Kumquats. What variety?
http://www.jacksonville.com/lifestyles/food/2009-01-29/story/kumquats_the_forgotten_fruit
Kumquats the forgotten fruit
Take some time to get to know this lesser-known cousin of citrus
* By Liz VanHooser
* Story updated at 9:19 AM on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009
Open a cooking magazine this time of year, and you're likely to see attractive spreads featuring the usual citrus suspects: oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes.
But, look close at the fruit trees in your neighborhood, scour the produce section in your local grocery store, and you might spot another fruit, which isn't exactly a member of the citrus family but is a close cousin. It's about the size of a Ping-Pong ball, orange in color and has a funny name: kumquat.
Kumquats, which can survive freezes to 18 degrees, grow quite well in Northeast Florida. You might even have a tree in your backyard. But the petite fruit that you eat skin and all has a bit of a public relations problem. Namely, people don't know what to do with them.
Aaron Gottlieb, owner of Native Sun Natural Foods Markets, said he's tried to carry kumquats in the past but has given up.
"There's a select crowd who wants them, but it's hard to move them," he said. "I think they're the most underrated piece of fruit out there."
There are reasons to give the kumquat a second chance. First, you don't have to mess with peeling them. The little fruit is both sweet and sour, and the peel is what gives it its sweetness. A single kumquat has only 12 calories and a gram of fiber, and some say it both suppresses appetite and can settle an upset stomach. Plus, the fruit originally from Asia is thought to bring good luck and is often given away during Chinese New Year.
The kumquat has retained its low profile much to the chagrin of Greg Gude, manager of the Kumquat Growers Inc. in St. Joseph. The cooperative was started in the 1970s, but prior to that, Gude's father and grandfather grew them.
Gude estimates about 60 acres of kumquats are grown in Florida - 42 of which are grown in his cooperative. It's a drop in the bucket compared to the 655,000 acres of oranges grown in Florida.
"We've always kind of been the outcast kid," Gude said. "We've really had to push our product in a sense."
This time of year - when the kumquat harvest is well under way - the kumquat becomes a star, at least for a weekend, in Dade City, population 7,095. Dade City will play host to the 12th annual Kumquat Festival on Saturday. A hit with snowbirds, the festival drew an estimated 35,000 last year.
Cooking with kumquats
Although kumquats have been used to make marmalade for decades (the fruit works well because the rind isn't bitter like oranges), Gude's mother single-handedly gave the little fruit a boost in the mid-'80s when she developed a recipe for kumquat refrigerator pie. Now, when you buy kumquats from Gude's company, you also get a copy of the recipe, which is simply kumquats pureed with lemon juice, condensed milk and whipped topping (aka Cool Whip) in a pie shell. The pie is bright and tangy and not so different from the pie made from another little fruit that enjoys a much brighter star: the Key lime.
Gude has noticed the disparity.
"You know, I would love one day for the kumquat pie to be half as popular as the Key lime pie," Gude said. "I would like to get to the point where people could go into a restaurant and have as much opportunity to get kumquat pie as Key lime pie."
Victor Colee, owner of Northside Produce on Lem Turner Road, carries kumquats not because they're popular but because he wants to be the kind of market where you can find hard-to-find produce. He said most of what he sells is brought in by neighbors who have trees and have more than they can eat. Colee has a kumquat tree himself and sometimes sells his own fruit.
He sells them for $1.99 a pound. The kumquat, he said, suffers from a vicious cycle.
"Most people don't know about the kumquat because most places don't carry them," he said.
An unscientific survey of local markets showed Colee is right. Although you can find them in small mom-and-pop produce markets, produce stands and occasionally at the farmers' market, the only major markets in the area that reported carrying them now are Fresh Market and Whole Foods. (A spokesman for Publix said the chain has them around the holidays.)
So, besides popping them in your mouth and making pie with them, what can you do with a kumquat? Well, quite a bit, actually. The Kumquat Growers have a number of recipes on their Web site for everything from kumquat salad with Parmesan and dates to Hawaiian chicken with kumquats.
Still, giving the kumquat a piece of the limelight is a difficult sell, said Gottlieb.
"They look different. They are eaten different than other citrus. They have a name that is atrocious. You put all that together, and you don't really have a popular fruit."
liz.vanhooser@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4697
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KUMQUAT 101
The name kumquat comes from the Cantonese word for "golden orange."
The fruit, a member of the Fortunella family, was introduced in the United States about 1850.
Four varieties of kumquats are grown in Florida: Marumi, Nagami, Meiwa and Centennial.
Kumquats are available from October to April but are most abundant in the winter months.
Nutritional value: Kumquats are rich in potassium and low in calories. One kumquat has about 12 calories, a gram of fiber and 37 milligrams of potassium.
Selection: Select brightly colored fruit. Avoid fruit that is wrinkled, dull in appearance or moldy. Fruit should be firm.
Storage: If they are to be used within a few days, kumquats may be stored at room temperature. They may be stored for about two weeks in the refrigerator in a sealed plastic bag. For longer storage, they may also be frozen.
Source: University of Florida Extension Office
Kumquat salad
Kumquat pie 
