Simple and Sublime: Kumquat Marmalade

Go make kumquat marmalade while you still can -- their season runs through mid-winter and with spring right around the corner, time's a-wasting.

Get 1.5 lbs kumquats and slice them up thinly, reserving the seeds. Tie the seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Put the kumquat slices and the bag of seeds together in a non-reactive pot with 4 cups water and cover it and let it sit for 24 hours.

The next day, put the pot on the stove and bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Once it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and let the mixture reduce down for 45 minutes to an hour, or until it has reduced down to about 4 cups.

Once that’s done, 4 cups of sugar go in with constant stirring, and everything cooks for another 15-20 minutes, or until it hits about 215-220 F and a teaspoon of mixture dropped onto a cold plate gels. Actually, you don’t even need a cold plate - just drip a bit onto a spoon and blow on it until it cools. It’s easy to see it gel that way, even. The ripples will become more slowly visible as it grows a gelled skin.

Remove the bag of seeds at this point, and the marmalade is done. You can safely seal it in canning jars, freeze it, or keep it in the fridge.

This stuff is seriously simple and sublime. It's lovely made with earl grey tea instead of water, too.