During Vietnamese Tet, candied kumquats are on many people’s minds because a heavy bearing kumquat tree symbolizes bounty, fertility -- abundance! In Vietnam, people buy and/or display fruit-laden kumquat trees in pots to welcome the Lunar New Year. In California where I live, kumquats come into season after Tet. I didn’t spot any of the diminutive orange citrus fruits until early March. I bought a bagful, selecting the largest ones and wanted to preserve them as candied kumquats, called mứt quất in Vietnamese.
I’d looked at various recipes online but they seemed complicated. There were recipes calling for cutting each fruit several times so they’ll look like flowers when they’re cooked and flattened. My kumquats, even though they were the biggest ones I could find at my local grocery store, weren’t bigger than 1 ¼ inches! They were the oval shaped Nagami variety. If you have large-ish variety, such as round ones named Meiwa, cut 3 or 4 vertical cuts in each to penetrate about 30 percent into the fruits.
Other Viet candied kumquat recipes called for alum as a firming agent. I prefer softer candied kumquats and felt that wasn't needed. My mom kept telling me that her mứt quất recipe was easy, so I brought my 1.5 pound bag with me to her home. We made a batch and I’m sharing my mom’s insights here for you to use too.
Use a Bird’s Beak Paring Knife
Mom didn’t have a bird's beak paring knife in Vietnam but once my sister gifted her one, she’s found it to be super useful for tasks like dealing with kumquats. The knife, Mom says, has a curved blade that’s perfect for making the initial deep cut into each kumquat. The blade matches the shape and size of the kumquat.
If you have a bird's beak knife use it. Or, if you're thinking of getting one of the curved-blade knives, it's also great for tasks like hulling strawberries and peeling garlic (I briefly soak the cloves first). Or, use a regular paring knife.
Soften via a Salt Water Soak
After making the cuts to penetrate about three-quarter of the way into each fruit, Mom soaks the kumquats in salted water. The soak softens the fruits and allows them to be easily squeezed so the seeds fall out.
“The seeds are the source of bitterness,” Mom said, as she poked, scraped, and dislodged seeds from each kumquat. She dismissed the labor involved in removing the seeds as being minimal because the candied kumquats were a much bigger payoff. It’s meditative work for her, standing over the sink and using her eagle eyes trained from years of being a professional dressmaker.
Parboil then Simmer
Just like for the candied orange peels recipe and the candied pomelo and grapefruit peels recipe, the final steps involved parboiling the kumquats to remove excess bitterness from the peels, then cooking them in sugar syrup.
It was getting late and I wanted to hurry up the process but knew that the best results would come from a gentle simmer. That allows the sugar to penetrate the kumquats. They looked like gaping mouths and very delicate. After spending the first 10 minutes or so stirring them from time to time, I took to picking up the pan by its handles and shaking the pan a bit to circulate the kumquats.
Watch the heat so they don’t cook too fast. And, toward the end, when there’s little moisture left, they can burn. “Don’t turn away too long,” Mom advised. “I burnt a batch once when I walked away.”
After I finished, she inspected and nodded in approval. “You pulled them at the right moment.”
Candied Kumquats How-To Video
Just to clarify, here's my mom starring in her candied kumquats recipe video! (As usual, if the video doesn't come up, refresh your browser to try another browser. I use Chrome, Edge and Safari.)
The kumquats were plump, jewel-toned vivid orange orbs. We let them cool overnight with a Chinese steamer tray set on top for aeration. The next day, I packed them in small containers. Did my mom want to keep some?
“No, I candied about seven pounds of kumquats last month,” she said.
Sourcing Kumquats
In California, you should be able to get kumquats through April. Look for them in the produce section (I bought mine at Whole Foods) and at farmers’ markets. Other locations may vary with availability.
If you live in Florida, head to Dade City for it's annual kumquat festival, typically held in January. There's likely some great sources for kumquat too. You may also order the fruits from growers like this one, which ship starting in November. Or, grow your own with varieties like these by Four Winds Nursery.
Print Recipe
3.67 from 3 votes
Candied Kumquats
This is my mom's recipe, honed over the course of many years. Watch the video in the main post if you need an assist. Each batch makes about 1 ⅓ pounds.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds kumquats
- ¼ cup fine sea salt
- 1 ½ cups (11 oz sugar)
Instructions
Wash the kumquats then use a bird’s beak paring knife (or regular paring knife) to cut three-quarter of the way through each, dropping them into a deep bowl. Add the salt and enough water to cover, then swish to dissolve the salt. Weight the kumquats down with a plate then let sit at room temperature for 3 hours to soften.
Drain but do not rinse the kumquats. To remove seeds in each kumquat, gently squeeze it between your fingers then use the tip of a bird’s beak knife to pry and usher out the seeds. Work over the sink or a bowl so the seeds may fall down and be easy to later dispose of. Put seeded kumquats in a wide pot like a Dutch oven where they may sit as one layer. (You will soon reuse the pot to candy the fruits.)
Add cold water to cover by half an inch or so, bring to a boil, then let cook for 2 minutes. Immediately drain in a colander. Press on the fruits and they should yield a bit.
In the pot you just used, stir together the sugar and ½ cup water. Warm over medium and when the mixture comes to a boil, add the kumquats. Cook at a gentle boil or swift simmer for 40 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan, to coax even cooking. Lower the heat around the 25 minute mark to coax penetration of the sugar syrup. The kumquats are done when the syrup has thickened substantially (there’s little visible liquid) and the kumquats are shiny orange. Watch the cooking during the last 5 minutes to prevent scorching.
Take the pan off heat and let the kumquats cool completely before eating, or transferring to an airtight container. Keep refrigerated for a few weeks, or freeze for 6 months.
Notes
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