Kumquat and Orange Marmalade

My son in law has a sweet tooth and recently my daughter has started liking sweets as well, so recently when a friend gave me kumquats, I decided that I wanted to make a marmalade with a twist and use some Indian flavors. I am also very lucky to have friends who grow citrus and other fruits in their backyards. When in season, I am blessed to get persimmons, oranges, lemons, grapefruit and lemons from them. I enjoy eating the fruit too, but I am tempted to make the marmalade for family and friends. I have also made orange marmalade and mixed orange and persimmon marmalade in the last few months.

My mom used to make a lot of mango preserves, both savory and sweet. One of my most favorite was the mango Murabba or Morambaw as we called it at home. She would cut the almost ripe mangoes (Sweet yet crisp) into biggish pieces and put them into this sweet syrup with spices like cloves, saffron and cardamom. I decided I wanted to make marmalade with the kumquats, yet flavor them with these familiar spices from my childhood.

This marmalade recipe perfectly preserves the bright color and flavor of kumquats. Kumquat fruits are only in season for a very short time, so making this marmalade and bottling it, makes it possible to for us to enjoy it for a longer time. The addition of an orange and lemon juice to the recipe adds depth to the citrus flavor.

A Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, and grapefruit. Making this is quite a tedious process, but the delicious marmalade is surely worth all that effort. Marmalade, especially the orange one, is very popular in Britain and is typically used as a spread on toast, but there are so many other delicious ways to use marmalade, including spreading it on scones. I used to relish it with chapatti or phulka (leavened breads).

There is no need to add commercial pectin to this recipe. The natural pectin present in the citrus peels combined with the sugar and the acidity of lemon juice ensures a good gel.

Kumquat and Orange Marmalade

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 40 kumquats (they were about an inch and a half each)

• 1 orange

• 6 to 7 cups water

• 4 to 5 cups sugar

• 2 lemons juiced

• 1 - 2 tsps cardamom powder for flavoring (optional)

• 1 - 3 cloves (optional)

• a pinch of saffron (optional)

Steps:

1. Wash the whole kumquats and the orange well. Dry on a towel.

2. Slice the whole kumquats into fine slivers, removing and discarding any seeds as you go.

Do the same with the orange.

3. Measure the sliced kumquats together with the orange and any juice that came out while

you were slicing the fruit. That will determine how much water to add.

4. Transfer the measured fruit and juice into a large, non reactive pot. Stir in 2 cups water for

every cup of fruit and juice.

5. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 6 hours ( even overnight is OK, too).

6. After 6 hours or overnight, bring the fruit and water mixture to a boil over high heat.

7. Reduce the heat and simmer until the peels are translucent and very tender - about 1 hour.

8. After measuring the cooked fruit mixture, add about 3/4 cup granulated sugar for each cup

of the cooked fruit, and also add in the lemon juice.

9. Bring this mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is completely

dissolved. Add in the cardamom pd and saffron and the cloves.

10. Continue boiling over high heat, stirring frequently, until the marmalade reaches the gel

point (220 degrees F) . Turn off the heat. Skim off any foam on the surface.

11. Ladle the hot marmalade into the sterilized canning jars. At this point, you can discard the

cloves if you prefer. Leave at least 1/2-inch of head space between the surface of the

marmalade and the rims of the jars. Screw on canning lids.

12. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. (That means, Bring a big pot of water to a boil

and place the jars in it)

13. Take out the jars, wipe and cool. The Marmalade is all ready. you can store the

unopened for a year. Once opened, you have to store the jar in the fridge and enjoy it for

months. The challenge is to make it last that long!!

Notes:

• Marmalades are unusual among sweet preserves in that they will continue to "set up" for

days, even weeks after they cool in the jars. If your just-cooled marmalade seems slightly

runnier than you'd like, try waiting for two weeks to see if it reaches a firm gel.

• Once you have sealed the jars, store kumquat marmalade away from direct light or heat. It

will keep for at least a year.

• Opened jars must be stored in the refrigerator, where they will keep for several months.

This same method can be used for any citrus combination. I have made it with just oranges

and also with a combination of oranges and persimmons.