Just fresh kumquats and cane sugar are all you need to turn these sweet-tart fruits into jewel-like Candied Kumquats and Kumquat Marmalade! You can use both as perfect flavor pairings on cheese and charcuturie boards, in salads, atop cakes, or just straight out of the jar. Shall we?
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Candied Kumquats Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound kumquats skins scrubbed
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups water
Optional Spices
- ½-inch piece fresh ginger, gently crushed with the back of a large knife, cinnamon stick, whole star anise pod
Instructions
To Make Basic Candied Kumquats
- Slice 1 pound kumquats cross-wise into ¼-inch wide rounds or length-wise into quarters. Using the tip of your knife, remove seeds.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sliced kumquats, bring water back up to a boil. Boil for about 1 minute—you might see little blobs of white wax with the bubbles, which is good! You want that natural wax to come off!—then remove from heat, drain kumquats, and give them a light rinse under tap water. This step melts off some of the natural wax from the skins and any rogue seeds you may have missed.
- Heat 2 cups water and 1½- 2 cups sugar in a pot over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
- Add sliced kumquats and any spices (ginger, cinnamon stick, etc) if using, and turn up heat to medium-high. As soon as it starts to boil, reduce heat and simmer until the skins look glassy and translucent, at least 15 minutes and up to 45 minutes.
- Remove Candied Kumquats from heat. Place Candied Kumquats and syrup in glass container and cool completely before refrigerating.
To Make Candied Kumquat Flowers:
- Cut 6 slits in the skin lengthwise in each kumquat with the tip of a sharp paring knife, making sure not to cut all the way though, and keeping the top and bottom of the kumquat intact.
- Pinch the top and bottom of each kumquat to open the slits and pop out any large seeds using the tip of your paring knife. It's okay if you don't get all the seeds, some of them will slip out during cooking; you can also squeeze them out after cooking.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sliced kumquats, bring water back up to a boil, immediately remove from heat, drain kumquats, and give them a light rinse. This step removes natural wax from the skins and any rogue seeds you may have missed.
- Heat 2 cups water and 1½- 2 cups sugar in a pot over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
- Add sliced kumquats and any spices (ginger, cinnamon stick, etc) if using, and turn up heat to medium-high. As soon as it starts to boil, reduce heat and simmer until the skins look glassy and translucent, about 45 minutes.
- Remove Candied Kumquats from heat. Allow to cool slightly, then pour off the liquid into a glass jar for another use (like cocktails, tea, or salad dressing!).
- On a flat surface like a cutting board, flatten each kumquat into a flower shape. Any rogue seeds will squish out through the cuts and you can discard those. Place the kumquat flowers in a single layer on on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dry out the Candied Kumquat flowers in the oven at the lowest temperature 200°F or lower (mine goes down to 170°F), at least 3 hours, and up to 6 hours. The Candied Kumquat Flowers will not harden.
- Store Candied Kumquat Flowers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
What are Kumquats?
Teeny tiny baby oranges? Well, kiiinda, they certainly look like it. Kumquats are obviously part of the citrus family, but they are their own fruit! They originated in China, and now grow anywhere that other citrus trees can grow like California and Florida.
Unlike most other citrus, kumquats are eaten whole, as the "sweetest" part of the fruit is the skin. The inside pulp is very tart and the seeds take up most of the space.
How to Eat Kumquats
How to Eat Fresh Kumquats Raw
The best, "sweetest" part of a kumquat is the skin, which is deeply citrus flavored. The inside doesn't have much juice or pulp and is very tart with lots of seeds.
You can slice fresh kumquats, remove the seeds, and eat them just like any fresh cut fruit, or add the fresh slices on salads!
Or, pop fresh kumquats whole, skin and all. Just spit the seeds out at gracefully as you can, similar to grapes with seeds.
Make Candied Kumquats
With just sugar and water, you can make Candied Kumquats with the recipe above, which have the same sweet-tart flavor as any candied citrus peel. Candied kumquats can be eaten straight up, or added to dishes where a pop of sweet-tartness will be a good flavor balance.
Make Kumquat Marmalade
There's a fine line between Candied Kumquats and Kumquat Marmalade which have the same ingredients, the latter of which has a little less sugar, a little more water to give it that "marmalade" like texture. Kumquat Marmalade is the perfect topping for toast, or even a cake.
Make Pickled Kumquats
For something unexpected, make Pickled Kumquats with vinegar, a touch of sugar to balance the tartness of the fruit, and savory spices. Pickled Kumquats are a perfect contrast to rich foods like cheese and charcuterie, or alongside rich, roasted or grilled meats.
Dietary Considerations of Kumquats
From a health and nutrition perspective, kumquats are considered healthy! One serving, or about 5-6 kumquats provide:
- 6.5 g fiber (as compared to a standard orange of 2.4 g), because you eat the skin!
- 44 mg vitamin C ~ 73% DV
- more vitamin A, calcium, and potassium than an orange
- negligible fat
- all for only 71 calories!
As published, these recipes for Candied Kumquats and Kumquat Marmalade are:
- 100% plant-based/vegan
- vegetarian
- dairy-free
- gluten-free/wheat-free
- grain-free
What Ingredients You Need for Candied Kumquats
Nothing more than fresh kumquats, sugar, and water are all you need for Candied Kumquats and Kumquat Marmalade! The "biggest" ingredient is time. If you're going as far as Pickled Kumquats, you'll need vinegar.
Candied Kumquats ingredients:
- kumquats - 1 pound or more
- cane sugar - 1½-2 cups
- water
- optional spices and seasonings: fresh ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise, whole cloves, pink peppercorns
Kumquat Marmalade ingredients:
- kumquats - 1 pound or more
- cane sugar - 1 to 1½ cups
- sea salt - ½ teaspoon
- water
- optional spices and seasonings: fresh ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise, whole cloves, pink peppercorns
Pickled Kumquats ingredients:
- kumquats - 1 pound or more
- vinegar - 1 cup
- cane sugar - ½ cup
- sea salt - ½ teaspoon
- water
- optional spices and seasonings: pink peppercorns
How Many Kumquats in One Pound?
Because kumquats are small and come in different sizes and shapes, it's better to "measure" kumquats by actual ounces or even in cups.
One pound of kumquats, or 16 ounces is just about equivalent to:
- 2 cups of kumquats, or
- 40-45 kumquats
What's the Best Way to De-Seed Kumquats?
The best way to de-seed kumquats is with the tip of a small paring knife after you've cut them open.
If you want to leave the kumquats "whole," simply make a small incision on one side, give the kumquat a gentle squeeze to pop the seeds out, and then use the tip of the knife to wriggle the seeds out.
Where to Buy Kumquats
If you don't have a secret source for thousands of kumquats fresh off someone's tree, you can buy kumquats from November to March in some grocery stores, farmers markets, or order them online or shipped via specialty produce suppliers like this one.
If you're really nice, maybe my Mom will give you some of the 8 bazillion kumquats from her tree!
How to Make Basic Candied Kumquats
Before starting, give the kumquats a rinse under cold tap water to remove any little twigs, leaves, and bits of dirt. You don't have to be particularly detailed as the kumquats will be blanched in hot water and rinsed to get them really clean.
Slice Kumquats. Slice kumquats cross-wise into ¼-inch wide rounds or length-wise into quarters.
De-seed kumquats: Using the tip of your knife, remove seeds. It's ok if you don't get all of the seeds, they will loosen during cooking (and will be easier to remove).
Blanch kumquats: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sliced kumquats, bring water back up to a boil. Boil for about 1 minute—you might see little blobs of white wax with the bubbles, then remove from heat, drain kumquats, and give them a light rinse under tap water. This step removes natural wax from the skins and any rogue seeds you may have missed.
Candy Kumquats: Heat 2 cups fresh, filtered water and 1½ cups sugar in a pot over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Add sliced kumquats and any spices (ginger, cinnamon stick, etc) if using, and turn up heat to medium-high. As soon as it starts to boil, reduce heat and simmer until the skins look glassy and translucent, at least 15 minutes and up to 45 minutes.
Remove Candied Kumquats from heat. Place in glass container or mason jar with tight fitting lid and cool completely before refrigerating.
Leftovers and Storage
Store leftover Candied Kumquats, Kumquat Marmalade, and Pickled Kumquats air-tight glass containers in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Tools and Equipment
There isn't any special tool or piece of equipment that is absolutely required for this Kumquats. You can make it using a sharp chef's knife on a sturdy cutting board to cut and slice the kumquats, and the pointed tip of the knife to pop out the seeds! However, that isn't to say there are a few tools that might make it slightly easier to get the Kumquats from the farmers market to your fridge!
- Chef's knife, my personal workhorse
- Wooden cutting board, oversized for all those carrots
- Heavy bottom stainless steel pot
- Mini ¼-cup liquid measuring cup
- Glass storage container with airtight lids, perfect size for storing Spicy Carrots you make it in advance
- Glass mason jars, wide mouth because they're easier to use and wash
- Mason jar lids that are better than those horrible 2-piece metal lids
Best Ideas for Candied Kumquats, Marmalade, and Pickled Kumquats
Oh, you mean other than just eating it straight out of the container with a spoon? There are SO MANY things you can do with Candied Kumquats, Kumquat Marmalade, and Pickled Kumquats! Here are a few of the best ideas to get you started:
- Candied Kumquats on Cake. Top a citrus-flavored cake like Orange Olive Oil Cake
- Candied Kumquats in Salad. for a pop of sweetness, especially in Mandarin Chicken Salad
- Toast. Slather Kumquat Marmalade on deeply toasted nearly-burnt sourdough with ricotta, cream cheese, or yogurt labne.
- Kumquat Marmalade on Cake. Surprisingly a beautiful jewel-like topper for a cake, too!
- Kumquat Tea. Stir 1 tablespoon of kumquat Marmalade with boiling hot water in a mug for a fragrant tea. Bonus if you add cinnamon and ginger, too.
- Salad Dressing. Kumquat Marmalade whisked together with apple cider vinegar and olive oil for a fast and flavorful salad dressing
- Cheese and Charcuterie Boards. Candied Kumquats, Kumquat Marmalade, and Pickled Kumquats are all perfect flavor balances for a Cheese and Charcuterie Board!
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