These things are pretty damn good. I saw them at the grocery store and decided to give them a shot. I had to Google the right way to eat them. I now wish they showed up more often.

It's almost like an orange crossed with a grape tomato. I like to roll them between my fingers to get the sweet oil to come out. Plus, the longer you chew it, the sweeter it gets. Interesting.

Who knew that kumquat could be more than a good safe word?

We had a tree in our yard when I was a kid in Tampa....I remember them being sour?

Super common in Taiwan. Goes great mixed with green tea.

I have a few trees in my garden in Charleston. They grow in cooler climates.

Canned candied kumquats are the bomb!

Back in the 50/60’s they were pretty common here as a different taste of sweet/sour citrus. Kind of fell out of favor along with the huge quava fruit.

In the late 70's, we moved from KY to Florida, South St Pete to be exact - and the next door neighbor was this old lady who took it upon herself to keep me fed that summer - man I had soo many toasts and muffins with homemade kumquat jellies, jams and my favorite marmalade. One of my fondest memories of the summer we moved there.

Edit - wow I had my time off - it was late 70's not early 80's - sigh - so many years ago now

I've never considered the Kumquat.

Now, if someone changed the name to, let's say, the Christie Brinkley, then I might be interested.

Safe word huh?
Just why do you need one, flesheatingvirus?

“Here’s the secret: squeeze out the juice! Yes! Believe it or not, a kumquat is completely the opposite of most citrus fruit: the juice is sour and the skin is sweet!

Isn’t that strange? Not only does this make the kumquat sweeter, but (as Hillary at Epicurus Gourmet pointed out), it also gets rid of the seeds! Now that I am the owner of a gorgeous kumquat tree, when I eat the fruit, I nibble the top part of the kumquat, squeeze out the juice, and pop the rest of it into my mouth.

It is truly as sweet as candy! I have told several other friends who have been just as amazed as I was, but so pleasantly surprised. Also, they have very little juice, so it’s not really being wasteful…”

Thanks to this thread I ate my first kumquat yesterday. Several, in fact. After some experimenting, I now eat only the peel and dump the rest of the fruit. The opposite of all other citrus fruits.

I find the peel to be tasty, and its flavor is much different than anything else – an additional virtue.

I am reminded another very sweet tropical fruit that initially looks somewhat like the kumquat, in size, shape, and color. However, it is not of the citrus family and its skin is smooth and nice to the touch. They were pretty rare in both FL and TX where I encountered them, so when I found them ripe, usually in odd places, I always devoured them on the spot. Seeking them now, canned or dried, imported from Asia, it seems they are hard to get and pricey. These are the loquat.