Easy Kumquat Jam Recipe (No Pectin Added and Award-Winning )
This easy kumquat jam recipe is a great way to use this little citrus fruit. It takes much less work than making kumquat marmalade and has won awards!
Recently, I picked all the remaining kumquats off my tree.
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*Edited to add: now can be called “award-winning kumquat jam”! See the comments below.
This jam has placed 1st and 3rd at the LA County Fair (that’s not a little one)!
I think leaving them on for a longer period of time is not good for next year’s production, but I’ll have to see how next year’s crop fares in order to test my theory.
Two weeks ago, I flew to Chicago and then drove to Michigan to visit my parents. I decided to bring them a little bit of California sunshine, so I brought them some kumquats, Meyer lemons and navel oranges from my trees.
My mother usually makes kumquat marmalade, and everyone who has tried it absolutely raves about how marvelous it tastes. However, there is much more work involved in kumquat marmalade, due to having to slice up these tiny citrus fruits. Here’s the recipe.
Mum decided to have a go at an easy kumquat jam this time. She didn’t use a recipe, but I told her I wanted to know the amounts so that if it was really good, I could share it with you. Well, she kept track of the recipe and it was a hit! I’m not the biggest fan of marmalade, but I really like this easy kumquat jam recipe! I bet you will, too.
What are Kumquats?
Many of you have probably never heard of, or seen a kumquat. They are tiny (one or two inches long) citrus which have edible skins. The skins are sweet and their juice is sour. They have seeds just like any other citrus fruit. However, kumquats are considered a superfruit. “Forget pomegranates—start popping kumquats. The tiny little olive-sized citrus fruits are full of disease-fighting antioxidants, which are contained in their sweet, edible skin.” –Prevention.
Want to know how to eat kumquats so that they taste sweeter?
What can I do with lots of kumquats?
Here are 11 ways to use kumquats. How about a frosty kumquat martini?
Love this crystal bowl? Here is a similar crystal jam pot.
Easy Kumquat Jam Recipe
by Lidia Conte makes approximately 5 pints
PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
January 2021 ~ I’ve had two people email me in the last week to say their jam tasted amazing, but it didn’t set. The first lady reboiled her jam, and she said it turned out perfectly. I’ve just emailed the second lady to tell her to reboil hers, too. Here’s what I think the problem is: the jam is not boiling hard/fast enough after the sugar is added. It should be at a rolling boil. The other problem is that the jam should not be removed from the heat until it reaches the correct temperature, or passes the plate drip test. This recipe is solid, just follow the directions and you will have perfect results.
Special equipment: clean jam jars
Prepare the Kumquats
Place the seeds in a small, food safe bag or some cheesecloth. Tie the top.
Put the sliced kumquats and water in a heavy pot on the kitchen counter. Let the seeds hang into the kumquats and water and place the lid on to keep the top of the bag from submerging. The seeds contain pectin which helps the jam to set.
Allow to rest for a minimum of 8 hours (there is no cooking yet).
Remove the bag and squeeze as much as you can from it (this is the natural pectin which helps the jam set). With a large bowl nearby, measure the amount of jam mixture that you have in the pot with cups. This number of cups is a better measurement of how much sugar you should use.
Example, if have 9 cups of mixture, use 9 cups of sugar. My mother always uses a little less, but if you like it sweeter use the same amount.
Cook the Kumquats
Move the pot to a cooktop over medium heat. Slowly bring to a boil, stir and reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minute or until the rind has softened. Stir occasionally and don’t allow the jam to boil too hard so that it may stick.
Next, add the sugar; stir and bring to a rolling boil (do not simmer) for approximately 30 to 45 minutes. The less sugar, you use, the longer it will need to boil to reach the setting point (220˚F / 105˚C).
The jam is ready when it congeals when dripped onto a plate from the freezer, if you do not have a candy thermometer. Do not stop cooking the jam after the time frame I’ve given; that’s simply an estimate (how long mine took to set). You must rely on a thermometer or the plate test.
Next, remove the pot from the heat and using an immersion blender, carefully blend the jam.
Pour the Kumquat Jam Into Jars
Rinse the jam jars and lids with boiling water then immediately ladle the jam into the jars. It’s helpful to have a widemouth funnel, but not necessary. Clean the rim with a damp cloth and put the lid on tightly as soon as possible. Finally, set aside and allow to cool completely, and refrigerate. Process in a boiling water bath if you want to keep the jars in the pantry. If you’ve never made jam before, the lids will make a popping sound and the middle of the lid will be concave once sealed. If this does not happen, you must refrigerate the jam.
Use the jam as desired. Isn’t this truly an easy kumquat jam recipe?
This Easy Kumquat Jam Makes a Beautiful Hostess Gift!
Easy Kumquat Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- approximately 8 cups 1.8 kg sugar
- 6 cups 1.4 l water
- 3 cups 550 g of sliced or chopped, deseeded kumquats (reserve the seeds)
Instructions
- Place the seeds in a small, food safe bag or some cheesecloth. Tie the top.
- Put the sliced/chopped kumquats and water in a heavy pot. Let the seeds hang into the kumquats and water and place the lid on to keep the top of the bag from submerging. The seeds contain pectin which helps the jam to set.
- Allow to rest for a minimum of 8 hours.
- Remove the bag and squeeze as much as you can from it (this is the natural pectin which helps the jam set). With a large bowl nearby, measure the amount of jam mixture that you have in the pot with cups. This number of cups is a better measurement of how much sugar you should use. Example, if have 9 cups of mixture, use 9 cups of sugar. My mother always uses a little less, but if you like it sweeter use the same amount.
- Move the pot to a cooktop over medium heat. Slowly bring to a boil, stir and reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minute or until the rind has softened.
- Next, add the sugar; stir and bring to a rolling boil (do not simmer) for approximately 30 to 45 minutes. The less sugar, you use, the longer it will need to boil to reach the setting point (105C or 220F).
- The jam is ready when it congeals when dripped onto a plate from the freezer, if you do not have a candy thermometer.
- Remove the pot from the heat and using an immersion blender, carefully blend the jam.
- Rinse the jam jars and lids with boiling water then immediately ladle the jam into the jars. It's helpful to have a widemouth funnel, but not necessary. Clean the rim with a damp cloth and put the lid on tightly, as soon as possible. Finally, set aside and allow to cool completely and refrigerate.
Notes
- You do not need to peel the kumquats; the peel is the sweet part of the fruit.
- If you've never made jam before, the lids will make a popping sound and the middle of the lid will be concave once sealed. If this does not happen, you must refrigerate the jam.
Nutrition
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Hi! I used your recipe to make a quick marmalade, needed in a pinch – no soaking, no pureeing. Just soaked the sliced kumquats for 15 minutes and proceeded to add sugar and bring to a full rolling boil. The inside of the kumquat is so small that it wasn’t necessary to separate the peels.
It made absolutely beautiful marmalade! There was a lot of left over liquid (understandably) so I put that in separate jars and now also have kumquat jelly.
I love having something to use the kumquats for since they all happen at once here in Southern California.
the recipe states to use a immersion blender (one of the few kitchen tools i do not own). Can I put the kumquats in a food processor prior to cooking (my processor states to not put hot foods in it)?
Yes, that’s the best option given your choices. Definitely never hot jam in a blender! Let me know how it turns out!
I did a couple of batches using the food processor….the first was I pureed the kumquats before boiling which turned out ok but after adding sugar I had to boil it almost 2 hours to get it the consistency i wanted.
Second batch I followed recipe but once I boiled the kumquats I let them cool overnight (just because of my time constraints) and then put it in the food processor. Then I brought back to a boil and added the sugar. This time I only had to boil at 220 degrees for about 45 minutes.
All of them turned out stupendous!! Thank you for posting this recipe and keeping up on responding.
Oh, you are so sweet Sheila, thank you! I’m so glad you are happy with the results. Kumquats are definitely underappreciated! I appreciate the lovely review! :)
Hello Christina,
Filipino here, from Australia. I always just use kumquats as a refreshing cold beverage and in some of my cooking but first time making kumquat jam.
This is my second attempt at making your mum’s kumquat jam, (the first one was a disaster, I had to dump the pot and contents in the bin 😂😅, it was that bad).
This time though, it worked, (made it 18 Nov.23) I did cut the kumquat in half, squeezed the juice and most of the seeds out, and only used the peel for the jam-making, ( the juice was made into cold drinks, which I normally do), I just felt the need to reuse the peel after it’s squeezed, put the seeds in a tea strainer and left it over in the pot. This time it turned out okay, I could taste the kumquat, it was not sour, it was sweet and bitter but I liked it. I did not use immersion blending because my batch has seeds on it.
Next time, I will try not to extract juice other than for the jam-making to be able to taste the sourness as well.
And, thank you so much for the recipe.
Glad you tried it again, Mischelle! Thank you for being a trooper! :)
OMG I have never had Kumquats before, I was gifted a tree this year. Was loaded with fruit made 2 jars marmalade to try eaten a jar In a week. Wow wow best ever marmalade. Currently eating sourdough English muffin so yummy. Will be making some more with the rest of the little fruit jewels
Ok I’m a person who usually doubles triples a recipe so if I have 13 cups of kumquats how much water do I use please
26 cups
do i have to peel it?
No, Carlota. The peel is the sweet part of the fruit.
Hi, i have been given some kumquats which are still a bit green. can i still use them ?
No, the green ones are not ripe. Sorry!