A brilliant marmalade, bursting with flavor, balanced sweetness and just a tinge of bitterness. If you could improve it, you would notch up the bitterness. :) The marmalade has a terrific consistency and a stunning, appetizing orange color. It pairs wonderfully with brioche, toast, rich buttery tortas or ensaimadas. And best of all, it was really easy to make, though the de-seeding and slicing can admittedly be a bit tedious. We only made two 8oz bottles worth, so we didn’t go overboard this time around.
I saw some fresh kumquats for sale at the grocery and bought three packages without really knowing what I was going to do with them. Back at home, I surfed the net and found this simple sounding recipe for kumquat marmalade and immediately went to work in the kitchen. I adjusted ingredients to the amount of fruit I had on hand, and reduced sugar a bit, as well as taking slight shortcuts on some of the instructions, but the marmalade turned out very nicely despite the changes.
Along with the kalamansi marmalade I have featured on this site several times before, this kumquat marmalade is now second on our list of favorite homemade citrus preserves…
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In the Artisan Bread In 5 Minutes a Day book, there is a kumquat recipe for “Kumquat Champagne Confit”. To make 3 cups, you need: 1 cup sugar, 2 cups Champagne, 1 cup water, 1 star anise, and 25 kumquats thinly sliced.
I thought kumquats would turn out better marmalade precisely because they are not bitter. You can pop them in your mouth, rind and all but I guess, as in everything in life, one needs a little bit of bite for assertiveness and character. I was fond of Sicilian blood orange marmalade which are seasonally available here in neat cube jars but tasting calamansi marmalade made me switch my allegiance. Now I seem to be rivetted only by its suggestive violent name.
This is the first time I heard of kumquats…thanks for sharing MM!
incidentally, i have bookmarked a kumquat marmalade recipe from another food blog which just escapes my mind now. Will try it soon as it did sound easy to do.
And last night i tried citron tea in a korean restaurant… It was thinly sliced citron with honey made into tea. It was so refreshing. So unlike the usual iced tea.
Lovely and delish-looking marmalade! I would love to try kumquats someday when the price is less daunting in this part of the world. I have made a 3-citrus marmalade from Sicilian blood oranges, Florida grapefruits and Seville oranges and it was such a hit, the colours were brilliant, and the taste was just balanced bitter-sweet that the marmalades were consumed in no time at all. To find these three citrus fruits at one time was more of a coincidence and given the opportunity again I would make a huge batch.
Dear mm, which grocery did u buy the kumquats?
I love kumquats! I get them when they’re available in my favorite asian/korean supermarket. I haven’t tried making kumquat marmalade though. I will try out your kumquat marmalade recipe.
nina, citron honey tea is sooo good. I buy the big bottle of the korean citron honey tea in my favorite korean store. the big turn off is they use HFCS in their product :(
satomi, i love the citron honey tea..very soothing when warm, and refreshing when cold. and yes, i buy the big jar at the korean groceries. but i didn’t know about high fructose corn syrup (if that’s what you meant by HCFS)..i thought it had only honey in it! major bummer!
MM, i presume the kumquats did not erase your fingerprints like the calamansi did? ;-)
satomi and millet, better make our own citron honey tea at home then, eh? now, to find citron…
Hi MM, I checked out your calamansi marmalade recipe and was amazed that the pectin of the fruit was sufficient to thicken it into a marmalade. I’ve added (store bought) pectin and it still came out runny. Is this because you used green fruit/rind instead of yellow or was it the process you used… adding the sugar only after the fruits were stewed and chilled?
krissy, I used green fruit but I am not sure if that affects pectin content. But the stewing and fridge overnight is probably where the pectin really develops. Our jams were almost too solid, with just natural pectin…
kumquat is popular in east asia and is refreshing as a drink. yumm. i buy the korean preserved ones. also great as a topping for homemade yoghurt
FYI, there are two types of kumquats! They make wonderful potted patio plants! One is ‘tart’ and good for marmalades and is known as the Nagami or Oval Kumquat (often found in the States)… There are also the ‘sweet’ kumquats that you basically just pop in your mouth to eat fresh! The Meiwa kumquats are sweet, and there are a couple other sweet varieties but do not know if they are all available to buy in the U.S. However, they lack the tartness desirable for marmalades, so they are not recommended for cooking. ~ Kumquats are often grown in pots on the patio because they can tolerate cold down to about 28 degrees. Here in Central Texas, the pots make it easy to bring in the garage for our coldest months of January/February [I use a dolly]. This site tells how to eat kumquats and has much useful information, including recipes. —> https://www.kumquatgrowers.com/what.html