candied kumquats

[aznsailorboi]

hi guys how's y'alls weekend? mine was ok, although it wasnt for the kumquats I think the low setting on brand new crockpots are still too hot, keep warm setting is whats preferred for "steeping" the fruits in hot syrup. needless to say i followed the instruction to the bone, and the syrup burned in liquid form, it turned black dunno what happened, i dont understand how it burned and turned black if the liquid didnt dry out.

[andiesenji]

I don't know how it could have either. I have never had that happen. I am so sorry you had a bad experience.

I have had it turn a deep amber color near the end of the process, the 5th or 6th session, but certainly no where near brown, much less black. I have several crockpots, including a new Cuisinart which does run hotter than the others, but as long as the liquid is deep enough it certainly shouldn't burn by the end of a 6-hour session.

It is possible the rheostat is advanced too far on your particular crockpot. However that would defeat the point of having a crockpot or slow cooker.

A sufficient amount of syrup should hold well below the "soft-ball" stage, that is, below 235 degrees F.

When I have tested any of mine with a thermometer near the end of a session,(including a very old large electric roaster), it is usually hovering between 190 and 200 degrees F.

It would have to lose a lot of water vapor to reduce that much. Does your crockpot have a vent in the lid? Did you notice a lot of steam escaping?

Edited March 6, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[cookman]

I, likewise, had trouble getting this technique to work for the kumquats. I pierced each fruit as noted above, and put a batch in a covered crockpot with plenty of the simple sugar syrup, on low setting. After 6 hours, several of the kumquats looked deflated, and light brown in color. Let it all rest overnight, then did another 6 hour simmer, covered. The cooking liquid never got any thicker (wouldn't the juice of the kumquats actually serve to dilute the whole mixture?), more kumquats deflated, and they all turned a yucky brown color and got pretty mushy. After another overnight rest, I looked at the pot contents and figured there was no way this was going to improve with additional cycles of cooking, so in the garbage they went. (A real bummer, since I had gone out of my way to purchase organic kumquats!)

I'm still not sure what I did wrong here. I've successfully candied orange peels in the the slow cooker before, but kumquats are obviously tougher to do properly.....

Edited March 7, 2006 by cookman (log)

[aznsailorboi]

haha to elaborate my feats with candying kumquats, cookman described it with perfect exactness to my experience, lol . but kidding aside, i will try it again, but this time instead of setting it on low, i'll set it on keep warm, and i will stick a leave-in probe thermometer in it to monitor the progress and keep it in softball stage. oh and my SO's grandma is coming up from florida with bunches of kumquats so i'd be a happy camper experimenting with my candy thermometer, honestly i dunno how much she's bringing....she's got a backyard full of kumquat trees. I'll alert you guys if i need help consuming it, hehe

[andiesenji]

After reading your experience yesterday, I consulted a friend who has also done a lot of candying of citrus and other fruits. She lives in Vista and has several kumquat trees and several rare and unusual citrus.

She can't figure it out either. She suggested trying a very small batch, parboiling them briefly in a couple of changes of clear water - as one would do with citrus peel, then go through the candying process with three times the amount of syrup as fruit.

Her regular process is virtually identical to mine except she adds half a cup of light Karo syrup to 2 quarts of sugar syrup. I can't see how that small an amount could have much effect. I have never used it, mainly because I never have it on hand.

I am going to stop at the middle eastern market on my way home and buy some kumquats and go through my usual process and see if I have any problems.

I am really stumped by this.

I am also going to see if my microwave method will work on kumquats. I have never tried it with anything except orange, lemon and grapefruit peel.

Edited March 7, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[cookman]

After reading your experience yesterday, I consulted a friend who has also done a lot of candying of citrus and other fruits.  She lives in Vista and has several kumquat trees and several rare and unusual citrus.

She can't figure it out either.  She suggested trying a very small batch, parboiling them briefly in a couple of changes of clear water - as one would do with citrus peel, then go through the candying process with three times the amount of syrup as fruit. 

Her regular process is virtually identical to mine except she adds half a cup of light Karo syrup to 2 quarts of sugar syrup.  I can't see how that small an amount could have much effect.  I have never used it, mainly because I never have it on hand. 

I am going to stop at the middle eastern market on my way home and buy some kumquats and go through my usual process and see if I have any problems. 

I am really stumped by this.

I am also going to see if my microwave method will work on kumquats.  I have never tried it with anything except orange, lemon and grapefruit peel.

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I thought the parboiling for citrus peels was to remove the bitterness in the orange or grapefruit rinds. I would have thought it was unnecessary for kumquats, where the rind is sweet. I wonder whether it might have been better NOT to "core" the fruit before beginning to cook it. It seemed to me that that small hole in the kumquat enabled the juice to quickly "leak" out , at which point the kumquats "deflated". If they weren't pierced, maybe the sugar solution would slowly go into the fruit, and they would not collapse as they were cooking. I also couldn't see how a covered pot would enable the sugar solution to get more concentrated with time. The kumquat juice and condensing steam off the crockpot lid just seemed to further dilute the cooking liquid. How about cooking on low, without the lid, replenishing the sugar solution only as needed to keep the kumquats submerged?

[aznsailorboi]

how about if I just prick the kumquat 3-4 times with a needle(the thickest one in the sewing kit) in different areas? at least there is an inlet and outlet for the syrup when the heating and cooling effects are happening? do you think it would work?

[Darienne]

So ...now I have a lovely bunch of candied kumquats, some deflated, some not. Besides eating them straight out...no one told me about the pits ...what else can I do with them?

I looked in the recipe section. No recipes.

Thanks.

[John DePaula]

So ...now I have a lovely bunch of candied kumquats, some deflated, some not.  Besides eating them straight out...no one told me about the pits ...what else can I do with them?

I looked in the recipe section.  No recipes. 

Thanks.

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I just finished a new batch. I stood there and laboriously sliced each one into circles and removed the pits. (I didn't do that last year and I think it's worth the extra effort.)

It's wonderful stirred into plain yogurt, drizzled over chocolate ice cream or bittersweet chocolate cake or even a plain pound cake. Very elegant and versatile.

[Darienne]

[i just finished a new batch.  I stood there and laboriously sliced each one into circles and removed the pits.    (I didn't do that last year and I think it's worth the extra effort.)

It's wonderful stirred into plain yogurt, drizzled over chocolate ice cream or bittersweet chocolate cake or even a plain pound cake.  Very elegant and versatile.

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Thanks. I think I'll just halve them and remove the pits that way. Lazy.... and then see.

I usually dip just about everything candied in very dark chocolate, but these won't work. Well, not very well.

[John DePaula]

[i just finished a new batch.  I stood there and laboriously sliced each one into circles and removed the pits.    (I didn't do that last year and I think it's worth the extra effort.)

It's wonderful stirred into plain yogurt, drizzled over chocolate ice cream or bittersweet chocolate cake or even a plain pound cake.  Very elegant and versatile.

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Thanks. I think I'll just halve them and remove the pits that way. Lazy.... and then see.

I usually dip just about everything candied in very dark chocolate, but these won't work. Well, not very well.

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Both times that I made these, they didn't hold up well to the candying i.e. they collapsed; so, dipping was out of the question.

Might be able to dice them up, dry them out a bit in a slow oven, and use in some bark, though - that'd be very tasty.

[gfron1]

I've had mixed results with the collapsing and took cues from this thread. The slow cooker method with a very slow cool down did best for me. I recently piped ganache into the center which worked well, and I guess you could open the bottom even more to remove the pit, then pipe.

[Darienne]

Store in a tightly closed glass jar.  Do not store in plastic bags.

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Dear Ginger Lady,

Can you store candied kumquats (orange peel, lemon peel, etc) in plastic containers? Any why are plastic bags forbidden?

Thanks.

BTW, the candied Meyer peels are outstanding.