicious!
March 19th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
My aunt just made some amazing orange marmalade. One of the batches she thoughts she messed up as it was running but it turned out to be the consistency of honey. It’s not marmalade, but it’s awesome nonetheless!
March 20th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Hi there,
I got here searching for hungarian recipes to please my hungarian husband. It’s an wonderful blog.
Congratulations for your new Restaurant, I wish you success on it.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
OMG! I hope they still have kumquats at Trader Joe’s!
Congratulations on your new restaurant! I wish you the best of luck!
March 20th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
They seem to have disappeared from the shelves down here…I am having a slight delay on your swap item because I had a brain freeze on an upcoming baking order but they will be done this weekend!
March 21st, 2008 at 12:18 am
Hey, I wonder what preserved kumquats would taste like…sort of like preserved lemons.
March 21st, 2008 at 9:57 am
i’ve never had a kumquat before. but i love marmelade and i love orange things, so i bet i would love this! i didn’t even know it was kumquat season.
March 21st, 2008 at 11:01 am
Oh, now this sounds just lovely! On toast, on muffins, maybe even by the sneaky spoonful!
March 21st, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I had some kumquats lying around and made it last night … so good!
March 24th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
My Uncle was just telling me about the surplus of Kumquats he has from his tree…I am going to run over there right now after reading your yummy post! Love your blog by the way!
March 25th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Gosh, they really are that easy! Why do I keep buying jarred marmalade for? My employee has kumquat tree, I’ll go ask for some.
March 25th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I’ve never had a kumquat! Ohh but I know I’d love this.. will see if they are being sold in my local mega mart this Friday! I’m so making it with the tea instead of water too.. YUM!
You just never cease to amaze me! :)
xoxo
March 27th, 2008 at 8:03 am
I’m glad so many of you are going out to make this - it is really incredible. I’ve been eating it in palacsinta with sour cream, and on english muffins with butter, and with foie gras (’nuff said).