Satsuma Kumquat Marmalade

Winter Sunshine

There is little difference in marmalade and jam. Marmalade is normally made with sliced or chopped fruit or small berries. Jam is generally made from crushing the fruit. A true marmalade contains bits of fruit suspended in its sparkling transparent jelly. Rightfully speaking, a marmalade is truer to jelly as the principles of jelly making apply in cooking up marmalade correctly.

This time of year, satsumas are peaking along the coast from the long, warm summer months and are just in time for holiday foods. Great for snacking, fruit salads, any pie deserving a citrus topping and perfect for making chunky glazes for cakes. Don't forget to use them in any recipe as you would an orange, like we do this time of year. I last used a few in my Sweet Potatoes with Praline Topping and then had so many folks try it with gracious comments. Satsumas are mostly seedless, easy to peel and deliciously juicy, at least the ones growing around here are, why, there is even a town named after it just a few miles away.

The following is taking from a worn out 
Alabama Cooperative Extension publication:

When peeling citrus fruits for marmalades, be sure to include some of the white membrane found just under the skin. This is where the most pectin is located. Pectin is the substance that causes the fruit to gel. Some kinds of fruit have enough natural pectin to make high quality products. Others require added pectin, especially when they are used for making jellies, which should be firm enough to hold their shape. The highest quality pectin is found in just ripe fruit. Pectin from under-ripe or over-ripe fruit will not form a gel.
Lemons have enough natural pectin and acid for gel formation with only added sugar. Oranges and satsumas are low in natural acid or pectin, and may need the addition of either acid or pectin.
To test for doneness in jelly, marmalades, etc. made without added pectin use the temperature test. Take the temperature of the jelly with a candy thermometer. When done, the temperature should be 220 degrees F. This is the most reliable method to use.

Here is a recipe we have enjoyed many years using locally grown satsumas and kumquats. Enjoy!

Satsuma Kumquat Marmalade
makes about 8 half-pints

6 medium satsumas (or tangerines, mandarin oranges, clementines, etc)
2 lemons
12 kumquats
sugar

Wash the fruit well and dry with a clean cloth. Peel the satsumas leaving intact any white pith or membrane and slice or sliver the peel into small pieces. Slice away the peel from the lemons and do the same cutting into small pieces. Cut the ends from the kumquats and discard. Thinly slice the kumquats removing any seeds. Cut the satsuma and lemon pulp into small pieces. Remove any seeds. Measure the pulp, its juice, the peels and sliced kumquats. Add 4 cups of water to every cup of measured mixture and place in a deep wide stockpot. Bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for about an hour or until the volume is about half from the start. Remove from heat and place in a cool place putting a cloth over the top. Let set over night or at least 12 hours. This will extract the natural pectin from the lemons and the membranes of the satsumas.

Bring mixture to a rapid boil again and simmer quickly until the peel is tender. This should not take long. Measure the mixture (fruit, peel and water) and add 1 cup of sugar for every cup of mixture. Bring to a boil and cook to jelly stage, using a candy or jelly thermometer to 222 degrees F. Turn off heat and let cool to 190 degrees F.  Pour into clean jelly jars of choice and seal using the water-bath method processing for 15 minutes. Alternately, you can after cooling the marmalade, seal with a double layer of paraffin too.

Note: If your satsumas are not juicy, add a little orange juice. Some folks separate the white pith and membrane tying it up in a muslin bag while cooking out the pectin and in keeping the marmalade 'sweeter' in the final cooking stage.