Bitter Kumquat Marmalade … when so little gives you so much! This is a marmalade I’ve been making for years each time the shrub in the yard gives me this citrusy fruit. We grew up playing with these beauties that caught the glad eye with their bright oranges. Referred to as Chinese oranges, tangerines or narangis, they had little use other than just being an ornamental fruit.We live and learn from others, and that’s just what I love about community. This recipe came to us several years ago from my mother’s neighbour who once sent across a jar of homemade marmalade. Of course we descended on the poor unsuspecting lady, quite fascinated that something as good could be made at home. The rest as they say is history! Jars of marmalade are constantly stirred in season, at least twice or thrice a year, then distributed among friends and family.Jam making is very therapeutic and rewarding. This one much more. Seldom does so little yield so much. In this case, these are just homegrown non-commercial fruit from a shrub widely found across North India, one which is quite sturdy and loves a good dose of sunlight. The secret is the setting agent, or pectin, which is found in the seeds of these bitter-tart fruit. So all you need for this glorious colour in this Bitter Calamondin Marmalade is fruit, sugar and water. Loads of patience to snip the peels and some time for stirring the pot! It’s always to do this when you have free time, no distractions etc. It can take a few seconds of neglect to get the jam catch the bottom. Once the marmalade is almost done, do a plate test to see if the pectin has done its job. Else cook a little longer, check again. I added the juice of 2 limes too but it’s not necessary. You can add ginger if you like, maybe a red chili for slight heat! This recipe of Bitter Calamondin Marmalade is for all those folk who asked for it on Instagram when I shared an image in stories. A kilo of fruit yields 4-5 jars, enough to dig into, enough to share around!
Bitter kumquat marmalade is one of the best ways to use up this tart fruit. Makes a for a great gift, and is also a wonderful addition to cake batters, frosting, pies etc. Makes about 5 jars.
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour
Servings 4jars
Ingredients
1kgkumquat {chinese oranges, narangis}
1kggranulated sugar
250mlWater
Instructions
Sterilize 5 X 250g jam jars. Place a metal spoon in each jar {this ensures that the glass jar will not crack when the hot jam is poured in}.
Stove Top method
Halve the kumquat. Place the sieving bowl over a bigger bowl, and squeeze the seeds to deseed the fruit. We need to collect the seeds as they contain the pectin to set the jam. Make a bouquet garnet of the seeds.
Snip the peels with scissors into strips. {I got lazy and gave them a quick spin in the Thermomix}.
Place the cut peels, with the pouch of seeds and any collected kumquat juice, in a heavy bottom pan on full heat. Boil for a few minutes till the peel is tender, stirring constantly.
Add the water and continue to cook on high for 2-3 minutes. Now add sugar, stirring constantly.
Continue to cook over high heat for a further 20-25 minutes until the mixture thickens & the strips becomes translucent. Stir often else it'll catch the bottom. Don't leave unattended.
Do a plate test by dropping some marmalade on a cold metal plate to check if the jam is setting properly. After 30 seconds, it should congeal and look jellylike.
Put off the flame, discard the muslin pouch with the seeds and allow the jam to cool for 10-15 minutes. Stir to distribute the strips.
Now pour the marmalade into the jars, and seal after 10-15 minutes. {I refrigerate my jars}
Thermomix method
Place the peels in the TM bowl and slice at speed 10 for 2-3 seconds. Add the reserved juice to the TM bowl, with 250g water, and run on Reverse at 100 for 10 minutes, speed slow.
Add 800g sugar and the bouquet garni {which holds the seeds}, and run at reverse at speed 2 for 2 minutes. Add a further 450g sugar {small calamondins tend to be very bitter}, and continue to cook at reverse speed 2 for a further 8 minutes.
Now turn power to 100C, place the lid at an angle, and cook until the gelling action kicks in and the jam begins to set. {Do a stainless steel plate test. Drop some marmalade on a cold plate to see if it sets in under a minute}. Mine took about 7-8 minutes.
Put off the TM, discard the muslin pouch with the seeds and allow to stand in TM jar for about 15-20 minutes, and then pour into prepared jars. I refrigerate my marmalade.
“I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It’s amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.”
D.H. Lawrence
It’s a happy feeling just looking at a jar of homemade Kumquat Marmalade, characteristically bitter-sweet and delicious. Life continues to race, the days forever busy. A feeling of strange uncertainty takes over at times, like I’ve forgotten something, maybe missed a deadline. It’s not the ‘end of the year‘ panicky feeling, or the ‘before exam restlessness‘. Then again, maybe like marmalade, life is bitter-sweet too!
I like to enjoy what I do, relax and vegetate sometimes, yet the modern day rat race of sorts is woven into every second that ticks by. Can’t figure out what happened to those laid back times of yesteryear.
Then in this feeling of being on a roller coaster comes a small break … jam making. Thankfully it’s a process that you so totally get immersed in, that the unsettled feeling is forgotten. The marmalade kept me on my toes, more so because junior decided to get involved.
Right from plucking the fruit off the tree, to shooting fruit in baskets, to grabbing some away from the dog, stirring, bottling … he was there all the way! {Little Coco had her eyes peeled through-out}I have been fascinated by the fruit since I was young. No one ever ate them, too tart of course, but they were so pretty! And the colours?Inspirational! Then a few years ago, a lady in the neighbourhood let us into her guarded little secret of making bitter marmalade with these. You will not imagine how many kilos of sugar disappeared into jars of jam once we were ‘fruitily enlightened‘!Every one we knew and their cousins were gifted bitter marmalade with glee. The hard work of snipping peels and stirring the jam until translucent well worth the look of amazement on the happy recipients faces. For the past 3 years this is all I do come winter, and everyone in the neighbourhood knows where to send their fruit.
Call it the strangeness of nature, but the much in demand lime tree just doesn’t seem to bear fruit like the kumquat tree. Kumquats finds little use among common growers and are not commercially sold in India. Yet, almost every household in North India proudly sports a kumquat tree, also called ornamental orange. The fruit fall and rot once ripe as even birds don’t feed on them, they are so tart!!
The round kumquat also called Marumi kumquat or Morgani kumquat, is an evergreen tree, producing edible golden-yellow fruit. Kumquat literally means ‘golden orange’. The fruit can be eaten cooked but is mainly used to make marmalades and jellies. It is grown as an ornamental plant and can be used in bonsai. The plant symbolizes good luck in China and other Asian countries.
“So much sugar? More? No Mama, No”! I forgot all my jam making skills, and I have made this jam umpteen times. “Is it done mama, is it done. Shall I stir? What if the bag of seeds opens? I think you haven’t tied it properly?” I could have tied up the thirteen year old, I was so nervous.
Then I announced it was ‘plate test time’. “What’s that? Ooh can I do it? I think it’s setting. Ya. No. Noooooooooooo … cook some more Mama. OK, let me stir. Shall we cook more?” . I finally regained control of my bitter kumquat marmalade finally telling him I thought it was done {though I think I cooked it a little longer than I should have!}
It’s strange how when kids are part of a process, they love the food even more. It’s been marmalade and toast for the past few days no matter what. Double fried eggs, cereal … and then the call, “Mama, if it’s not too much trouble, can I have toast with marmalade please?” Did I tell you he was charming? Gosh, all the way!
Summary: Bitter kumquat marmalade is one of the best ways to use up this tart fruit. Makes a for a great gift, and is also a wonderful addition to cake batters, frosting, pies etc. Makes about 6 jars.
Sterilize 4-5 jam jars. Place a metal spoon in each jar {this ensures that the glass jar will not crack when the hot jam is poured in}.
Place the sieving bowl over a bigger bowl, and squeeze the seeds to deseed the fruit. We need to collect the seeds as they contain the pectin to set the jam. Make a bouquet garnet of the seeds.
Snip the peels with scissors into strips.
Place the strips, with the pouch of seeds, in a heavy bottom pan on full heat. Boil for a few minutes till the peel is tender, stirring constantly.
Add the water and continue to cook on high for 2-3 minutes. Now add sugar, stirring constantly.
Continue to cook over high heat for a further 10-15 minutes until the mixture thickens & the strips becomes translucent.
Do a plate test by dropping some marmalade on a cold metal plate to check if the jam is setting properly. After 30 seconds, it should congeal and look jellylike.
Put off the flame, discard the muslin pouch with the seeds and allow the jam to cool for 10-15 minutes. Stir to distribute the strips.
Now pour the marmalade into the jars, and seal after 10-15 minutes.
{I refrigerate my jars}
Thermomix method:
Place the peels in the TM bowl and slice at speed 10 for 2-3 seconds. Add the reserved juice to the TM bowl, with 250g water, and run on Reverse at 100 for 10 minutes, speed slow.
Add 800g sugar and the bouquet garni {which holds the seeds}, and run at reverse at speed 2 for 2 minutes. Add a further 450g sugar {small kumquats tend to be very bitter}, and continue to cook at reverse speed 2 for a further 8 minutes.
Now turn power to 100C, place the lid at an angle, and cook until the gelling action kicks in and the jam begins to set. {Do a stainless steel plate test. Drop some marmalade on a cold plate to see if it sets in under a minute}. Mine took about 7-8 minutes.
Put off the TM, discard the muslin pouch with the seeds & allow to stand in TM jar for about 15-20 minutes, and then pour into prepared jars. I refrigerate my marmalade.
A name like Orange Zinger seems so right for this time of the year, warm, spicy and zippy! It’s a cocktail from a newly released ‘cookbook’ {Food, Wines & Beverages category} in India, The Tulleho! Book of Cocktails. An almost unassuming book, yet one overflowing with mouthwatering mixes like Anarkali, Instant Karma … and of course this Orange Zinger! The book is a must have for cocktail lovers.When Blogadda, the largest community of bloggers in India, {who recently interviewed me too}, asked if I’d like to review a new cookbook, it was an instant YES, even though a book on cocktails was slightly out of my comfort zone. The name intrigued me, and the reins were promptly handed over to Mr PAB. An occasional cocktail is wonderful, but for someone who has NO CLUE about how to get one going, this book is the answer.Turn the pages and feel a happy high … for beginners in the world of cocktails, the pages hold your hand and guide you through gently, telling you that ‘making a cocktail is no rocket science‘! Bar ware, stocking up, mixology … a book that helps you get the mixes right, helps you talk liquor with the ‘best of them’, and helps you pretend to know all about stuff even if you’ve never touched it.… and in case you are in the ‘ultra confident, been there, done that‘ category, know it all in the world of tippling, then head straight for either the Tullee Tipple which offers in-house special and contributions from the tullee community, or then to Classics – tipples that have been around for quite a while.The book offers an eclectic and stylish mix of cocktails – Desi Dhamaka which uses local Indian ingredients, Market Fresh using at least one fresh ingredient, Old Boys’ Club which is obviously the male bastion, Dessert cocktails, Ladies Specials {hmmm???}, andquite fascinatingly, Herbs and Spices!Mr PAB quite predictably reached for the Old Boys’ Club and spent quite an hour pouring over the pages, recipe by recipe. The foodie in me helped pick out a warming, fall sounding recipe which was spicy and had orange in the listed ingredients {more specifically, bitter orange marmalade}.That made me take notice and painted my thoughts orange! NICE!!Also a good choice because I still have a jar of homemade bitter orange marmalade which I made earlier this year! This is possibly the quickest edible thing Mr PAB has ever made and served…LOL! He enjoyed it, the flavours pairing beautifully … can’t go wrong with orange and ginger.Warm and spicy undertones of bitter orange marmalade and the slight edge of ginger paired well with the whiskey. Mr PAB gave it high fives, and immediate set off turning pages of the book. If you like cocktails, try this. I like it because it has standard everyday ingredients and is a great fit for the holiday season. The passion of the authors shines through!Tulleeho!!
