Cumquat Marmalade

I've never been a big fan of marmalade, the bitter bits of skin can be an unpleasant intrusion in an otherwise sweet, syrupy jam. We have, however, three cumquat trees. They did not produce a lot of fruit, but enough to warrant preserving. I collected 500g of fruit and it took me ONE HOUR to painstakingly slice each cumquat as thinly as possible. It was worth it, i think. The jam is a lovely amber colour speckled with perfectly distributed thin curls of skin. And i don't even mind the taste. Probably because of all the work i put in, the skin is thin enough so the bitterness isn't too dominant. Pretty good with some salted butter and toasted sourdough. 

Ingredients:

Equal parts cumquats, water, and sugar (i used raw).

Method:

Wash the fruit and slice with a sharp knife as thin as possible, removing the seeds and setting aside as you find them. Place the sliced fruit in a wide and (if possible) shallow saucepan with the water. Place the seeds in a muslin bag, secure with some string and place in the post. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until the fruit is soft - minimal 'bite' left in the skin, 1/2-1 hour, depending on how thin you sliced the skin. While the fruit is cooking, place a saucer in the freezer and preheat the oven to low. Wash the jars and rinse with boiling water, place on a tray lined with a tea towel and into the oven. Warm the sugar in the oven as well. When the fruit is soft, remove from the heat and take out the muslin bag, squeezing off any excess jam with a pair of tongs. Pour in the sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return to a high heat and boil until setting point in reached (20-30mins, though its hard to give a time), to test for setting place a teaspoonful of jam on the cold saucer, move the sauce around and then push the jam with a fingertip, if it wrinkles or holds its shape well, it is set, if it runs freely, boil for longer. Once set, ladle into jars and seal.