I’ve always loved small things. As a kid, I would collect stamps and tiny coins from around the world and my favorite candies were the bite-sized Skittles, gummy bears and M&Ms. Some of my favorite films were Fantastic Voyage and Innerspace, where people were shrunk to the size of an atom. Today, my kitchen drawer is filled with small spoons and my cupboards are packed with little ramekins. I enjoy small bites and now I have a blog with the word “morsel” in its name.
So, it’s not surprising that I was intrigued by these mini citrus fruits called kumquats. While talking to some friends, I realized that none of us really knew what they tasted like. This inspired me to serve them at my next dinner party, where I surprised my friends with a dessert of kumquats three ways – raw, candied with simple syrup, and baked to make kumquat glass.
Kumquats are juicy citrus fruits that are currently in season. They are native to China and derive their name from the Cantonese words for “golden” (gam) and “orange” (gwat). There are many types of kumquats but the ones most commonly available in the US are the oval shaped Nagami kumquats. They are rich in Vitamin C with high amounts of B-Complex vitamins and calcium.
Kumquats are meant to be eaten whole once their seeds have been removed. Unlike all other citrus fruits, their delicately thin peels are the sweetest part of the fruit while their flesh and juice are tart. Eaten whole, they have a pleasantly balanced sweet and sour flavor. They can be sliced into salads, added to martinis in place of olives or cooked the way I served them at my party.
I started by cutting the kumquats into thin slices and removing their seeds. I placed some of the slices in a bowl to be served raw. I then boiled water and sugar to make simple syrup. I poured some of the syrup into a bowl to cool down. I dipped some of the kumquat slices into the cold syrup, laid them out on a baking sheet and baked them until they turned into delectably chewy pieces of sweet-tart kumquat glass. Next, I cooked the rest of the kumquat slices in the hot syrup until they softened to make candied kumquats and a mild orange flavored syrup.
I served small bowls of vanilla ice cream topped with my favorite chocolate sauce and let my guests choose their kumquat toppings. They were, without a doubt, a hit! You can also use the candied kumquats to elegantly garnish a flute of champagne or any dessert you may be craving. I may add them to my next bowl of oatmeal, since I can’t seem to get enough of them!
Try this out and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear of how you’re eating kumquats this season. Last but not least, thank you to my husband (aka the best editor!) for the title of this post.
~Enjoy!
Anjali
A printable list of ingredients and directions are at the end of this post,
along with an image of this Perfect Morsel.
For the simple syrup: Add sugar and water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium low high heat.
Turn the heat low and stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is a clear syrup. Approximately 3 minutes. The longer you boil it, the thicker the syrup with be when it is cooled. Set saucepan aside.
Starting from one end to the other, cut the kumquats into thin round slices. Remove and discard the bitter seeds.
For the kumquat glass: Pour 3 tablespoons of the syrup into a bowl. Once the syrup is cool enough, dip half of the kumquat slices into the syrup.
Individually lay out the syrup coated slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure to keep some space between each piece.
Bake for 1 hour at 175F, flip the pieces and bake for another 20 minutes.
The sugar forms a glass coating on the fruit and turns them into delectably chewy pieces of dried fruit.
Place the dried kumquat pieces into a bowl and set aside.
For the candied kumquats: Add the remaining half of the kumquat slices to the saucepan with the rest of the hot syrup and return to the stove.
Stir often and simmer over a low flame until the slices softened to make the candied kumquats and kumquat flavored syrup. Approximately 10 minutes.
Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.
Garnish your cocktails and desserts. I love eating them with a small bowl of vanilla ice-cream topped with my favorite chocolate sauce.
Here’s a perfect morsel of creamy vanilla ice cream, roasted sweet chocolate sauce and a chewy sweet-tart kumquat glass.
Kumquat Glass & Candied Kumquats
Ingredients
- 1 pint of kumquats (more, if you want to serve some raw)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups water
Directions
- Add sugar and water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium low high heat.
- Turn the heat low and stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is a clear syrup. Approximately 3 minutes. The longer you boil it, the thicker the syrup with be when it is cooled. Set saucepan aside.
- Starting from one end to the other, cut the kumquats into thin round slices. Remove and discard the bitter seeds.
- For the kumquat glass: Pour 3 tablespoons of the syrup into a bowl. Once the syrup is cool enough, dip half of the kumquat slices into the syrup and lay them out individually on a baking sheet with some space between each piece.
- Bake for 1 hour at 175F, flip the pieces and bake for another 20 minutes. The sugar forms a glass coating on the fruit and turns them into delectably chewy pieces of dried fruit. Place the dried kumquat pieces into a bowl and set aside.
- For the candied kumquats: Add the remaining half of the kumquat slices to the saucepan with the rest of the hot syrup and return to the stove. Stir often and simmer over a low flame until the slices softened to make candied kumquats and kumquat flavored syrup. Approximately 10 minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.
Garnish your cocktails and desserts. I love eating them as a garnish on a small bowl of vanilla ice-cream topped with my favorite chocolate sauce.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Number of servings: 8
Hannah says
oooooh my god. I want to dive into that photo and gobble it up! Looks and sounds SO delicious!
Anjali says
Hi Hannah, come over and we’ll dive in together! xoxo
kristine s says
gorgeous! I never knew what to do with kumquats. now, i know!
Anjali says
Excellent! Thank you. They’re tasty and easy to work with. And they can quickly turn a dish into something quite decadent.
scon says
Bake at what temp?
Anjali says
Excellent question (and oops!). Bake at 175F. I’ll make the revision to the recipe. Thank you for asking!
Fateen says
I tried this today! They are so good! Especially the flavored syrup. Thanks!
Anjali says
So glad you liked this! Thank you for letting me know. The syrup tastes so good on vanilla ice-cream too. Stay tuned for more scrumptiousness!
Ashley says
This is AMAZING!!! I just got done cooking both recipes. I used the candied kumquats and some of the syrup on my homemade cheesecake. YUM-EEE! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe
Anjali says
So excited that you tried this out, Ashley! Homemade cheesecake?? Now that sounds amazing. I’ll have to try it out with cheesecake. Thanks for writing!