A fruit platter that came with a meeting lunch had a small orangy citrus-type fruit on it. I asked a coworker what it was, and he told it was a kumquat. Now I’m all for kumquats, if only because it’s a fun word to say (not unlike gazebo;)), but I’ve never actually encountered one in the flesh before.
Adventurous soul that I am, I gamely peeled the little sucker, shredding most of it in the process, and ate what bits seemed edible, making quite a mess of the whole thing. So my kwest…er, question is: how the heck do you eat one of these things?
And while I’m on the subject of eating strange fruit, I’ve never gotten a definitive answer on the “proper” way to eat a kiwi (no NZ/oral sex jokes, please). Do you take the skin off or wash it and eat the skin too? Is there a special “kiwi fork”? Should I write Miss Manners? And, finally, is this the right forum for what is in essence a pretty insignificant question in the grand scheme of things?
Kumquats are funny little things. Not only is their name one of the best in taxonomic history, they’re also shaped like little orange testicles.
But the funny thing is: they’re built inside out! See, the pulp (if you didn’t notice) is fairly sour. But the peel is sweet! So the way I’ve always eaten them is I just pop the entire little bugger into my mouth, chew and swallow. Or someties, I spit the pulp out into a napkin.
I haven’t had one in years. I may pop into the grocery store this evening. Thanks!
I (wash em first) pop em into my mouth whole. You eat the skin (it’s sweeter than the insides which are really very sour) and 'pit out the seeds (if any).
I like the ones with a thin skin the best. yummmmmmmmmmm
I cut them in half (equatorialy, with the little nubs at the poles). Then I slip a spoon between the skin and the fruit and circle it around to circumcise the fruit. The skin slides back to reveal the green knob of fruit, which can be sliced, cut away from skin or eaten with the skin as a bit of a handel. (and I’m not a Mohel ;j)
Kiwis may be eaten skin and all, though I recommend washing them first and removing the little nub on the end. Some find the hairy skin a bit unusual in the mouth…
Kumquats may look like a citrus fruit, but they are actually a tropical berry. They’re loaded with vitamin C, so try popping a few kumquats instead of C tablets. If you find the inside of the kumquat just a bit too sour, try a limequat. Limequats are greenish looking kumquats and are oftentimes just a hair less sour than the traditional orange kumquat.
I think a good way to eat kiwis is to slice them first and then peel them. It makes them easy to peel and if you fan the slices out an attractive presentation.
I eat kiwi’s like orange slices. I Cut them in quarters. Pop em in the mouth. And remove the flesh from the skin using my teeth. Unless I’m having them over vanillia ice cream with Framboise. Then I peel and slice them first. mmmmmmmm.
And others are right about Kumquats. My favorite -quat however, is the lowquat. mmmmmmmm.
Interesting anecdote: My 5th grade teacher grew kumquats in his back yard. Nothing unusual about that, except we didn’t live in Florida, we lived in upstate New York. That man had the greenest green thumb of anyone I’ve ever met.
The preperation of kiwi fruit:
For snacks I recommend the halve and scoop method. For preperation with other fruits or desserts the peel and slice method is my usual choose, and finally when using as a tenderiser I slice with skins still attached.
By the way you like the green variety so I would hartily recommend checking out the new gold kiwi fruit (sometimnes marketed under the name zespri)
As for Kumquats, what are Kumquats? Actually given the name and the proclivities of these boards perhaps I am better of not knowing, especially as I can see a spit vs. swallow debate just waiting to erupt when it comes to consumption practices
Well, in the strictest sense, they aren’t citrus, because they are in the genus Fortunella. However, they are closely related to Citrus, that hybrids are possible. The limequat is a cross between limes and kumquats. And technically all citrus are berries, since their seeds are embedded in the pulpy flesh. But, my plant encyclopedia classes kumquats and limequats with the citrus (which is probably the commercial classification). Both the genuses Citrus and Fortunella are in the family Rutaceae.
My experience with a Kumquat was shock that the inside was sour and the rind sweet. I did like it, but it was a bit surprising at first.
The NZ Kiwifruit Marketing Board rebranded all kiwifruit, yellow and green, as Zespri in the late '90s. They forgot to copyright the name, kiwifruit back in the '70s
IMO zespri truly sucks the big one as a name for a Chinese gooseberry.
I either cut it open and eat with a spoon or peel and slice it. I have a cumquat in my garden but it hasn’t fruited yet. I had vague plans to pickle them in brandy once they did their thing
There’s a species of Kiwi (Actinidia arguta) called the “Hardy Kiwi” which has a hairless skin, which is better suited to eating whole. In fact, it’s just about bite size, being 1 - 1 1/2 inches long. I’ll often eat regular kiwi’s skin and all, but I usually just bite into them, and then scrape the flesh with my teeth (a bit messy, but works if you’re somewhere without a spoon and knife).
I eat kiwis by splitting them into lengthwise spears and either cutting out the insides, biting them out and ending up with a brown kiwi-skin smile, or securing the fruit behind my teeth and pulling the skin out with my fingers, scraping the inside of the fruit and absolutely murdering my teeth.
I have never eaten a kumquat.
My absolute favourite fruits in the whole world (well, the non-human variety) are the pineapple and pomegranate. I can’t get enough pomegranates when they’re in season.
Duke: I would not recommend this. Kiwis are protected under New Zealand law as they are the national symbol. An attempt to hunt one would no doubt result in your prosecution. Also they are quite endangered, although recovering. Also, the meat probably doesn’t taste that good.
