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Kumquat
Citrus japonica · Citrus
40 pairings
The kumquat (Citrus japonica) is a thumb-tip-sized citrus eaten whole, skin and all — and uniquely among citrus, that thin rind is sweet and perfumed while the few segments of flesh inside are sharply sour, so a single fruit delivers a sweet-then- tart burst in one bite. Borne on small, frost-hardy evergreen shrubs native to southern China, the bright-orange ovals are eaten fresh, candied, simmered into marmalade and dropped whole into cocktails.
Picking a good onedrag
Taut, glossy, oil-slickWrinkled, soft, scent gone
Shop firmThe all-rounder: raw, sliced into salads, dropped in a drink.Everyday best
SkinOrange with a green shoulder, still tight
In the fingersFirm, gives a shade under the thumb
Stem endCalyx gone, scar dry and pale
Scratched peelFragrant when rubbed, softer edge
What to look for, from taut, glossy, oil-slick to wrinkled, soft, scent gone.
What one gives you
93%
Usable yield
19 g · skin and all, pips out
20 g
Typical weight
one specimen
Keeping ittap a band
Handbook 66 files it with the chilling-sensitive fruits at 7-10 C, not fridge-cold: below about 7 C expect the peel to pit and brown.
Humidity
85-95%
The peel is most of what you eat, and drying it costs the best part: bare on a counter the skin wrinkles within a week.
Airflow
Vented, not sealed
A slit bag or an open punnet. Shut in tight they sweat at the stem, and blue-green Penicillium runs from one wet fruit through the box.
Flagged neither way in Handbook 66
Handbook 66 flags lemon, lime and grapefruit for ethylene damage but leaves kumquat unflagged. It gives off almost none itself, and no fruit bowl will sweeten one.