Kumquat fruit

Delicious, sweet yet tangy, kumquat fruit (cumquat, as the fruit generally recognized in Europe)

 is a winter/spring seasonal citrus fruits. Botanically, they belong to the Rutaceae family, in the genus, Fortunella, and named so after the botanist Robert fortune, who brought them from China to Europe in the middle of the 19th century.

Although kumquats taste just like that of other citrus category fruits, they are distinguished in a way that they can be eaten completely including the peel.

Kumquats are a small sized evergreen tree native to South-Eastern parts of mountainous China. Today, they are grown for their delicious fruits and as an ornamental tree in many parts of the world, including USA. A mature kumquat tree bears several hundred olive-sized, brilliant orange color fruits in the winter. On the Interior, the fruit resembles miniaure juicy orange-like segments (arils), firmly adhereing to each other and with the peel. The pulp has 1-2 seeds placed centrally. The seeds are bitter in taste as in oranges, and generally, spit out.

There exist several cultivars of kumquat; however, only four of them grown widely for their fruits.

Nagami kumquat (Fortunella margarita): The fruit is oval and is the most common variety grown inside USA. It features smooth, light yellow peel and has tart flavor.

Marumi kumquat (Fortunella japonica): The fruit is round, and has distinctive sweet taste and pleasant flavor.

Meiwa kumquat (Fortunella crassifolia): It is round in shape, and larger than other verities. It is popular in Japan by name ninpo or neiha kinkan.

Hong Kong Wild (Fortunella hindsii): They are the smallest sized kumquats.

Health benefits of kumquat fruit
Kumquat has calorific value equivalent to that of grapes. 100 g of fresh fruits provide only 71 calories. Nonetheless, they are one of the incredible sources of health-benefiting phyto-nutrients such as dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, and pigment anti-oxidants that contribute immensely to overall wellness.
Kumquat is eaten along with its peel, a unique feature that differentiates it from other citrus family fruits. Its peel is rich in many essential oils, anti-oxidants, and fiber. 100 g whole kumquats provide 6.7 g or 17% of daily-recommended levels of fiber that is composed of tannins, pectin, hemi-cellulose, and other non-starch polysaccharides (NSP).
Fresh kumquats are packed with numerous health benefiting poly-phenolic flavonoid anti-oxidants such ascarotenes, lutein, zea-xanthin, tannins...etc. Kumquat peel composes many important essential oils, includinglimonene, pinene, a-bergamotene, caryophyllene, a-humulene, and a-muurolene. Together, these compounds impart special citrus aroma to the fruit.
Further, fresh fruits contain adequate levels of some of the anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin A, C and E. Altogether, these phyto-chemical compounds in kumquat fruit help scavenge harmful oxygen derived free radicals from the body and thereby protect us from cancers, diabetes, degenerative diseases and infections.

As in oranges, kumquats also very rich in vitamin C. 100 g fruit provides 47.9 or 73% of RDA (Recommended daily allowances). Vitamin-C is one of the powerful natural anti-oxidant which has many essential biological roles to play such as collagen synthesis and wound healing. This vitamin has anti-viral and anti-cancer activities, and helps prevent neuro-degenerative diseases, arthritis, diabetes...etc by removing oxidant free-radicals from the body. Furthermore, vitamin C felicitates iron absorption in the food.

Kumquat has good levels of B-complex group of vitamins such as thiamin, niacin, pyridoxine, folates, and pantothenic acid. These vitamins function as co-factors for metabolism of carbohydrates, protein, and fats.
In addition, kumquats are a modest source of minerals like calcium, copper, potassium, manganese, iron, selenium, and zinc. Calicum is the chief element required for bone and teeth formation. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for red blood cell formation as well for cellular oxidation.

Selection and storage

Kumquats can be available from November through June. 'Nagami' and the ‘Meiwa’ are the two most common varieties of kumquats grown inside the United States. Saint Joseph, Florida is nicknamed as kumquat capital of Florida since Nagami variety kumquats grown in much larger scale there.

While buying, select kumquat fruit that is firm, smooth, brilliant orange color, with attached stem. Avoid unripe, green color fruits and those with surface cuts, bruise, or damage.

Kumquat fruits possess very good keeping quality. They can be stored at room temperature for about 3-4 days, and inside the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Frozen kumquat puree can be stored for six months or more.

Kumquats must be allowed to ripen fully on the tree before they picked. They can be enjoyed fresh, added in salads, or candied, and as a garnish.

Wash fresh fruits in a bowl of cool water. Gently pat dry using soft cloth/tissue.

Kumquats taste best if they gently rolled or squeezed before being eaten. This process unifies sweet ingredients in its thin rind with that of underlying tart flesh. Eat kumquats as you would eat grapes or olives with the peel.