Food of the Week

While food shopping today, I was thinking how much awesome food is out there so I thought it would be fun to highlight a food once a week!  For the first week I present to you...KUMQUATS!

This little citrus that is just as fun to say as it is to eat, originated from Asia.  It comes from a small tree (sometimes classified a shrub) with dark green leaves and white flowers.  The fruit is somewhat unique among citrus in that you do not peel it.  In fact, the best part is the peel!  That is the sweetest.  The inside juice is sour.  Pop one of these babies whole in your mouth and you have a beautiful mixture of the sweet and sour! 

I am not a big citrus fan but these are one of the only citrus fruits that I really get excited about.  Usually they are just eaten raw as a snack, but they can also be sliced into salads or you can get creative and try them candied!  Here's a recipe for Candied Kumquats (not my recipe, it's taken from here: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/candied_kumquats/)

Candied Kumquats Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 cups of roughly chopped kumquats (roughly 1-1½ lbs.)
• 1 cup of water
• 2 cups of sugar

Method

1 With a pairing knife roughly chop the kumquats. Discard any seeds you can that are easy to get too, but they're edible so don't fret if some get chopped up or stay in the fruit. Feel free to leave any small kumquats whole.
2 Heat the water and sugar over high heat until it comes to a boil. Simmer for 4 minutes. Add the kumquats and simmer for 10 minutes.
3 Drain the kumquats through a sieve set over a bowl. Return the syrup to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce the syrup. Combine the kumquats and 1/4 cup of the syrup together.
Serve or jar and refrigerate. Can be stored for up to two weeks.