Ginger Candied Kumquats

A restaurant friend gave me a bag of freshly picked kumquats in exchange for some of my homegrown Kaffir lime leaves. Kumquats are small citrus fruits that look like miniature oranges. You can eat it whole with the skin and it has a tart and bittersweet flavor. It is popular to the Chinese as the word, Kumquat in Cantonese means, "golden orange", as it is a symbol of prosperity and is popular during the Chinese New Year to give as gift or displayed around the house. It is great as a spread on toast--it's marmalade with a nice twist!

Ingredients:
1 lb kumquats
1-inch fresh ginger, minced (or 1 tsp. ground ginger)
1 cup water
1½ cups sugar
a pinch of salt
Method:
1. Wash and dry the fruits well. Using a small knife cut into halves and remove seeds with the tip of knife or toothpick.
2. In a heavy saucepan, add water and sugar and bring to boil to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the ginger, salt followed by the kumquats. Let this cook for another 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low to simmer. Let this cook uncovered until the liquid has reduce down until it barely covers the fruit, and the fruit is covered with the sugar syrup.
3. Remove from heat and transfer fruit and syrup into tightly sealed glass jar and store in the refrigerator. They are ready to serve with your favorite toppings on dessert.
Printable Recipe