After the abundance of citrus in our lives these past four months, it is hard to believe that in a week or so, there will be no more until next December. Today, using the last ones of the season, we are making candied rosemary kumquats. My question is: are kumquats citrus or not?
I had heard tell that they are not a citrus. Yet our miniature kumquat tree looks like a citrus tree. The leaves are identical to other citrus. The blossoms smell like a citrus. The fruits look like a citrus. They even taste like a citrus. So will somebody please tell me why they might not be a citrus??
It is a good thing that I have a live-in, personal horticulturalist to tell me. (He is very closely related to my live-in, personal encyclopedia.) Apparently, in the 1780s, Carl Thunberg (any relation to the floriferous vine thunbergia?) first classified them under citrus japonica in his book The Flora of Japan. And that was that.
Well, not so fast amigo! In 1915, USDA botanist Walter Swingle (who introduced dates and pistachios to American agriculture, and developed the tangelo) reclassified them under the genus fortunella, and said they were not a citrus. Huh?
Happily, they are back in citrusdom (citrus japonica) thanks to a book called The Flora of China. This makes a vague and humorous sense as westerners first encountered kumquats in China at a time when westerners had a vague concept of Asian geography and often lumped China and Japan into India! That, of course, begs the question: why don't we see more kumquats in Chinese cuisine?
Although native to China, they have been grown there and in Japan for centuries. From the Chinese words, Chin Kan (meaning golden and orange), these tart sweet golden nuggets were a tasty treat for us when I was a kid. Not right off the tree, mind you, but candied and in a relish tray at the holidays.
Recently, I saw a recipe in the New York Times for candied kumquats and it brought back a flood of Christmastime memories ... jars of sweet, syrupy kumquats spooned into a section of the pewter tray next to candied apples and corn relish.
Never one to leave well enough alone, I added my own touch to the recipe with some rosemary. Candied, they are really delicious by themselves, and also as an accompaniment to any main course. We had them with roasted chicken the other night.
And there is a bonus product, too! There will be leftover kumquat-rosemary syrup that is great on pancakes, waffles or French toast! How about in a cocktail? Or for brushing over the top of a cake?
Kumquats. In the end, if they taste good, who cares if they are citrus or not? Right?
~ David
Candied Rosemary Kumquats
3 pints kumquats
3 cups water
4 1/2 cups sugar
8 sprigs rosemary, 4 of them trimmed to the height of the canning jars
4 1/2-pint canning jars with lids
In a large saucepan, cover the fruit with cold water and bring to a boil. Drain. Cover the fruit with cold water and bring to a boil again. Drain and set aside.
In the same saucepan, combine the water and sugar, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Pierce each kumquat all the way through with a wooden skewer. Drop the fruit and the 4 untrimmed rosemary sprigs into the sugar syrup and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and leave the fruit steeping in the syrup unrefrigerated for 8 hours or overnight.
Bring the syrup and fruit to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the rosemary sprigs and replace with the 4 trimmed ones. Let new sprigs simmer with the kumquats for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, divide kumquats among 4 sterilized half-pint jars. Tuck the rosemary sprigs into one side and top the kumquats with hot syrup. Seal and process for 10 minutes in boiling water.
Makes 4 half-pints. Labels: candied kumquats, kumquat, kumquats, rosemary, sugar
