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Kumquat Information

Ingredients :
		Move over, salted lemons: Here come the kumquats

How to cook :

We cut them, we salted them, we gawked at them and went downright loony over our lemons.
Now there's a new preserved citrus on the block.
Moroccan-food expert Kitty Morse, who helped me help you discover the glories of preserved lemons, has done it again - this time with kumquats.
In her new cookbook, 'The Scent of Orange Blossoms: Sephardic Cuisine From Morocco' (Ten Speed Press, $24.
95), the Casablanca-born Morse shows off the technique for preserving kumquats learned from Zahra Aflalo, the mother of her co-author, Fez native Danielle Mamane.
This Sephardic condiment was introduced to Morocco by Jews who fled from Spain and Portugal in the late 15 th century during the time of the Spanish Inquisition.
Grown in Morocco, China, Japan and the United States, kumquats, which look like oblong marble-size oranges, are preserved with salt.
But unlike preserved lemons, which are made by slashing lemons and stuffing them with kosher salt, the kumquats are not cut, but kept whole in the jar, and layered with lemon slices and salt.
The jar is then topped off with equal parts water and white distilled vinegar.
For you who, like me, found week by week that you couldn't take your eyes off your lemons as they exuded more and more juice and their rinds softened little by little and they were transformed into an almost marmalade-like texture, kumquats probably won't drive you as fruity.
First, unlike the jar of lemons that stays out so visibly on the counter until the citrus gives off much of its juice, kumquats go immediately into the refrigerator to help preserve their bright color.
Second, kumquats don't undergo as much of an external change; unlike the lemons, they keep their shape.
That's not to say you won't find yourself opening the refrigerator door at odd moments just to get a glimpse of the artsy jar layered with sunshine.
But unlike the lemons, which take four to six weeks to soften enough to use, the kumquats are ready in two weeks.
Now's the perfect time to get on the kumquat kick since they are in season through March.
You can find them at such stores as De Martini Orchard in Los Altos and Cosentino's in San Jose and Santa Clara.
The fresh kumquat, a good source of potassium and vitamins A and C, is entirely edible, with a sweet rind and dry, sour flesh.
The preserved version will have its tartness mellowed, its orange flavor heightened, and a tangy, pickled taste from the vinegar.
The flavor reminds me a bit of dried Asian tangerine or orange peels, used for cooking or snacks.
'The preserved lemon is more of a classic; the kumquat more of a novelty,' Morse says.
'You can't always use them interchangeably in dishes that traditionally call for preserved lemons.
The texture is a bit chewier, so they're not as versatile.
But they can add a nice depth.
'Morse rinses the preserved kumquats in water before adding them to salads or any uncooked dishes to temper their vinegary pucker.
But in tagines, slow-simmered Moroccan stews, she likes to use them as is.
Kumquats can be split in half before using to remove the two or three small seeds inside.
Or you can use them whole like unpitted olives and warn guests they might have to spit out the seeds.
Stir whole preserved kumquats into beef or chicken stews.
Add diced kumquat to a chicken or seafood salad or to sauteed chard or spinach.
Jazz up cream cheese with diced kumquat and slather on crackers, bread or bagels.
I'm thinking kumquats might add a great twist to oxtail stew, since so many classic Chinese recipes for it already call for dried tangerine peel.
Or perhaps something with duck, since duck and oranges have a natural affinity.
First, lemons. Now, kumquats. What citrus craze will Morse prompt next?Certainly not limes, she says, laughing.
Although they can be preserved just like lemons, they undergo a nasty color change, losing their deep green and taking on an awful gray pallor.
'I think that's as far as I'm going to go with citrus,' Morse says.
A pity.
Tags : Citrus Moroccan Morocco African Spanish Spain European Mediterranean Chinese China Asian Oriental