Kyle Powderly is a practitioner of Traditional East Asian Medicine with a passion for photography and food.
Once, when faced with an abundance of cumquats, this is what she did.
Using my mum’s recipe for Lemon Butter, I juiced and zested my cumquats, reserving the skins to make into a pickle and here is the result:
Cumquat Curd Recipe:
4 eggs
140g sugar
70g unsalted butter
2 tsp grated cumquat zest
120ml cumquat juice
Whisk egg yolks and sugar until well combined but not frothy.
Tip into a heavy-based non-reactive saucepan and add butter, zest and juice.
Stirring constantly, bring to simmering point over a medium-high heat (about five minutes).
As soon as bubbles appear, remove from heat, still stirring. Allow to cool. Transfer to sterilised jars and seal.
Makes 2 cups.
The verdict? Yum-oh!
I wanted a recipe that would make use of the skins of the cumquats after I had juiced them for making the cumquat curd.
Cumquats are unlike other citrus fruits, as the peel is less bitter than the flesh. They produce an excellent sweet-and-sour pickle, combined with palm-sugar, vinegar and spices.
Cumquat Pickle:
250 g cumquat rinds
100 ml white wine vinegar
2 cardamom pods, crushed
1 cinnamon stick
1 cm piece of ginger, shredded
1 tsp sea salt
60g soft palm sugar
2 cloves
water
Cut the cumquat skins in half and put them in a saucepan with the salt and water to cover. Bring to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the cumquats, discarding any pips.
Place the vinegar, palm sugar, cardamom pods, clove and the shredded ginger into a pan and heat gently, stirring, until all the palm sugar is dissolved. Raise the heat and bring to the boil, then add the pre-boiled, drained cumquat rinds. Simmer for one minute, then allow to cool slightly.
While the mixture is still medium-hot (about 75 degrees), ladle the cumquats and the liquid into warm, clean, pre-sterilized jars. Cover with non metal (ie vinegar-proof) lids and seal.
Store in a cool, dark, dry place for 1 month before using.
Cumquat Pickle is wonderful with Malaysian and Indian Curries.
Kyle has kindly allowed me to reproduce these recipes and images, originally published on her blog Yum-oh! You can also check her photography blog Photo-Ventura, here, which includes a stunning set of images from her recent trip to Nepal.
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