Kumquat Marmalade

I’m back to cooking my way through Rachel Saunders’ Blue Chair Jam Cookbook. I’ve shared this process before here, and other things I’ve learned through her book here. It has been another windy, rainy day in the San Francisco Bay Area so hunkering down making marmalade and writing are a natural for me.

I am an inquisitive person, especially when it comes to food, so even I am surprised to say that I’ve never had a personal encounter with a kumquat before. I have ended that sad story by purchasing some at my local farmer’s market, plucking my fill of Meyer lemons from my neighbor’s tree and following the instructions for Kumquat Marmalade from Rachel’s book. The process for making marmalade according to Rachel is a 3 day process. Oh no! you might say. But relax. You are not working for 3 days. Each day has a step in the process and I’ve found her process to be easy and end with terrific results.

Day 1: The kumquat is a very small citrus fruit with a smooth yellow-orange skin.

And here is one cut in half. They have a seed the size of a seed in an orange and quite a few of them.

A portion of these were halved and put in a bowl with Meyer lemons and water. They sit overnight.

Step 2 in day 1: Thinly slice the other portion of kumquats and place them in water. I have to admit that during the slicing process I began to wonder if this amount of work was going to be worth it. Fruit this small sliced thinly gives new meaning to tedium!

On day 2 the two batches of fruit are cooked. The mixed fruit cooks until it begins to become syrupy. The kumquats are cooked until tender. The mixed fruit is put in a strainer and both batches are allowed to sit overnight.

On day 3 the final cooking of marmalade commences. The two batches of fruit are combined with sugar and lemon juice and placed in the preserving pan. Here is the start

and here we are almost done cooking.

The marmalade was at the perfect stage after cooking 35 minutes. After being placed into jars, it sits in the oven for 30 minutes at 250 degrees. Then it sits overnight unmoved to ensure proper setting. Yield was 12 8-oz jars.

Is that gorgeous color or what?! I wish you could smell it. It’s definitely citrus, though not at all like the orange and lemon I am familiar with. It has its own delicate flavor and aroma. Was it worth the work? Yes, indeed.