Remember all that delicious fruit my lovely friend Megan of the Beef Jar sent me?
See those little oranges? They are kumquats! Don’t worry.. I had to Wikipedia it too! Turns out they are LIKE an orange, but the reverse. They are sweet on the outside and tangy on the inside! Kumquats are mostly used for jams, jellies, sauces, and candies since they aren’t the best for just eating.
I went through a phase last winter where I made jam… Like seriously made jam. My husband lovingly deemed it the “Season of Jenny’s Jams”. Anyway, during that time, some of my favorite jams I made were jalapeno jams! Seriously… sweetness of fruit plus the spicy of jam = perfection!
This jam is a little labor intensive, but it is SO good and has such unique flavor! I served my jam on crackers with some Brie cheese. Honestly, it was the PERFECT pairing!
PrintSmall Batch Kumquat Jalapeno Jam
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pound kumquats, washed
- 1 – 2 jalapenos
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 package liquid pectin
Instructions
- Take one pound of kumquats. Pick them over to make sure that you don’t have any that are turning to mush. Cut off the stem end and slice the kumquat into quarters.
- When all the kumquats are quartered, use a knife to scrape away the inner membrane and any seeds. This will leave you with a small piece of rind with some pulp still attached. Once all kumquats are quartered and seeded, chop them into thin ribbons. You should yield about two cups of chopped kumquat bits.
- Take 1-2 jalapenos, depending on how spicy you like your jam, and mince into small pieces. If you like heat, feel free to keep the seeds.
- Place the chopped kumquat and jalapeno in a large pot with 2 cups water and 1 1/2 cups sugar.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 15-25 minutes, until it reaches 220°F. Pour in liquid pectin and continue to cook for about a minute.
- Once it has reached temperature and thickened, remove jam from heat. Funnel into two prepared half pint jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a small batch canning pot for 10 minutes.
Notes
- One great way I test my jams is to drop a small spoonful of jam on a plate I’ve put in the freezer for about 5 minutes. If the jam sets up on the plate, it is ready to be canned and has reached proper temperature.
If you’ve never canned before, don’t be afraid! Feel free to check out my Intro to Canning! I promise it isn’t as hard as it sounds and this small batch recipe is the PERFECT starter recipe to get you into canning! Believe me, you will have jam fever in no time!
Thank you for sharing this!! I can’t wait to try it!!