For the first time in three years I didn’t burn my cumquat marmalade. It deserves a photo montage:
This, being made late at night in the quiet of a normally very loud household, made the patterns of boiling fruit and sugar very mesmerising.
Clean benchtops. Enough said.
The recipe is no secret, I make the Stephanie Alexander recipe, which is apparently the recipe her mum used to make. I am however very lazy and do not pull all the pips out of these tiny fruits and secure in a muslin bag. I just let them boil in the marmalade and then pull them out as it cools ever so slightly before I pour it into jars.
Cumquat Marmalade
- 2kg cumquats
- caster sugar
- Cut the fruit into quarters
- Put in a ceramic bowl and barely cover with water
- Let sit overnight
- Measure out the fruit and liquid, counting how many cups it makes*, into a large heavy based saucepan
- Bring to the boil and cook until the fruit is soft
- Add the same number cups of sugar as there were fruit
- Boil rapidly until it reaches setting stage (almost always bang on 25 minutes)
- Let it cool slightly until a film begins to form – this is when I fish all the pips out
- Pour into sterilised jars**
* this batch gave me just under 12 cups
** I sterilise my jars by rinsing in warm soapy water then putting in a low oven for at least 10 minutes. This batch made 13x375ml jars.