kumquat in rambutan syrup

This is delicious over pancakes and probably good with ice-cream. It also works with chicken dishes. Another recycling recipe from the farm kitchen!

The kumquat part:
Kumquats (Citrus fortunella), are a member of the citrus family. They grow on a small tree with sparse branches and highly glossy leaves: kumquats are often used as an ornamental because of their leaves. The kumquat is unusual for a citrus in that the whole fruit is eaten, in fact the peel is much sweeter than the flesh. The tree originated in China but can be found throughout Asia, the tropics and subtropical regions, Japan, California and Florida. Traditionally kumquats are eaten raw or preserved in sugar syrup, pickled, or dried.

preparing the kumquats:
wash, prick with a sharp knife and boil in water for 30 - 40 minutes or until soft. Set aside to cool. Reserve the cooking water.

preparing the rambutan syrup:
This is the recycling part. I was peeling rambutans to dry and throwing the peeled ones in a large bowl. After shelling a bowlful, I found I had a good 2 cups of rambutan juice in the bottom of the bowl. Rambutans are juicy little fellows - it would be possible to extract more juice by placing a heavy weight on top of the peeled fruit and leaving overnight in the fridge or on the countertop for a few hours. This way you get to enjoy the fruit too! Actually rambutans freeze very well, and make a delicious ice cold nibble - instant sorbet.

to make:
Add the rambutan juice to the kumquat's cooking water, add sugar to taste and bring to a boil. Taste again for sweetness (if you overdid it, add a drop of lime juice), and simmer until the syrup reduces in volume by a half. Add the cooked and drained kumquats, cook for another 5 minutes, then can appropriately in sterilized glass jars.

Drying kumquats is also fun - slice thinly and lay on drying trays. I dry ours until they are quite crunchy, then use them as a sweet citrus chip!

kitchen thoughts

I was considering today how different my life is from anything I could have expected even 10 years ago. Back then I had just split from my partner, was teaching a third grade class, living in Oregon and making apple butter and dried figs from two friendly trees in a nearby park. My class had a wonderful allotment growing so many things I couldn't have imagined being able to grow back in Scotland: peppers, chilies, tomatoes, pumpkin, cucumber, beans, squash, corn and sunflowers. There were so many new experiences and so much I couldn't do.

I'm still having new experiences and there's still so much I can't do, but so much has happened too. It's incredible to think how 10 years have passed by so quickly and yet that time seems very long ago.

I was thinking about this today for two reasons: firstly it's almost time to make our Christmas Pudding. The first time I made it outside the UK was with that third grade class. What fun they had when we lit it on the last day of school before Christmas. I'm still in touch with a few of those kids, it's hard to believe they are 19 going on 20!

And secondly, I was sharpening my favourite knife. This knife is now my current oldest possession. It was given to me by a mother in that class when I first moved to the US in 1997. It's the only material thing I have left from that period. It has remained with me through relationships, jobs, over a dozen house moves, climates, environments, emotional and physical upheavals, times of peace and times of chaos. It has served me well, and it's only in this last year that I've learned how to sharpen it with a stone. It's a soothing experience this sharpening: the sound of the blade against the stone, the rhythmic circling, the feel of the slurry as spit mixes with stonedust. Something ancient and absolutely human: connection with all the cooks, butchers, barbers, sailors, warriors, scribes, woodchoppers, gosh just about everybody who ever wielded a knife since man first worked with metal.

Time flies. But back to the present. I needed a sharp knife to slice kumquat. I'm making kumquat marmalade and the fruits need to be cut thinly. Kumquats are a small citrus, orange in colour, with a good tasting rind and not much flesh. They are somewhere between a sweet and a sour orange in flavour and acidity and make a very nice marmalade with good flavour, colour and presentation. We have two trees and they are heavy with fruit. I also want to candy some kumquats for the Christmas pudding I'll start making in about 2 weeks time. Lots to do, isn't it great?