Candied Kumquats

Super easy recipe for candying kumquats, those mini citrus you can eat whole. Great as a sweet condiment for meat and cakes.

Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

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Elise Bauer
Updated February 17, 2021
Elise Bauer
Candied Kumquats
Elise Bauer

It's raining kumquats. Literally. My friend Garrett found a fully loaded kumquat tree on his campus and now we are quite flush with them.

A few days ago Garrett brought a jar of these candied kumquats over and we've been nibbling on them ever since. Ridiculously easy to make, candied kumquats are half condiment, half candy.

You can use them on salads, pork, chicken, cheesecakes, or even with chocolate ice cream. Or you can do what I do, which is to sneak a couple out of the fridge and just eat them straight. Sticky gooey goodness!

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Candied Kumquats

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Yield 4 cups

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of roughly chopped kumquats (roughly 1-1½ lbs.)
  • 1 cup of water
  • 2 cups of sugar

Method

  1. With a pairing knife roughly chop the kumquats. Discard any seeds you can that are easy to get too, but they're edible so don't fret if some get chopped up or stay in the fruit. Feel free to leave any small kumquats whole.

  2. Heat the water and sugar over high heat until it comes to a boil. Simmer for 4 minutes. Add the kumquats and simmer for 10 minutes.

  3. Drain the kumquats through a sieve set over a bowl. Return the syrup to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce the syrup. Combine the kumquats and 1/4 cup of the syrup together.

    Serve or jar and refrigerate. Can be stored for up to two weeks.

Links:

Kumquat Salsa here on Simply Recipes

Garrett's Kumquatinis

candied kumquats
Elise Bauer