Kumquat Marmalade (Easy, No Pectin Recipe)

Kumquat marmalade is a delicious way to make your kumquats last all year long. Easy to make and even easier to enjoy on bread, toast, muffins or in recipes.

You don’t need many kumquats to turn them into lots of jars of kumquat marmalade! They make beautiful gifts, but it’s hard to give them away because the marmalade is so good!

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As an aside, I took these photos when I was visiting my parents in Michigan last year. They are going to be putting their house on the market, so if you are interested in a large, custom-built home on almost 3 acres in Southwest Michigan, let me know.

You’ll want to have it every morning on a slice of bread/toast, a muffin or crumpet, especially if you’re using homemade bread!

My cousins in Toronto absolutely rave about the kumquat marmalade my mother always makes from the kumquats on my tree, so I decided the recipe needed to be shared. I believe the variety of kumquat that I have is the Nagami variety, which is the most popular in the US.

I think you’ll feel really confident making this kumquat marmalade simply because of all the step by step photos I have included. Alternatively, you can always try this even easier kumquat jam recipe!

If you follow the directions, your results will be fabulous. Please don’t make changes and then ask what you did wrong (this has happened many times on other recipes). 

Before I share the recipe, in case you’re looking for other ways to use kumquats,
please look at these kumquat recipes for inspiration.

Kumquat Marmalade (Easy, No Pectin Recipe)

recipe by Lidia Conte                     Makes 7 pints (US pints)
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients

• kumquats
• juice of an orange
• water
• sugar 

Special equipment: I highly recommend a scale for best results, jam jars, ladle, measuring jug, canning funnel (funnel is optional, but it will make pouring the the marmalade into the jar much less dangerous and messy) candy thermometer (also optional)

Prepare the Kumquats

Wash the kumquats well, dry and then deseed and slice the fruit lengthwise, using a sharp knife, so the rind is in long strips. The fruit will look like this.

Place into a large pot. Be sure it’s large enough as you need to add about 5 lbs of sugar in addition to the liquid.

Add the Water and Measure the Kumquat Marmalade Mixture

Pour the water into the sliced kumquats in the large pot. Add the juice of the orange and stir well.

Measure the amount of the mixture by ladling into a large measuring cup and pouring into another pot or bowl. Ours measured 10 cups (or 80 oz).

Add the mixture back into the large pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for about three to five minutes or until the rind is soft. 

Remove from heat and add the same amount of sugar as you measured in liquid. We measured 80 liquid ounces, so we added about 80 oz of sugar (5 lbs). (We usually add a little less than a 1:1 ratio, so if you want to do the same, please do so, like 4.5 lbs.) I know this sounds like a lot of sugar, but a 1:1 ratio is the usual for jams and marmalades, and this recipe does make a lot of kumquat marmalade.

Put the pot back onto the burner over medium high heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.

If you see any seeds, pull them out and discard.

Bring the kumquat marmalade to a rolling boil and it will begin to look like this. You can remove the scum as it settles along the side. Don’t be afraid to boil it hard. Just be sure there’s enough space for the liquid to do so, you don’t want it going over the top of the pot.

It will eventually end up looking like this after about an hour of boiling. You can check to see if it’s reached the setting point by placing a saucer in the freezer then dripping some of the hot liquid on it. If you run your finger against it and it wrinkles, it’s ready. You can also use a candy thermometer and take it off the heat when it reaches 220 F (104 C).

Fill the Jars

Have the sterilized jars ready near the stove so that they are still hot. Ladle the kumquat marmalade into the funnel to fill the jars. 

Don’t hold the jar while filling. We just took a photo of the jar over the pot.

Be sure the jar is on a counter or table before filling with hot kumquat marmalade.

As soon as you fill each jar, clean the rim with a damp cloth and close the lid immediately. Repeat until all the kumquat marmalade has been filled into the jars.

You can process the jars in a water bath or you can just keep the jars in the fridge instead. 

Enjoy the Kumquat Marmalade

Spread onto fresh bread, or toast. and enjoy with a cup of tea for a real British treat.

Try fruits of your labor in this wonderful orange and dark chocolate bread pudding recipe! It will just be kumquat and dark chocolate flavored, instead.

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