Kumquat Marmalade

• Kumquats are these little healthy oranges sweet and sour taste which produces an unusual refreshing flavor. One of those characteristics is that they are winter fruits containing lots of vitamin C. Kumquats can be substituted for seville or bigarade.

Preparing Fruits

• Use organic fruits whenever possible. Wash fruits thoroughly under warm water, and drain. Remove stems, cut in four and remove the seeds. Zest oranges and lemons. Squeeze the juices out. Place the prepared kumquats in a large heavy bottom pot. Add vanilla seeds along with the pods, the zests and juices. Give a stir. Top fruit mixture with the sugar, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Cooking

• To begin, bring the fruit mixture to a boil and cook on medium heat until it reaches 230ºF/110ºC degrees. This process should take about 45 minutes, with occasional stirring. To test the marmalade's readiness, after around 40 minutes, perform a simple set test: place a small bowl over ice water, drop a bit of liquid into it, and wait a few seconds. The marmalade should slightly gel and wrinkle a bit when your finger slides through it. If it's not quite there yet, continue cooking until it reaches the desired consistency.

Canning

• While the marmalade is cooking, it's a good time to prepare your jars for canning. Start by sterilizing the jars and lids in a 300ºF/150ºC oven for 20 minutes. Once sterilized, reduce the oven temperature to 200ºF/95ºC, and keep the jars warm in the oven until the marmalade is ready to be canned. Remove warm jars from the oven. Carefully, ladle hot marmalade into jars up to the top. Wipe jar rims clean with a damp towel. Place lids on jars, screw on rings. Flip jars and allow to cool for 12 hours at room temp. Store marmalade in a dark and cool place for months or keep refrigerated. Enjoy!