Cumquat marmalade

For the first time in three years I didn’t burn my cumquat marmalade. It deserves a photo montage:

25 minutes on rapid boil. I love the rings of progress.
Swirls and twirls

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.

Bakers dozen
Reflections

Clean benchtops. Enough said.

The colour (and of course flavour) is what I am most proud of

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
  1. Cut the fruit into quarters
  2. Put in a ceramic bowl and barely cover with water
  3. Let sit overnight
  4. Measure out the fruit and liquid, counting how many cups it makes*, into a large heavy based saucepan
  5. Bring to the boil and cook until the fruit is soft
  6. Add the same number cups of sugar as there were fruit
  7. Boil rapidly until it reaches setting stage (almost always bang on 25 minutes)
  8. Let it cool slightly until a film begins to form – this is when I fish all the pips out
  9. 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.