Chef John'S Kumquat Marmalade - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 cups prepared kumquats
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup white sugar
1 cup cold water

Preparation

Quarter kumquats lengthwise; cut off white center membrane and remove seeds. Slice quarters into small pieces.
Place kumquats into a pot. Add lemon zest (white part only), lemon juice, pinch cayenne, star anise, sugar, and water. Mix together. Cover and let sit at room temperature 2 or 3 hours to allow fruit to macerate. Or you can refrigerate overnight.
Place pot over medium-high heat and bring mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; cook and stir occasionally for 10 minutes. Continuing cooking and stirring often until mixture is thick enough so that if you scrape a spatula across the bottom of the pan, you can briefly see the bottom of the pan before marmalade spreads back out, 30 to 40 minutes. Mixture should reach a temperature of 215 to 220 degrees F (120 to 125 degrees C). Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, 5 to 10 minutes.
Spoon warm marmalade into sterilized jars. Cover and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.