Kumquat Marmalade

I made this Kumquat Marmalade almost two months ago, when they were in season. Kumquat is one of my favourite fruit, I love the tart and sweetness of these little fruits, as the whole fruit can be eaten, rind and all, minus the seeds. To make this marmalade, you've got to plan a day ahead, but it really is a simple process, the only thing that takes a bit of time, is the slicing of the fruits. 

Day 1

On Day One  (the night before) :

1. Wash the kumquats thoroughly, remove stems. Slice the kumquats in thin rounds, (forgotten to take a photo of that!), remove the seeds using the tip of your knife, saving the seeds in a small bowl.
2. The saved kumquat seeds, you are going to use it in the cooking process, as citrus seeds contains proto-pectin, which is required for gelling. The seeds are placed in a spice bag, here I have used a muslin cloth, which I have reserved for my jam making. Simply put all the seeds in the centre of a muslin cloth, making sure the cloth is big enough to gather round the edges and tie into a little pouch. 
3. Put the sliced kumquats and the spice bag into a deep saucepan along with the water. Bring to a boil, and continue boiling, uncovered, for 15 minutes. 
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat, cover with a cloth, and let the saucepan stand at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.

 Day 2, morning

The next morning, add sugar and lemon juice to the pan and place the pan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved, raise the heat to medium-high, letting it come to a boil for 1 minute. Remove pan from the heat, cover with a cloth, and let it stand at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.

Note : The original recipe uses 4 cups of sugar, here I have used only 1 cup. Sugar acts as a primary thickener to jams and preserves. But I could not bring myself to use 4 cups of sugar! By using less sugar, I have to cook the marmalade a little longer until the setting stage. And also, I have added in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, even though the original recipe doesn't call for it.

 Day 2, at night, about 8-12 hours later

About 8-12 hours later, place the pan over medium-low heat, bringing the mixture to a slow boil. Increase the heat to medium-high and continue to boil until setting stage, which takes me about 30 minutes. Stir once or twice at the beginning, and as it starts to thicken, stir constantly to avoid the bottom being burnt. I did not do any spoon test or jelly-thermometer reading (I don't have any!), just let it thicken to the consistency I want. I like my jam and marmalade to be a little on the runny side, as they will thicken further when placed in the fridge. Choose the method which best suits you. Once the marmalade are done, remove the pan from the heat, spoon off any foam that arises, lift out the spice bag, and press it with the back of a spoon to release all that delicious liquid. Let the marmalade stand for 5 minutes and then, spoon into sterilized jar. Seal and leave at room temperature until cool, store in the refrigerator.

400 gms of kumquat yields about 1-1/2 jars of 250ml, (of course, if you use more sugar, than you would have gotten more than this). Once the jars are cool, place them in the refrigerator.

The next morning, straight out from the refrigerator, the marmalade has further thicken slightly, not too thick, just the consistency I like! Yum!

Delicious Kumquat Marmalade. Spread it on bread, on toast, or even on pancakes and scones!

I'm sharing this with :

Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage

See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

Kumquat Marmalade
(adapted from "The Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves", Linda Ziedrich, with some changes)
420gm stemmed kumquats
4 cups water
1 cups sugar (original recipe uses 4 cups)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (my addition)

1. Slice the kumquats crosswise into thin rings, removing the seeds with the tip of your knife. Put the seeds into a spice bag, put the bag and the kumquats into a saucepan, and add the water. Bring the contents to a boil, and boil them, uncovered, for 15 minutes, skimming off the foam. Remove the pan from the heat, cover it with a cloth, and let the pan stand at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.
2. Add the sugar to the pan and place the pan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, and then raise the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, cover it with a cloth, and let it stand at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.
3. Bring the kumquat mixture slowly to a boil. Raise the heat to medium-high and boil the mixture until it passes the spoon test or a jelly thermometer reads 220F.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and skim off the foam. Press the spice bag against the side of the pan, and remove the bag. Let the marmalade cool for 5 minutes, and then ladle it into pint or half-pint mason jars. Add lids and rings, and process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath.

kitchen flavour's notes :
How I sterilize the jars :
About 40-45 minutes before bottling the marmalade (before you start to cook the marmalade) :
~ wash the jars and the caps clean, shake off excess water.
~ place jars on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, with the caps by the side of the jar. Place cookie sheet in the centre rack of oven , turn oven on to a low temperature of 110F for 30 minutes. Turn off oven and leave jars in oven until needed. 
~ make sure the jars are warm when ladling the hot jam into it, cool jars might crack if there's sudden change in temperature.

#33/100