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, which meant kumquat jam for us!
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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.
Ingredients
- sugar
- water
- kumquats
Special equipment: clean jam jars
Directions
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
- 8 cups sugar
- 6 cups water
- 3 cups kumquats sliced or chopped, deseeded (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 (105℃ or 220℉).
- 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
PIN FOR LATER
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Hi Christina! This recipe looks delicious!! When you say to rest the seeds with the fruit and water, is that at room temp or in the refrigerator? Just worried about leaving previously refrigerated fruit out for so long. Thanks!
That’s fine, Maggie. Leave it at room temperature. It will be fine :) Let me know how it turns out.
CC
Hello, do I just put enough water to cover the kumquat overnight? thank you!
No, please follow the directions and quantities in the recipe. See the printable recipe card for the amount of water.
The jam was a success. Thank you. I have made vast quantities of jams and preserves over the life of my marriage as did my mother. I added oranges and lemons to the mix of this jam and stripping my tree of existing kumquats. Still followed the fundamentals of the recipe. Reading the description firstly and following recipe closely is important for any newbies to jam making. So all good and no failure with this recipe. I made 30 jars and tastes great!
Fantastic to hear this, Francesca. That’s a lot of jam! Glad that it turned out so well; I love the citrus combo!
Turned out very good! Instead of the 1:1 ratio of sugar, I halved it (8 cups fruit-water-mixture, 4 cups sugar), and it was still very, very sweet – definitely sweet enough. Note that I did leave the seeds soak in the mixture overnight to make sure there’s enough pectin.
Just to clarify – as long as I hear the popping noise from the jars, I don’t have to refrigerate, correct? I want to do this right!
Hi Vicki, in the US, this is not okay according health and safety standards, so I will tell you to refrigerate it even if the jars pop and you see the middle of the lid is concave. However, in the UK, this is not so because the jars are actually sealed. Bottom line is, to be super-duper safe, refrigerate it regardless.
One neat trick for better sterilization, is to pour the scolding hot jam in the jars, close them immediatelly and then turn them upside down to let them cool. The hot jam will sterilize the lid which is the main source of contamination. You can turn them back upright before they completely set to have them look nice
The popping of the jars can happen some hours after the jam is setting in the jar. It does not happen immediately. I sometimes put a finger on the centre of the jar and it just ‘pops’. You can hear popping going off at different times. Ensure lids are tight on also. Check and recheck.
Thank you for this recipe . It looks yummy. I hope to try it soon but also have a question- Do you have an alternative to sugar for diabetics?
Hi Rina, I asked my friend Cynthia (What a Girl Eats) who uses Swerve, and she said she’s not sure if it’s okay for making jam (may need to add pectin). Sorry I’m not versed in alternatives to sugar. Good luck!
What exactly does “prepare the kumquats” mean? That’s a huge step you just gloss over.
I do not “gloss over” anything. “Prepare the Kumquats” is the heading (note the larger and different font) for the steps that follow. Given that you are not even paying for this recipe, I would request that you could be a bit more kind in how you ask your question.
You start off with “place the seeds” as the first thing to do to prepare the kumquats. There should be some direction explaining that the 1st step is to actually chop the kumquats in half. Probably why that person was confused and not at all asking you anything in a less than pleasant way.
Prepare the kumquats
Place the seeds in a small, food safe bag or some cheesecloth. Tie the top.
Put the chopped 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.
The recipe is correct as written, Sandra. What you (and the other reader) failed to notice is in the ingredients, “3 cups of chopped, deseeded kumquats (reserve the seeds)”
So the directions follow to describe what to do with the reserved seeds.
Sometimes I do miss out a step, or make a mistake in my recipe, and if so, I thank the commenter and edit the recipe. However, this recipe has been solid since publishing as can be noted from all the positive reviews. My hands are tied when people do not read my recipes correctly.
Christina
Tho I haven’t tried it yet, I would say it’s an easy to follow recipe. Plus I read between the lines – set aside the seeds- meaning take out the seeds which you can only do by slicing the fruit. I can’t wait to try it. I sure will email you the outcome. Thank you !!!
Good for you, Evelyn! I’m glad to read your comment! :)
Hi,
I made this for the first time. It turned out fantastic.
Thank you for such an easy recipe ❤️
Fantastic, Zoya! So happy you like it!