http://fyi.uwex.edu/safepreserving/files/2015/06/Play-it-Safe.pdf  suggests that white grape juice could be used instead of the white wine... or you could use the simple syrup recipe of your choice that the National center for Home food preserving provides for for canning orange sections... Sections may be packed in your choice of
water, citrus juice or syrup.fruit. Syrup: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_02/syrups.html#syryps

That is a great tip /\ thanks!

Jill - am I reading this correctly, that you are taking a tested and approved recipe and then changing all the ingredients in it? If so then that can be quite risky and isn't recommended. Why make a recipe that you don't have the ingredients for in the first place and also change the central component? Does the recipe say kumquats can be substituted? Do you know for a fact that the pH of kumquats is the same or lower than the pH of oranges? I don't know.

Yes both the wines and the liquors play a safety role.

Dave

I never made the recipe because I didn't have the answer regarding a wine substitution prior to the immediate
need to use the kumquats.

The Ball recipe stated that Triple Sec could be substituted for the Cointreau, so that was a valid substitution.

Kumquats have a lower pH than oranges. Would not that be a valid & safe substitution for oranges, which are less acidic than the kumquats?

Yeah if their pH is lower that's fine. Never had them or even read about them so i wasn't sure. Just take care as there are some fruits we would normally think of as acidic but they aren't figs and mangoes come to mind but there are others too.

Dave

Thanks. Kumquats are citrus fruits that are somewhat tart but the skin is sweet. You eat the skin as well as the flesh. If you have eaten--and liked--candied orange peel, then candied kumquat peel is even so much better, and much more tender! We have a small orchard with a large variety of different fruits, some of which are unusual, making it a challenge sometimes to find cooking or canning recipes in which to use them.