Kumquat Marmalade with Ginger

Kumquat Marmalade with Ginger is a treat during citrus season and beyond. It’s lovely on toast, bagels, muffins, and it’s also excellent served alongside poultry. It really is good to be connected in the produce world. 🙂 

Inspiration for Kumquat Marmalade with Ginger

My brother has friends at various booths at his local Farmers Market and brings me all sorts of seasonal goodies.

When he showed up with a giant bag of fresh kumquats, my mind went to toast, butter and a luscious spread of kumquat marmalade.

What are kumquats?

• A kumquat is a citrus fruit that looks like a tiny orange, and is just a bit bigger than a grape.
• Originally grown in China, they’re now grown in many parts of the world.
• There are two main kumquat varieties: Nagami and Marumi. Nagami are the more common variety, and they are the ones pictured and used in my kumquat marmalade recipe. The Marumi variety is a bit more round, yellow, sweeter and juicer.
• Kumquats are in season during the winter months, like most citrus.

What do kumquats taste like?

Unlike most other citrus fruits, kumquat peel is sweet and edible. The inside flesh is quite tart, and the combination of the two is what people love about them.

What’s in Kumquat Marmalade with Ginger?

• fresh kumquats
• water
• sugar
• fresh ginger
• fresh thyme

All of these ingredients cooked together are heavenly!

How to Serve Kumquat Marmalade

• Of course this is lovely on toast, bagels, muffins, etc.
• It’s also delicious alongside grilled chicken or turkey.
• You can finely chop it and toss it into a salad for added sweetness.

Recipe Tips

• You can also cut the kumquats in half and remove the seeds before you cook — I prefer cooking them whole because I love the big chunks of fruit in my marmalade.
• You’ll see in the instructions that I remove the seeds. Some people like to eat the seeds since they are small and add crunch. I much prefer the marmalade with them.

How long will the marmalade last?

If you find yourself with tons of kumquats, make as much of the marmalade as you can at once. If stored correctly, they will last about a year. Here is a guide to Sterilizing Jars for Preserves.

Marmalade can last up about three months in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

To be honest, I like to eat kumquats, but don’t love to, the way for example, I love to eat Ojai Pixies.  However, I love kumquats in marmalade. I think you will too! 

More kumquat recipes:

• Candied Rosemary Kumquats
• Poached Tuna with Kumquats and Jalapeño

Print

Kumquat Marmalade with Ginger

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

Total Time

1 hr

 

Kumquat Marmalade with Ginger is a treat during citrus season and beyond. It's lovely on toast, bagels, muffins, and it's also excellent served alongside poultry.

*Makes about 2 cups

Course: Condiments, Sauces, Dressings and Vinaigrettes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: great for brunch, fruit spreads

Servings: 16

Author: Valentina K. Wein

Ingredients

• 1¾ pound fresh kumquats
• ⅓ cup water
• 1¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger pulp (It's easiest to use a microplane zester to grate the ginger.)
• approximately 10 sprigs fresh thyme, washed and dried

Instructions

1. Place the kumquats in a large pot and cover them with cold water. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Drain the kumquats and rinse them with cold water.
2. Remove any remaining bits of stems from the fruit and set aside.
3. Add the water, sugar and ginger pulp to a medium-sized pot and place it over medium heat. Let this get hot and stir a bit, just to dissolve the sugar.

4. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs and add them, along with the the kumquats and and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until it becomes thick, about 40 minutes.

5. Gently "pop" each kumquat with the back of a fork. The seeds should easily come out -- as they do, remove and discard them with a small spoon.
6. Let the preserves cool and store them in a jar or tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a month or so.

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