This time of year is kumquat season.
But I can’t find any anywhere. Even the specialty fruit markets don’t have them. And the employees don’t know why. For years in the past the past I could even find them in the basic grocery stores. Now even the Asian markets don’t have them.
Is this a result of the tariffs?
Just FYI I’m in the Milwaukee metro area.
Maybe in part. China is the largest producer.
But it’s apparently a double-whammy as most kumquats come from Florida and Florida citrus in general apparently took a big hit this last year. I imagine its a combination of primarily weakened domestic production with tariffs making international backfill pricier and more complicated.
They’ll be throwing in a free freeze-dried iguana this season?
I love the name. We used to remark that we had a lot of kumquats where I once worked, none of them very bright.
Kumquats are actually native to Asia. China, Japan, Vietnam, etc..
They are sweet on the outside and tart on the inside. They are eaten whole, peel and all. They’re quite good. Usually available in the U.S. in the winter. But I can’t find find any around here this year.
Im Wondering if anyone in other parts of the U.S. have seen them.
Anecdotally - My neighbor, who gave me a sackful of his home grown kumquats a week or two ago, mentioned that they are hard to find commercially now due to citrus greening. He (jokingly) speculated that he could ‘clean up’ by putting up a sign to sell them at outrageously inflated prices. He has a bumper crop this year.
A sack full?
Share the wealth, will ya!
I take it you like them. Then you understand my yearning for them. A winter time treat they is.
I can’t recall ever seeing one but, then again, I wasn’t searching for them, either. If Pete’s Market doesn’t have them, I can’t imagine who would. Out of curiosity, I’ll check the next time I’m there.
Was just there yesterday. No dice.
Enough for a banquat.
How bad do you want some? Arlington Heights is just a little north of O’Hare.
But did they have kumquats?
Bolding mine. For anyone who feels sad because they never thought about kumquats before, and now they want one, I shall offer a competing view: Kumquats are not “good” at all. They are nasty. Would you eat an orange or a tangerine whole, unpeeled? No? Then why would you eat a kumquat that way? Some might say the answer is, “because kumquats are small, and their peel is very thin and inconvenient to remove, so just enjoy the whole thing.” I say the answer is, “Realistically, you can’t peel a kumquat, and it is gross to eat the peel, so don’t bother with them at all.”
Those of you who’ve never had a kumquat and are bummed ‘cause you suspect you won’t have an opportunity to for the foreseeable future, assume for now that you’d agree with me and not pkbites. If someday you see them and find out you love them, well … that’ll be a nice surprise.
I have kumquats about once a decade, to remind myself of how unapologetically weird they are; much like experimental jazz pieces, I admire and respect them more than I like them.
Last week my daughter asked me if we could get some, but like the OP I was unable to find them. Now I know why; thanks!
Taste is subjective.
Some people like Vaseline on toast, others like kumquats. I know some sick bastards who actually like broccoli.
Not really the same thing, as on a good kumquat the peel is candy sweet (with an underlying hint of bitterness), while the fruit is sour. It’s like a reverse orange or a bite-size lemon with a sweet peel. They’re a fun novelty and I crave them very occasionally.
Note however that I AM an outlier vis-a-vis the greater mass of humanity. I will indeed munch a bit on orange peels and have been known to eat an entire Meyer lemon, peel and all, a bit like an apple (just more slowly and with smaller bites). I will spit out the seeds though 
.
ETA: I think various candied citrus rinds are awesome as well. Not a big consumer of marmalades, though. Go figure.
ETA 2: I’ve freaked out more than a few lunch partners by casually eating the wedge of lemon that comes with my iced tea, peel and all.
ETA 3: There is definitely a gradation of fresh citrus peel edibility. Grapefruit sucks because the pith is so intensely bitter. Very thin, leathery peels like some satsumas/mandarins are often a little flavorless. But a nice, thick peel like certain oranges or, say, a tangelo - they’re the best case scenario. In case you’re considering your own weirdo-citrus-peel-eating taste tests 
. Amaze (or utterly repulse) your friends!
I like kumquats. I got a pint last week. They were kind of old, but still very edible. The store also had mandaquats/mandarinquats (mandarin x kumquat hybrid), but I didn’t feel like shelling out $8 just to try them.
what the almighty
edit: oh, a song lyric. nevermind!
I’ve only ever eaten them preserved in alcohol, usually sherry. They are fairly OK.
And there were concerns and kumquats specifically, although I’m only seeing articles in advance of cold weather, not after.
https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/kumquat-festival-dade-city-2026-cold-weather-crop-threatened/67-72d1eca8-d395-4fb6-9ec9-b2b6df44857c