This cumquat jam recipe is really easy and quick and tastes delicious unlike some cumquat marmalade recipes that can be quite tricky, fiddly and time-consuming especially when using fruit with seeds.
This citrus jam is sure to impress.
Easiest ever cumquat jam
What exactly is the difference between a jam and a marmalade?
I’m clearly not sure because I called this a jam and every recipe I can find calls it a marmalade. Anyway, if you know the answer please enlighten me.
What I do know is that I made a cumquat jam/marmalade and it is delicious.
I first made this a few years ago and my grandmother rang me after sampling her jar to tell me it was the best cumquat jam she’d ever had.
Now yes she may be biased but my grandma is pretty obvious. If she doesn’t like something you can tell and I didn’t get a hint of it this time.
Actually there was a pretty funny story of delivering the jam to her.
At the time, my big boy was about 6 months old and I though I’d take him over between feed and sleep to visit and give her some jam.
Her phone was engaged so we jumped in the car and I kept ringing all the way there (hands free) but still engaged.
When we got there she couldn’t hear the buzzer cause she was still on the phone but some person took pity on the poor woman balancing a baby in one arm and bags in the other and let me into the building.
We went up to the door and knocked and knocked and I yelled and yelled and she still couldn’t hear me.
You might also like cumquat melting moments.
To kill time I sent mum a snapchat to Mum (as I said, this was a few years ago) captioned ‘trying to visit. deaf old woman.’
Except stupid auto correct said ‘dead’ old woman.
I kept knocking, the little guy freaked out from the noise and started losing it, Mum rang in a panic about the ‘dead’ woman and at that moment Guppy answered the door.
You try calming a baby in one hand, calming your mother in the other hand on the phone while greeting your grandmother and explaining to her why her great grandson was acting like he was being tortured.
All’s well that ends well I suppose.
Back to the jam.
This really was the easiest jam I’ve ever made. Of course I started with a search for ‘easy cumquat jam.’
I skipped past the few that said I had to remove the pips and chose the one that simply said, quarter, soak, boil, sweeten, boil, bottle (I summarise).
Easy peasy. It really was that easy.
Saturday night I chopped them up, Sunday I boiled it all up, popped it in some jars and decorated them. It literally took just over an hour total time (not including the over-night soak).
My grandma was most impressed with the colour. She said most cumquat jams she had tried were almost brown, not vibrant orange like this one.
Maybe it’s the homegrown fruit?
Whatever it was, I was a bit proud.
A few common jam-making questions:
Now jam isn’t always the easiest thing ever to make. You probably have a few questions so hopefully the information below can answer all your questions.
Do you need to sterilise the jars?
If you’re planning on keeping your jam at room temperature for a period of time or really even if you want to keep it in the fridge it’s recommended you sterilise your jars to kill any bacteria that might be lurking.
There are a few methods out there but for me, I wash my jars in hot soapy water then put them on an oven tray and ‘bake’ at 100C fan-forced until they are dry.
Do you let jam cool before bottling?
No, jam needs to be jarred when it is hot hot hot and have the lid put on right away. The heat stops any bacteria from getting in and creates a seal in the jar.
If you’re going to be making jam more than a couple of times, I recommend getting some jam-making tools.
I have a little stainless steel funnel, a jar-holder (they’re like camp tongs with a rubber end on them) and another similar thing that holds the jar while you screw the lid on so you don’t burn your fingers.
Can you remove the seeds before cooking the jam?
I like this jam because I don’t have to remove the seeds but if you do want to, make sure you keep them, wrap them up in a little bit of muslin cloth and then put them in the pot with the fruit while it cooks.
The seeds contain pectin and that is what helps the jam to set.
Can you use different types of sugar?
I personally have only used the one type of sugar for this recipe but others have successfully made it using other sugars. Keep in mind different types of sugar have been processed differently so may take longer to cook or may brown more quickly.
Even if you use white sugar, it will brown when it gets to a certain temperature.
I hope that answers any questions you might have. If you have any others, please just ask in the comments and I’ll get back to you asap.
Enjoy!
p.s.If you’re using recycled jars, I have a little tutorial for how to remove the labels without ruining your fingernails (you’ll also get a bonus tutorial for making pretty labels in less than 5 minutes without having to buy anything).
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Cumquat jam
Cumquat jam
Cumquat jam - a really easy recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg cumquats
- 5 cups water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 5 cups raw sugar
Instructions
- Wash the cumquats and cut them into quarters.
- Place in a bowl, add the water and cover the bowl then set aside over night.
- Pour the water and cumquats into a large saucepan, stir in the lemon juice and bring it to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer for 30 minutes or until the cumquats are soft.
- Add the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves then bring to a boil and continue to cook on high, uncovered and without stirring for 20 minutes or until the jam has reached setting point.
- To test if it's ready, place a small plate in the fridge. Spoon a little jam onto the plate and put it back in the fridge for a few minutes.
- Run your finger through the middle and if the jam stays separated then it is set.
- When the jam is ready take it off the heat for 10 minutes and carefully scoop out any pips you can see.
- Divide between sterilised jars and seal them up.
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Hi Claire is the 5 cups of water in addition to the water used to soak overnight?
Just made this jam. Thank you for the recipe. Biggest issues were the pips (didn’t know there were so many to remove :-D) and the length of time it took for the jam to look anywhere near set. I took the advice from a previous comment, and reduced the water to 4 cups per kilo. However, it was still bubbling away after 60 minutes and quite runny. The jam is a beautiful amber hue, but I didn’t want to cook it longer – just in case it burnt. Will wait and see now if it will be used as a jam, or dessert topping.
Hi – quick question, how much water should I add to the Cumquats while soaking overnight? Is it just enough to cover them?
Hi Danielle. Yes enough to cover them by about 2cm.
I want to try your recipe but wonder about bringing the cumquats, presoaked and cooked, to a 20 minute rolling boil after you add the sugar. Shouldn’t you stir occasionally-every 5 minutes to keep it from scorching? Instructions said no stirring?
I didn’t Patsy and it still turned out but stirring certainly wouldn’t hurt
I have now used your recipe 4 times. It does make great jam but what I find each time is that the amount of water you suggest is always too much. I need to boil for at least 40 minutes to get the right thickness unless I put in only 4 cups per kg. The worst thing about having to boil so long is that the mixture looses all the golden colour and will always end up brown.
Oh dear I can imagine that might look a little off-putting. I guess it does also depend on how juicy your fruit is too. There’s no problem with adding less water if you feel it needs less. Good luck with the next batch!
Thank you for such a great recipe which worked seamlessly. I macerated the fruit and water after the initial 30 minute boiling in a food processor.
You’re welcome Tony!
Hi my apologies if you have already been asked this, can I use caster sugar instead of brown?
I think that would be ok Melinda it just wouldn’t be as rich. You could add a little golden syrup or rapadura or coconut sugar as well.
Hi Claire ,
I am so tempted to make this jam! Have lots if cumquats in my garden . What I would like to know is……. If we cover the jar while the jam is hot will moisture not for on the lids ? Will it be good for preserving the jam ? Will I need to refrigerate it ?
Thank you
Kavita
From Jaipur, Rajasthan INDIA
Hi I love chia seeds do you think they could be added to this recipe please?
Definitely!
Thanks Claire. Easy and delicious! Thanks goodness I have a friend with a Cumquat tree! In fact I’m going to pick some more tomorrow and make some Cumquat Brandy. It needs to age for at least 6 months so you have to be strong!
A fantastic season this year on the east coast of Australia.
In response to your query re marmalade or jam… I’ve always known it to be called marmalade. However, after a quick search I’ve found the following info “Cumquats were once classified as Citrus but they now are accepted as belonging to their own genus Fortunella.”
So I am assuming you are quite correct in calling it jam.
Whichever it is, it’s truly a delicious jamalade or marmajam ;)
How interesting Kay! Good luck with the brandy that will make a rather delicious treat when it’s ready.
Love this recipe, thank you Claire! It worked a treat when I made it last year for the first time and by now it is a firm staple of my kitchen repertoire :). Now I just have to get myself a cumquat tree for the garden, that would be dreamy. Homemade jam is just the best, isn’t it. Especially on homemade bread!!
It sure is Katrine! Yes definitely get a cumquat tree they’re fantastic. So much fruit for not too much effort.
Hi Claire. I’m about to try the recipe (first timer) just wondering if white sugar would help it to not turn brown ?
Hi Michael. You could give it a go?
I’ve used this recipe a few times now and each time it comes out very dark brown, even though I am using white sugar, the taste is okay but the colour is a bit off putting. I don’t understand how you get such a golden result. Any ideas?
Hi Lisa. I think it would just depend on the fruit and how long you cook it. The longer you cook it the darker it will go.
I made a 2kg batch and de pipped them .followed the recipe and mine did not set. buying pectin3 today and redo
Colin did you take the pips out before you cooked it? They are what helps it set. If you want to take them out, wrap them all up in a muslin bag and pop it in the mixture. That will do the job of bought pectin.
Hi Colin as your comment was in June you have probably fixed your problem, but in case you didn’t I always get a hit and miss with jams and marmalades not sure why tried using thermometer tried using jam setter and sometimes it just don’t wanna work. Now I put a lemon jelly in if it doesn’t set on the plate. It doesn’t change the taste of the jam coz it already has some lemon in it anyway. And I wouldn’t want to change Claire’s beautiful recipe. I just open the packet and stir it in when it’s finished cooking, when its melted bottle it. I know this is cheating but it works for me. Thanks Claire for sharing your very easy recipe :)
Marmalade is similar to jam but made only from bitter Seville oranges from Spain or Portugal. Also when making a marmalade, the skin is used and not the whole fruit, for instance kumquat jam. Jelly uses the juice. Marmalade came from the Portuguese orange Marmelos. Old English marmalades are very bitter. I prefer the jams. We as a race have lost our bitter taste buds over the centuries, to a degree.
I’ve just harvested and prepared my kumquats, I don’t worry about the seeds as mine are VERY seedy, I always use a heavy based pan to cook them in. Before I the sugar I find I can skim off most of the pips out, if some are left behind its quite easy to get them out when you spread it. Hope this recipe will make lovely marmalade, I’m going to try adding some passionfruit to a couple of jars and brandy or whiskey to another couple of jars, I have in the past used chopped glacé ginger chopped finely to it, yum!
Ooh love the idea of the added extras Lesley. Yum!
If you cook the cumquats with the pips in wouldn’t you need to remove them before bottling them?
ok so made this with only 400g fruit and reduced the amount of sugar and water
Still a little sweat but thought it ok
Had some difficulty as the bit where you dont stir I ended up with burnt fruit sticking to the bottom of pan despite having made it in my heavy based pan. Did go very dark and assume this is from the raw sugar.
I ended up putting it all through a sieve and using it as a drizzle on numerous desserts
Lovely non the less
will try reducing heat to just boiling and see how that goes
thanks for the recipe
Marea
Great idea to strain it and use as a syrup Marea. Yum!
A Wonderful easy recipe – I made it last year and it worked great. It is easy to scoop out the pips they seem to float to the top – the few that don’t are soft and edible if they get noticed at all. The colour was fantastic. I went into a panic yesterday when your blog wasn’t finding the recipe for me and I couldn’t find any other recipe where you left the pips in. I’m so glad it popped up today – I’m going to save it and print it off – thanks again for the great recipe. BTW I have made lemon and lime marmalade and that was delicious – but more time consuming than this simple easy pesy recipe.
You’re very welcome! So sorry you couldn’t find it the other day. There was some glitch with the search.
Joyanne did you try it with less water and sugar? Diabetes runs in my family so. Looking for recipe w less sugar.
I made the marmalade and had 5 kilos of cumquats. My situation was the same Joyanne. It has become very dark. I definitely think that there should be some comment about ratio of water to sugar especially if you are cooking large quantities. I am very disappointed in the way the recipe has worked out for me as I have spent a lot of time doing this and my results are poor. I am a first time maemalade maker and I don’t think that it is an easy thing to get right and your instructions made it seem like it should be.
Oh no Nicolei I’m sorry it didn’t turn out well for you. I always try to work with smaller quantities just in case.
Nicolei you can’t increase the amount so much and get a good result. Next time try 2 kilo max. I’m cooking tomorrow as a friend had a late last harvest from their tree. I’ve got 3 kilos. Better to do two batches.
I tried making the jam as you described. I found I had to boil it for a lot longer though to get it to the consistency I wanted. The jam in turn became dark brown, but the flavour is really nice. It may just be personal preference, but next time I’d like to use less water (and sugar as a result) to get a jam with a thick consistency and a higher fruit to liquid ratio. Do you think this would work or was there a reason to use 5 cups of water for one kg of cumquats?
I can’t see why that wouldn’t work Joyanne if you like it a bit thicker. I’m just about to harvest from my tree this year and make another batch!
Sounds great, I have a bumper crop this year from just 2 pots of nagami kumquats and will give this recipe a try. They were also big and juicy. The last recipe took hours of cutting into very small slices and I was exhausted after making it. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Rosemarie
You’re welcome Rosemarie. I’m about to do the same! My little man is going to help me this year.
1kg-1cup doesn’t sound right! 1Kg-2lbs!
Hi Astrid. Sorry I’m not sure what you’re asking sorry?
Hello I have one small question after you put your jam (which is so tasty) into your jars do you put them into the fridge? Probably a silly question but I have never made jam before
Hi Karin. No problem at all. You don’t need to refrigerate it until you open the jar.
Great recipe, Thank you Claire! I was given 2kg of cumquats from my neighbours tree and gave them a jar of this jam as a thank you. The recipe was so simple even for a jam beginner like me – with a 2 week old baby watching on! Thank you x
Oh Jo you’re amazing making jam with a 2 week old baby! So glad you liked it x
First timer here, do you leave the skin on the cumquats before cutting please?
Sure do!
I guess I figured it all out!! The best kumquat jam I have ever made!!!
Thanks for sharing
Well done Amma! So glad you liked it and you are welcome.
1kg -1 cup
Wasn’t sure if that could possibly be right?
1kg – to 5 cups of sugar???
Also by cutting them only on quarters, does the peel stay whole?
I am trying to make this now
It sure is a lot of sugar! You could experiment cutting it down. Yep the peel stays whole but it does significantly soften.
Claire, you have just taken all the stress out of my jam making. I make it every year from home grown cumquats, but the setting of the marmalade was always hit and miss (mostly “miss” ). Then I found your recipe and it has worked really well. I’ve just made the third batch this morning and they all look like yours! Golden and perfectly set. Thank you!!
Yay! So glad I could help Lynne. I’m just waiting for the fruit on my tree to ripen so I can make some myself.
How many cups = 1 KG of Kumquats?
Hi Amy. Sorry I’m not sure the answer to this and can’t seem to find it on Google. As soon as I have cumquats from this year’s harvest I will measure it for you.
I was so excited with this recipe. I’ve had cumquats for a while and never new what to do with then. Since I’m just a beginner in jamming, I followed the recipe head to toe, and it tasted delicious so far and was going great. But the last 20 min on high for 20 min was enough to burn my jam and stick it all to my pot. Very sad :( Luckly I have more cumquats in my backyard and will try again with a different cooking approach.
Oh no Mariana how disappointing I’m sorry. You have to keep a very close eye on it as every stove and pot is a bit different. I hope the second batch is just right.
I just can’t believe how much sugar people add to kumquat jams!!!!!!!!!!
I do jams every year using my own version. And I don’t weight anything, just use my senses and cool judgment. I cut my load to remove the seeds and sprinkle the whole lot with sugar to drain off excess juice. I might do the same with a grapefruit or orange. The next day I put everything into the food processor to mince.
Also I grate a few sweet pears or apples with some ginger and put into the micro oven for a few minutes. Then I simmer the whole lot for about 30 minutes, add some spices if I fancy, few tablespoons of sugar ( to taste!) and put into sterilised jars. All DonE!
That sounds wonderful Teresa. Love the addition of the apples!
Have tried many cumquat recipes but THIS one is just wonderful so easy to prepare with great results, love it, great texture. Will be making this again and am sharing the recipe with friends who had given up making the jam due to the tedious job of cutting the peel finely. Thank you
So glad you like it Keren!
Easy recipe and turned out just wonderful. I threw a vanilla bean in when boiling the fruit just to mKe it a bit more interesting. Thank you
Great idea Pam!
i love my cumquat jam but the pips in the slicing preparation ! How do you find it with the pips in amongst the jam?
Hi Pam. I do a bit of a scrape before I jar it and get rid of all the ones that are easy to get up but it doesn’t seem to be a big deal. When you’re spreading it you only get a couple and they’re easy to scrape off. Much easier than taking out all the pips at the start!
Hi Claire,
Thanks for a great recipe! Would it work with regular sugar instead of coconut sugar? We bought some for a different recipe but like yours lots better! Not having to remove the pips and slice the cumquats is so awesome!
Thanks! Erin
Hi Erin. Yes indeed. I actually prefer it with raw sugar. Enjoy!
Just picked about 2kg of cumquats from a friends tree and was a bit hesitant to use her recipe after she told me how long (hours!) it took her to remove the pips before boiling the fruit. Hence, I can’t wait to try your recipe. And i had such a big belly-laugh when i read about the auto-correct error. LOL!!! And your jam jars have been dressed so beautifully with green and twine :) LOVE!
Haha Lydia yep I’m way too lazy to remove all the pips! Happy jamming!
Marmalade can only be made (and named Marmalade) with Seville Oranges. everything else must be named Jam
So I named it correctly! Thanks Stephen!
According to the Collins dictionary….marmalade is jam made from citrus fruits. Anyway, I have made your recipe thank you. Mine is browner. And I cut the fruit into slicers and took out all the seeds. Am just waiting to try some on a piece of bread and butter. Yum yum.
Yum Jen. You’re much more patient that me removing all the seeds!
Hi marmalade/jam debaters. All citrus fruit make marmalade not jam regardless of type. Seville oranges make great tangy marmalade and are highly prized but grapefruit, cumquats, lime all make marmalade too.
Thanks Anna!
I think it becomes marmalade when there’s skin/zest in it. Jay loves making lime marmalade, so I think it’d be similar to lemon.
I’m going to give it a go and see what it’s like. Just need the lemons to ripen. There are so many tempting me!
Bahhaaa! That is hilarious about the typo!! One letter makes the world of difference doesn’t it! :D
It sure does!
A delicious looking jam as Guppy says. I love the flavour of cumquats. There is so little time sometimes between feed sleep and loosing it isn’t there?
There sure is!
That was a very awkward auto-correct! You must have aged your poor mother. I’m glad Guppy is still alive and kicking. The jam/marmalade looks so gorgeous with the green covers. I think the difference between a jam and a marmalade is that jam uses only fruit but marmalade uses the peel as well xx
Haha yes I think I did. Ahh yes that would make sense. Thanks Charlie x
I was drinking tea like a normal person until I read dead old woman and nearly fainted. Poor Guppy!! I’m glad she liked the jam. I thought it was marmalade if it had the peel in it. That said, I have no idea what the difference is. It sure looks good.
Haha nope just deaf! Yeah I think this is a marmalade but I’m going to be a rebel and call it jam.
I think, also, it is marmalade when the skins are included. Not when lumps of fruit are included.
Yes I think you might be right Jill
this looks much easier than the time i made cumquat marmalade. it took forever! cos yes i had to take out every pip first. I think the only difference between jam and marmalade is marmalade is made with citrus fruits!
Ahh well then I guess this is a marmalade or can I call it a citrus jam? Yes I wasn’t keen on taking out the pips!
Claire, such a funny story. I think it plays tricks on all of us from time to time. I believe that you are correct in calling this jam as “marmalade” is supposed to be made with citrus. So when you do it with the lemons it will truly be marmalde. I’ve made a zillion different kinds of marmalade but I don’t think I’ve ever made lemon. It sounds good though.
It would be interesting wouldn’t it? Might be a bit too zingy?
How much is kg, in cup (1kg of cumquat is how much in cup or quart or?
Hi Pamela. That one is a bit tricky to answer. You really need to go by weight not volume as it can vary so much depending on the size of the fruit/juiciness etc.