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The kumquat...what to do?

sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)

11 years ago

Forgot i bought 3lbs of kumquats last week in ChinaTown.
Co-workers ate a half lb right out of the bag but i have many left.
I'm thawing a duck...had two Thanksgiving rotis. The third i popped in the freezer.
Might make a chutney, garlic and ginger. (a bit of mint?)

Read this morning to slice in half and puree. Slice in quarters and add to salads and fruit salads. Should be interesting. Don't think my family has ever had them.

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Comments (7)

sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
Original Author
11 years ago
forgot to add the pic.
party_music50
11 years ago
Your produce pic looks fabulous! I'll bet you can even buy fresh figs... something I have *never* seen available in the stores around here. :(

I've only had fresh kumquats once and wasn't impressed. I'm sure yours will be better!
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A client just gave my husband a big bowl of kumquats for me...my marmalade recipe calls for 3 pounds of fruit, and I only have 2 1/2 pounds. I suppose I'll mix some meyer lemons in with them. The first time I had a kumquat, I had never seen one before and didn't know anything about it. So I peeled the darn thing, and wondered why someone would go through so much trouble for a tiny bite of way-too-sour citrus. It wasn't until a good time after that I found out you were supposed to eat the whole thing, now I love 'em. I bought a kumquat tree this year, but can't really expect too much out of it for another couple of years or so.
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colleenoz
11 years ago
Cumquats make great marmalade, if the production is fiddly. Thinly slice them, remove seeds (you can put them in a muslin bag), and steep overnight in the same weight of water. Next day boil until soft with the bag of seeds in, remove bag of seeds then add twice the weight of the cumquats in sugar. Boil until setting point is reached. Pour into jars and process if you wish. We don't process jams here so you'd have to look up a similar recipe for details of that.

Or, you can poke several holes in each one (I use a two tined meat fork and poke all the way through in two directions) then pack closely into clean jars. Pour sugar in to fill up the gaps, then pour brandy, rum or vodka in to cover. Screw on the lids and leave for a couple of months. Serve over icecream for an adult treat. If you don't poke the holes they won't suck up the alcohol and will look like big orange raisins.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
11 years ago
My great aunt used to make 'pickled' kumquats from their tree, which were basically preserved whole fruits in a spiced sugar syrup - no deseeding necessary. I believe the fruits are pierced or slit first, so they don't explode when cooked.

She also made marmalade, but I prefer the type w/ lots of big chunks of chewy peel, which kumquats do not have.

I was just thinking how they might be very good split & oven roasted w/ a bit of honey or sugar...IOW, a baked compote?
iris_gal
11 years ago
Rose Levy Barenbaum's directions for candied kumquats is the only one I'll follow (after other disasters).
I use them in Fruit Cake Cockaigne (Joy of Cooking). The best light fruitcake ever.

Here is a link that might be useful: preserved kumquats
lpinkmountain
11 years ago
Not a kumquat fan here, but I do have this recipe that I posted some time back. Life got in the way of me making it but here's a link below. The kumquats are used as a topping, so the compote might be good on other things too.

Glazed Pears and Kumquats
Ingredients
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of sugar
1 pear, cored and cut into wedges
3 kumquats, sliced
Directions
In a small skillet combine water and sugar. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture comes to boiling and sugar is dissolved. Add pear wedges and sliced kumquats. Cook and gently stir 10 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fruit and Date Lumberjack cake
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
Original Author
11 years ago
Really good. I made a few versions. I like Rose's recipe. The most basic and pure. Will be great with our duck.
Made a sweet/savory...with ginger shallots and garlic. Chopped in the cuisinart. Another with ginger and fresh grated meyer lemon i had in the freezer. Fantastic on french toast this morning...
Still a lb left. I'll add some slices to fresh fridge pickles i like to make for my dad for new years.

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