More Cumquat Marmalade

By the time Mum and I got home from Morning Cuppa at school yesterday and wandered down the main street looking for a dress for Mum, this is all I time for. A quick lunch and then marmalade making. My dear mother does not suffer waste well and had taken one look at my cumquat tree and decided that she would not be leaving without a jar of marmalade for herself!

I had fully intended to do just that in the next week or two and my tree was groaning with fruit. So we picked, chopped, boiled and bottled in the two hours we had at home before heading back to school for our Twilight Tours evening. Mum has spent quite a bit of today at school with us, as she decided that helping out with the catering team at Twilight Tours would be more interesting than being home on her own...and she says she really enjoyed getting to know other parents at the school.

Cumquat Marmalade

500g cumquats, deseeded
1 1/2 cups water
3 cups white sugar

1. Place cumquats in a food processor and blend until chopped.
2. Place in a microwave safe dish & cook on high for 10 minutes
3. Add the sugar and water and mix. Cook on high for about 18 minutes, until the jam passes the 'setting test' on a cold plate.
4. Bottle in sterile jars.

OR
Chuck the lot in a pot and boil til it passes the setting test. (this is what I did yesterday with 3kg of fruit!) I couldn't fit all the water in though, so it missed out on 2 cups. And I used 3kg of sugar to the 3kg of fruit. It was a cup or two short, but it tasted fine. I think jam making is meant to be more precise....oh well....I just went with what I had!

The Setting Test
Place a plate in the freezer so that it is nice and cold. Pop a little bit of the jam onto the plate and put it back in the freezer for 2 minutes. When you take it out, push your finger from the edge of the jam into the centre. If it crinkles up as you push it will set fine. If not, keep boiling!

This recipe was adapted from one using all lemons. I used the same quantities, just changed the fruit. Because of the pectin levels in citrus fruit you don't need to add jamsetta :)