I have one kumquat tree on my lemon farm; and it always has fruit, but nobody eats them. Some of my workers "Say" they like them; but nobody eats them. Sometimes I pick some off and bring them home; but still nobody eats them. Some people say they are great for marmalade; but almost nobody eats marmalade here; so it is almost a waste of good sugar to make it.

I like them. But what kind? Nagami isn't sweet. Meiwa is, and the only one I've tried. Centennial is supposed to be sweeter than meiwa.

They taste like tart, weird little citrus balls. Eh, not my favorite. My elderly neighbor's have a mature one that hangs over the sidewalk. No one picks the ripe fruits reachable from the sidewalk. There's always ripe kumquats squashed in the street. My neighbor's do seem to pick them occasionally (well, a ladder appears in the tree) but I have no idea what they do with the fruit. To give you an idea--when lemons start falling off my tree in the front yard they mysteriously disappear (YAY!!!!!), so people who help consume publicly visible extra fruit are around and even they don't want the kumquats.

I consider Them novelty fruit. Kids love to play with them but no kids or adults that like them like oranges etc . For $8 and if u have room, maybe but it you watch closely you'll see oranges, satsumas for equally good prices every now and then. A much better investment IMO

A cheap tree that you won't eat is worthless. A one time expense for something you want you'll never regret.

I second the consensus of the rest of the group. My unknown kumquat is a tart piece of fruit. I have had a good tasting kumquat before but I have no idea what variety it is. The only reason my tree stays is so my Dad can pick the occasional fruits off it. He crinkles up his face in the classic "too tart" look with every chomp but keeps on picking them.

Where is this store if it is near by I'll go buy a couple. I have bought meiwa kumquats and I eat every one.

Yeah like I said I like them. I know not everyone does.

its a shame you haven't eaten one yet. Can you get them locally? The fruit not the tree

Go to your local good grocery store and buy some fresh kumquats and eat them. You tell us whether you like them or not. $8 is a very good price for 3-gallon though.

I kept one for many years, but now that my Satsumas are taking up space, I'm giving them priority.

I actually liked to eat the kumquats in January when they sweetened up a bit... my wife even made a 'key-lime-type' pie out of them. Tasty!

Have you guys noticed it's mostly the cold climate people that say they like them? We're obviously very hard up.

Strangely enough, i had one at some poorly managed house and they tasted like bland cream, probably not ripe, the ones iv'e had i didn't like because they were so tart

LOL I passed on it! I wish they had some lemons or orange trees left in stock, but they only had 3 kumquats and one had roots that were pulled out of the pot.

Kumquat's fruits have to be eaten with the peel....it the contrast between the acid flesh and the sweet peel that makes these fruits so tasty :)

When we used them in a pie, we seeded them and threw the rest into the blender - skins and all of course. Wonderful flavor in a pie! Sort of like Key Lime, but hard to describe. Def. a citrus taste.

If it's a Nagami, I'll say no.

If it's a Fukushu, I'll probable take it.

If it's a Meiwa I'll pay you commission and shipping to get it for me, oh wait, we are in HLB quarantine (no shipping) zone. Darn it.

It is a novelty, but if you value novelty like I do, go for it. And you know what is delicious? Kumquat upside down cake.

I've also made some seriously delicious kumquat sangria, just sayin.

OK, now you guys are making me hungry (and thirsty).

Penny, four winds have it why would you pay commission?

also centennial is supposed to be as sweet or sweeter than meiwa. So maybe consider that one. It's a variegated so it's awfully pretty. I've got one.

Hi there, kumquat fruit is extremely sour. This is how I would eat the fruit. I first clean to surface, then I would gently squeeze the juice out from the skin of the fruit, wipe it dry and eat it whole. The tasty part is really the skin or grind of the fruit.

the chinese also like to pickle the kumquat fruit in salt. After a few months, the whole thing will turn brown. Then you can use the salted fruit in a tea concoction which is great for sore throats.

True but some like me enjoy the complexity of the sweet-sour mix

Hi Pip, the op found a terrific deal at $8 for a 3-gallon plant. Can't beat that!

Ok I see your referring to the commission.

kumquat is more like a "survival" food, if you found them growing in nature you could eat them, but it's kind of on the borderline of something you would want to eat. But I think the same thing too about mulberries, so you might want to keep this in perspective. With kumquats, you eat the whole thing, peel and all. The peel is very thin, of course, but it does add a great degree of tartness. kumquats are probably something you would eat 2 or 3, or maybe 9 of, and then you have had enough. It can make for a nice backyard ornamental, knowing the little fruits it produces are edible. But it's really nothing like an orange or tangerine. In terms of tartness, I might compare it to a Meyer lemon. Sure you can eat a Meyer lemon, but how much do you really want to eat? Kumquats tend to be for the more adventurous, and I would say only about half of people who try kumquat think it is good for snacking on. I personally find it has some nice flavor, but I would only want to eat enough just to get a taste of it. If I saw a tree growing I might pick 2 or 3 (they are very small), but I probably would not buy it at the supermarket.