Kumquat Chutney
Ever see those cute little kumquats in the grocery store and wonder what to do with them? Should you eat them out of hand, cook them, bake with them? Well, the answer to all three of those questions is, yes! I’ll get you started with this simple and versatile Kumquat Chutney recipe.
You can eat kumquats out of hand, skin and all. In fact, the skin of the kumquat is sweeter than the flesh so when you eat the whole fruit you get the full sweet/tart flavor. Kumquats are also wonderful to cook with because the sweet/tart flavor works in both sweet and savory dishes.
I was always aware of chutney as an accompaniment to spicy Indian food. When I worked in a British tea shop I was introduced to chutney as a condiment for sandwiches and as a component of a “Ploughman’s Lunch”. I created this Kumquat Chutney recipe to go along with our Easter dinner. We were serving both ham and turkey and I thought the chutney could liven up the turkey and compliment the smokey flavors of the ham.
Chutneys are great to have on hand because they are so versatile. Use chutney to dress up a simple grilled chicken breast or piece of fish. I like chutney on a grilled cheese sandwich or as an accompaniment to a cheese platter.
Chutney is wonderfully easy to make and Kumquats are a great choice for chutney because the sweet and sour fruit is perfect with the strong flavors. For this recipe I used carrots because I thought the sweetness of the carrots would work well with the kumquats and, frankly, that’s what I had in the refrigerator. Dried apricots added texture and sweetness and I threw in a few dried cranberries for color and to add another sweet-tart component.
You can improvise the mixture of fruits, vegetables and spices based on your taste and what you’ve got available. I left the Grains of Paradise whole because I love the little burst of flavor when you bit down on them. You can use whole peppercorns or cracked pepper instead.
Like a jam or relish, chutney will keep for several months in the refrigerator.
Kumquat Chutney
Ingredients
- 1 pound kumquats (sliced- seeds removed)
- 2 medium carrots (shredded)
- ⅓ cup dried apricot halves (chopped)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- 1 small chili (optional, minced)
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoons black peppercorns
Instructions
- Combine 1 pound kumquats, 2 medium carrots, ⅓ cup dried apricot halves, ⅓ cup dried cranberries, 1 small chili, 1 small onion 1 clove garlic and 1 cup cider vinegarin a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add ½ cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon ground coriander, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger and ½ teaspoons black peppercorns and return to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and keep the chutney at a steady simmer for 45 minutes until the kumquats are quite soft and the mixture has thickened to the consistency of a jam.
- Add a little water if the chutney gets too thick before the fruit is cooked. The chutney will continue to thicken as it cools.
- The chutney will keep for several months in the refrigerator (I store it in a mason jar).
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Back again…I have two small kumquat trees outside my front door in Cyprus which are both overladen with sunny fruit. I made your chutney exactly as written, except I did not have the cardamom (I added a little extra crushed clove instead). I also put the pips in a knotted double sided cheese cloth and steeped that into the mixture. The results are superb!! A jammy, aromatic and spicy delight which I shall have with a slice of home-baked smoked ham and a slice of cheese in a whole meal sandwich…and a glass of wine . Thank you for this recipe .
As I am diabetic, I may have a little from time to time, but this will make an excellent gift for friends as well.
Wonderful!
Hello….can one replace the white sugar with something like powdered or liquid Stevia?
The sugar and honey act as preservatives as well as for flavor. I’m not sure stevia would do the same.
Made a double batch for first time yesterday as I wanted something other than marmalade to make with a glut of Kumquats. Delicious!!!!! I love chutneys and this is on my “must make an every year” list.
Thank you from sunny Spain!!!!
Hi Eileen, thanks so much for your recipe, I am a Swiss citizen living in Zambia and we’ve got 3 kumquat trees… so after making too much jam, I was looking for something else and found your recipe. It came out a bit too vinegary, so I will try to add some more sugar / or honey and to heat it up once more… I didn’t have enough carrots, so only used half the portion, maybe that was the reason that it didn’t come out all perfect… I will definitely give it a try again! I am sure your recipe is perfect.
Hello from California! My mom has 2 kumquat trees and after 2 years of making marmalade, which is delicious, I was ready to try something new. I came across this recipe last year and made it exactly as written- was completely blown away, this is absolutely INCREDIBLE. We will be making this every year with our harvest. I may never eat a grilled cheese without this chutney. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
I made this last year and it was delicious. This is kumquat season in Egypt. Can you freeze the chutney once made, as I want to make a double batch of your recipe?
Sure, I’m sure it could be frozen.
Hi there, i have just made a batch of your kumquat chutney. I was given the kumqats and i am finding when i taste test the bitterness of the kumqats is very prominent. Is there a way of adding something to take a bit of the tartness away.
I like chutney that isn’t as sweet as a jelly, but rides the line between sweet and savory. You can try a little extra salt and/or sugar to balance out the bitter flavor.
I chutneyed the half pound first harvest from my kumquat plant and I’m delighted with the result!
Kalispera Eileen, Happy New Year!
The small kumquat tree in my yard (I live in Crete/Greece) is carrying some 6-7 kg of ripe fruit right now and I was looking for inspiration or an alternative to marmalade, confit, etc.
This is how I found your recipe which I followed with the ingredients available at home. I cut 1 kilo of kumquats in thick slice and replaced the cranberries with raisins, the carrots and dried apricots with some apples and otherwise followed precisely the ingredients in your recipe. The result is excellent! Thank you very much for sharing it!
Lucky you to have a kumquat tree, and to live in Crete!
Ciao bella, hello Eileen,
I came across with your recipe about the kumquat chutney via pinterest.. I have read a lot of recipes and I love yours very much and now I want to recook it.
BUT:
1. I have fresh Kumquats from the bush/tree in our garden.
2. What do you recommend of weight/amount I should choose when I use the metric system?
I’m kind of struggeling with the empire system….sorry…
I hope you can help me.
Have a great day.
Kind regards
stefanie.
Hi Stefanie, that’s an older recipe so I’ve updated it to include metric measures. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Thank you very much, Eileen!
I live in Israel and have a kumquat tree laden with fruit. Waiting for them to ripen and make your chutney. I also have a lemon tree full of fruit as well as several ptanga (Curaçao cherries) bushes. Lucky me.
Yes, very lucky you!! I have a sour cherry tree and it makes me very happy when the fruit is ripening.
My first year kumquats are ripening, and I’m having so much fun testing recipes. This was an amazing find. Savory, sweet, tart & DELICIOUS.
Lucky you to have fresh kumquats!
This looks so delicious! I love kumquats!!! I feel like I hardly see them here in the south, but growing up in California we had them all the time.
@Nicole Shillings,
@Nicole Shillings,
Would love a chutney recipe for limequats we have a lovely fruitful tree here in Spain. Want to try something other than gorgeous limequat marmalade. Have a cupboard full of that!
Hi @Faye and @Nicole Shillings, I too have what I think is a limequat tree here in North Queensland. I have made tasty marmalade with sugar and another lot with stevia. I am going to try this chutney recipe with my limequat fruit but only use half the peel as it is quite bitter – I will be using minimal rapidura (sugar) as I am on a low sugar diet.