Kumquat Time Again!

That one little jar of kumquat marmalade may not look like a lot of work to most of you but then again, not a lot of you stand for hours in front of a tree and pick those little marble-sized fruit. It is not an envious job by far..in fact, it is rather tedious and sure to make you fully appreciate each tablespoon of the golden goodness! Today, Son and I picked sixteen pounds of kumquats and this is only a small portion of what the trees bore. We will be picking for quite some time! Keep in mind, that these are all the wild sort of fruit and not the nice, elongated fruit that comes from thornless bushes. Nope...these are the tiny, round ones that are full of seeds and come from bushes that can sometimes seem downright wicked! All of our trees were grown from the discarded seeds from previous marmalade making times. Each time we seed the fruit before cooking, the refuse would be put in the compost pile. The next Spring, hundreds of the seeds would sprout and from that at least a dozen or so would make nice healthy plants. These seedlings would be potted and then after they are several feet in height, into the garden they would go! New bushes!

Kumquats are some of the most unique fruits in existence! They are one of the only citrus fruits that are eaten whole! To prepare a kumquat for eating all that is required is a shirt sleeve if you are as country as I am! Simply pull one from the tree, wipe on the shirt sleeve to remove any visible grim and pop it into the mouth! Yep...you eat the whole thing with the exception of the seeds and oh, man..are these things ever seedy! I suppose if you have really good teeth, you might even be able to eat them, too! Seriously, though, the peel is the sweetest part of the kumquat. The pulp is quite tart so when you munch the whole fruit, you get a sweet/sour taste. There is nothing else quite like these little golden gems! Trust me, Son and I eat our share as we are picking them! But..most are destined to become marmalade and that involves a lot of slicing and seeding. The hours spent outside in front of the trees will soon seem like child's play. The hours spent at the table chopping fruit will soon seem like an eternity. An eternity well spent, though, once that sweet golden marmalade is spread upon some fresh baked biscuits! Ahhh..just the thought fills the senses! Delightful!