In August 2006 some friends of mine bought me a Cumquat tree (alternate spelling Kumquat) for my birthday. This was a great present as my balcony was in need of some vegetation and what better than a little fruit tree. Its grown a bit since then and started to bear fruit for the first time late last year. In February Amanda and I move to a new place. The tree came with us and continued to grow more fruit.

Early in 2008 I decided to try making some liqueur with the Cumquats. Today I decided there was finally enough fruit to make the liqueur. I bought a couple of 1.5L preserving jars from Chefs Hat, a bottle of brandy and some sugar. The recipe I used called for 700g Cumquats, 700mL of brandy and 700g of sugar. I sterilised the jars by giving them a wash then putting then in the oven for 10 mins at 150ÂºC. I boiled the rubber seals for 10 mins as well. After letting the jars cool down I divided the ingredients evenly between the jars. The cumquats were added first, each one washed thoroughly and pricked with a fork several times. These were followed by the sugar and then the brandy. I'm not sure if all the sugar is supposed to dissolve. The recipe didn't say anything about it so I just left it.

Now the waiting begins. The jars will be sitting in a cupboard for the next six months, with a bit of a swish around once a month. Hopefully come May next year the liqueur will be ready for straining and sampling.