What is a kumquat???

Ok what the heck is a kumquat???? Fruit, vegie, or endangered species?

What is a kumquat???
They are a fruit. Kumquats have been called "the little gems of the citrus family". They were included in the genus Citrus until about 1915 when Dr. Walter T. Swingle set them apart in the genus Fortunella, which embraces six Asiatic species. The common name, which has been spelled cumquat, or comquot, means "gold orange" in China.





The size and shape of a large olive, the kumquat is like an orange in reverse, with a sweet skin and tart pulp. So you don't have to peel the kumquat; you simply eat the entire fruit.





Fresh kumquats, especially the 'Meiwa', can be eaten raw, whole. For preserving, they should be left until they lose some of their moisture and acquire richer flavor. The fruits are easily preserved whole in sugar sirup. Canned kumquats are exported from Taiwan and often served as dessert in Chinese restaurants. For candying, the fruits are soaked in hot water with baking soda, next day cut open and cooked briefly each day for 3 days in heavy sirup, then dried and sugared. Kumquats are excellent for making marmalade, either alone or half-and-half with calamondins. The fruit may be pickled by merely packing in jars of water, vinegar, and salt, partially sealing for 4 to 5 days, changing the brine, sealing and letting stand for 6 to 8 weeks. To make sweet pickles, halved fruits are boiled until tender, drained, boiled again in a mixture of corn sirup, vinegar, water and sugar, with added cloves and cinnamon, and then baked until the product is thick and transparent. Kumquat sauce is made by cooking chopped, seeded fruits with honey, orange juice, salt and butter.
Reply:A small orange. The first time I saw it was at a health expo I was like is this for real? When I heard the name that convinced me it must be a joke but when I checked it on the internet I was wrong!
Reply:its a type of fruit...





http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumquat
Reply:It's what you call someone who just ran into you on the M53 North, closed all three traffic lanes to fetch their indicators, and revealed after the shebang that he / she is from a small island called Tzaneen.
Reply:The Kumquat is oval in shape, 3/4" to 1" in diameter and between 1" to 2" long. It is a golden orange citrus fruit.





Kumquats have a very distinctive taste. It is the only citrus fruit that can be eaten "skin and all." The peel is the sweetest part and can be eaten separately. The pulp contains the seeds and juice, which is sour. When eaten together, you get a sweet and sour taste which is unlike anything else. The seeds, however, should not be eaten. They are similar to the seed of the orange and have a distinctive green color. The seeds also contain pectin, which can be removed by boiling for use in making jams and jellies.
Reply:fruit!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comquat