The Lovely Luscious Loquat (Jam)

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I wish all of you could taste a freshly picked juicy loquat. It’s not a kumquat or even a distant relation… loquatsI posted a pic of our loquat tree on my Facebook page and was really surprised to learn how many have never tasted this juicy sweet fruit.

Thin velvety skin embraces yellowy orange flesh that tastes  like a cross between an apricot and a peach.

loquatseededIf you have a chance to try them, just remember, the seeds are extremely toxic! They contain many toxic alkaloids like cyanogen-glycosides.

Loquats grow all over my SoCal neighborhood — everyone seems to have at least one or two trees and they’re very prolific producers — but no one knows what to do with them, which is really too bad because they’re full of nutrition.

  • Low in calorie,, rich in insoluble dietary fiber; pectin.
  •  Excellent source of vitamins A and C, rich in potassium and some B-complex vitamins such as folates, vitamin B-6, and niacin.

Plus, loquat jam is delicious.

A couple days ago, I made a batch of loquat jam with this simple recipe:

Loquat Jam


Directions:

In a large pot, add…

Twelve cups seeded loquats.
Leave the skins on but cut off the blossom end.
Five to six cups of sugar.
I used white sugar, but I’m sure you could play around with the amounts and use agave nectar or honey.
Two tablespoons cinnamon. Loquats are slightly bland and really respond well to spices. Pour over enough water to cover the fruit.
Cover with a lid, quickly bring to a boil, and allow to boil for five minutes.
Turn down the flame to simmer, uncover, and cook for a couple of hours, stirring with a wooden spoon so it doesn’t burn.
After a couple hours or so, take an immersion blender pureed the fruit (the skins disappear), and continued to cook for another hour.
After tasting it, I added a bit more cinnamon and three tablespoons of lemon juice which really helped the flavors develop.
I wanted to turn it more apple butter-like and thick, so I carefully poured it into a crockpot and let it cook on low all night.
In the morning, wash canning jars and lids with hot soapy water, rinse with hot water. Fill jars with hot jam and put the lids on, but don’t tighten too much. As the jam cools, you’ll hear popping sounds which means the lids are sealing. When the jars are cool to touch, tighten the lids a bit more and refrigerate.

Loquats in bowl

Just started the cooking process. It was a real surprise to watch the cooked loquats turn a deep rich burgundy.

Cooking loquats

Use an immersion blender to puree.

Time to sleep in the crockpot all night and get nice and thick.

Crockpot loquat

I’m really happy with the results. It looks a lot like apple butter.

Loquat in bowl

Jars and jars of jam! I’m refrigerating them; didn’t feel like going through the hot bath canning process.

Jars of loquat jamMore ways to preserve the bountiful abundance of loquats:

  • I’m freezing some fruit whole to use in smoothies.
  • Drying the leaves to make loquat tea.
  • Loquat salsa, like mango salsa.
  • Loquat cobbler. YUM.
  • Chutney
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48 thoughts on “The Lovely Luscious Loquat (Jam)”

  7. Since I’m adopted do I qualify for one of the jars of jam so I can try this delicious looking jam? I really love apricots & peaches, so I’d probably like locquats, right?

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  10. This looks delicious and I am one of the people who have never heard of it. Why? I wonder if they are like the Stasuma Oranges that grow in Louisiana- no ones heard of them either because they are entirely consumed within the state and so there aren’t any to ship to markets. Maybe the same situation? Where can I get my hands on some Mrs. Tugboat?

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  13. Never tried loquats, but your jam looks yummy.
    How do you keep all of the seeds from getting the the jam? If one falls in, and it’s that toxic, are you are toasted as the toast you spread the jam on? 🙂

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  16. I have never heard of a loquat before. They definitely don’t carry them in the produce section of my local grocery store. We have a Japanese Quince in our yard that bears fruit in the Fall and I have no idea what to do with them either, but I’ve heard they make good jam as well. I’m going to pin this for future reference!

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  17. Thanks for sharing the recipe. We just moved into my deceased Father in Laws property and he has a few of these trees. We found out what they were and have so much fruit on them, I started researching for recipes. How many jars and what size was used for this recipe?

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