Kumquat Jam
This Kumquat Jam is so good! The flavor of the kumquats is intensified without the sourness that can sometimes be a little overpowering.
Kumquats are such a fun fruit but if you don’t have some ideas for how to use them and you have a lot of kumquats on your hands, it can be easy to let them go to waste. I try to come up with new kumquat recipes every year and I’m pretty excited about this year’s selections. First up, let’s make kumquat jam! This is one of the best ways to use up a lot of kumquats in one fell swoop. Then we’ll talk scones, chicken, cake and salad.
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Ingredients for kumquat jam
- Kumquats
- Water
- Sugar
- Cinnamon stick (optional)
How to make it
Slice and remove kumquat seeds
After you’ve washed the kumquats, you will need to slice them and remove the seeds. If you’re wondering how to remove kumquat seeds easily, you’re not alone. It’s a little bit tedious and there’s not really a quick fix. BUT, the effort is well worth the reward.
To remove seeds, slice the kumquats into 1/4 inch rounds. As you slice and find seeds, use the tip of your knife to pop them out into a pile. You will want to reserve the seeds because you’ll be using them to make the jam. The seeds contain pectin, which is what helps the jam set.
Allow sliced kumquats to soak
Place sliced kumquats in a sauce pan with water and a cinnamon stick. Now here’s where those seeds come in. Wrap the kumquat seeds in a small piece of cheese cloth and secure with a string. Place the bundle in the water with kumquats and the cinnamon stick. The seeds contain pectin which is what helps the jam thicken.
Allow this to set overnight or 8 hours. You will notices a clear, jelly-like substance surrounding the seeds, that’s the pectin. Squeeze the bundle and scrape as much of it as you can back into the pot. Then discard the seeds.
Cook
Heat the mixture to a simmer and allow it to cook until the mixture reaches 220F or it passes the gel stage test. The time is takes for this to happen can vary, but it will likely take at least 45 minutes all in all.
What is the gel stage?
The gel stage is what jam makers are looking for to know that their jam is done. It’s when the jam ‘gels’ and reaches that spreadable consistency that is characteristic of jam. You can test for this stage by placing a small amount of the mixture (when you think its done) on a plate and placing it in the freezer for a few minutes (it’s also helpful to put the plate in the freezer before testing), if it wrinkles when you push with a finger it’s done.
Store
Once the jam is done, you can place it in sterilized jars and store in the refrigerator for use within 2-3 weeks or you can process the jars for long-term storage. I am not a canning expert and will not be including instructions on how to properly do a water-bath canning, but there are tons of resources out there. I am Countryside has lots of great articles, Food in Jars is a helpful and beautiful book that is great for beginners and full of delicious recipes (speaking from personal experience!).
Things to keep in mind
- If you are 1000 feet or more above sea level the temperature required to reach the gel stage will increase.
- Yield for this jam is an approximation as this can vary depending on the water content of your fruit
Notes about doubling this recipe
After hearing from readers that they add issues getting the jam to gel when they doubled the recipe, I tested it myself.
And the verdict is… it worked. So what is my advice? If you plan to double this recipe:
- Understand the length of time to get to temperature will increase and you may need to increase the heat.
- Use a larger pot. Instead of using a medium-sized stock pot, I used a large soup pot for the larger batch–thinking that the jam would be more evenly exposed to the heat.
- It is eventually going to gel, turn the heat up, keep cooking, be patient, etc.
- Make sure if you are conducting the gel test, you leave it in the fridge for at least 3 minutes and keep the plate in the freezer beforehand.
- You aren’t expecting this to reach a jam consistency while cooking. It will be thinner when you take it off the heat and will thicken as it cools.
Tried this kumquat jam?
If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating below and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear from you!
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More kumquat recipes
Kumquat Jam
This kumquat jam is so good! You’ll be looking for any excuse to eat more of it. Please read notes in the post about doubling if you plan to double this recipe!
- Prep Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 9 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
- Category: Condiment
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 10 oz kumquats (slice and reserve seeds)
- 2 3/4 cups water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
Instructions
- Slice kumquats into 1/4 inch rounds and remove seeds as you go, setting them aside. You’ll end up with a little less than 1 tbsp of seeds.
- Wrap seeds in a bit of cheesecloth, secured with a string and place in a pot with water, cinnamon stick and sliced kumquats. Allow this to sit in the fridge overnight or for 8 hours.
- You will notice a clear, jelly-like substance surrounding the seeds and the outside of the cheesecloth, that’s the pectin. Squeeze the bundle and scrape as much of it as you can back into the pot. Then discard the seeds.
- Add the sugar to the pot and stir. Cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches a simmer.
- Do your best to maintain a simmer and let the mixture cook for 30-40 minutes and begin testing for temperature using a candy thermometer or you can just do the gel test.
- To conduct the gel test, place a plate in the freezer when you begin cooking the jam. Once the mixture has been simmering for about 40 minutes, place a small amount of the jam on the plate and return it to the freezer for 2 minutes. Remove the plate, and gently push the blob of jam with your finger, if a slight ‘skin’ has begun to form across the top and the jam wrinkles as you push, it’s done. If it’s still syrupy/watery, it needs to cook longer. You may need to turn up the heat slightly.
- Once a successful gel test has been conducted or a temperature of 220F has been reached, the jam is done and can be spooned into a clean jar and store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.
Because of the amount of kumquats I had, I had to triple the recipe and it totally failed. After 50 minutes simmering, the temp only reached 215 degrees and it was still like boiling water. It never congealed. So sad that all of those kumquats were wasted.
Oh no! I’m so sorry that happened to you. Kumquats are precious. Since you tripled the recipe and increased the volume significantly, the time required to reach temperature would also increase. You may have needed to let it simmer for longer to reach the gel stage and possibly increase the heat as well.
My kumquat tree was very abundant so I ended up tripling the recipe as well. I had to cook them longer and I didn’t think that the pectin gel that came uff the seeds was sufficient so I added about a tablespoon of fruit pectin to the batch. The longer cooking time and extra pectin it gelled up nicely even for a large batch
Great recipe, the jam turned out amazing, i’ve added 2-3 cloves and a couple cardamom pods in addition to the cinnamon, gives the jam a unique twist.
Awesome! I love the addition of cardamom. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
🙂 Becky
Tastes just like marmalade! Loved this, thank you
Can you convert the oz’s to cups for me for measuring since I don’t know the weight of my fruit?
Hi Patty, its about 2 cups whole. So measure, then slice.
I like this recipe but I think it is too much water. I had a kilo of kumquats all ready cut and according to this recipe I need 2 liters of water. And 670g of sugar. If my maths is wrong I have ruined this beautiful recipe. Is been an hour of simmer and still watery😞
Hi Ana,
I’m not sure if you mean you were making this recipe with a kilo of kumquats or not, but looks like that is just over 2 pounds which is significantly more than this recipe calls for. I’m sorry, I don’t know metric measurements though. If you were adjusting the amount of water and sugar in accordance with the increase in kumquats it still should work, but you will need to cook for longer. When you increase the volume, the cook time will increase.
HI, I did the same as Jennifer and got the same results. Pity for wasting my time, and resources.
Hi Sakir, did you read my response to Jennifer? Increasing the volume will increase the cook time significantly to remove excess water and allow the mixture to come to temperature to gel. I’m sorry you weren’t able to enjoy it.
I also doubled my recipe and extended the cooking time and increased the heat. Mine didn’t gel either. I decided to use it like a syrup. I think it will be good as a meat condiment and perhaps also go with some rice or couscous dishes. I’ll try jam again when I get another batch of Kumquats.
I’m bummed to hear it didn’t work out. I am planning on testing a double batch this year to see if I can troubleshoot why that doesn’t seem to work. But yes, definitely still a use for the syrup. You might even be able to do a variation of my kumquat chicken! Thank you for your review, Laura!
I make a “rustic” kumquat marmalade throughout kumquat season (I grow 2 kumquat varieties commercially.) I cut my ‘quats through the widest part, towards the bottom and usually get right into the seed area. I remove the seeds, reserved for the pectin, and drop the halfs into my pot of water, (cinnamon stick if using) and sugar to soak over night. Before heating, I remove the (cinammon stick and) seeds, and then use my immersion blender to chop the fruit into rough chunks. (Add the cinnamon stick back into the mix if using.) Proceed to long simmering and stirring often to gel temps. I put my marmalade into canning jars and enjoy the “fruits of my labors” all year long!
Such a treat in a grilled cheese sandwich!
Poached Kumquats in Honey
*4 Cups Kumquat sliced rings *1 Cup of Honey *Water
Slice and seed the kumquats and put into a med/small saucepan with honey and add enough water to cover the kumqats. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to an active simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and use a slotted spoon to divide kumquats into heat proof jars. Pour the honey/water to cover the slices in the jar. Good for 4 weeks, refrigerated.
This sounds amazing, Anne!
I just made the double recipe — added a couple of cardamom pods and cloves, along with the cinnamon — and the jam turned out GREAT! It really just took much longer and a little higher temperature. Such an amazing flavor! Thanks for the recipe and the updates.
Oooh I love the cardamom and clove addition! You are so welcome, Sarah! I’m glad you loved it 🙂