Wednesday, March 14

Kumquat





Here, let me help you with that. I discovered these little citrus gems while in culinary school in California. The grounds had a small area growing citrus (and herbs GALORE. Lemon verbena anyone?) and thus my enlightenment began. You can imagine how weird it was when I realized you eat the whole thing. Seriously. You just pop it in your mouth like candy. It totally goes against everything you learned as a kid that says you need to peel any citrus before eating it. I love it! A low-maintenance fruit that still provides all the goodness. I think if I could die and come back as a tree, it would be a citrus tree. They are the most beautiful, aromatic, refreshing things ever. I felt so lucky every day to be living there while in school. Never have I been in such culinary luxury.

Kumquats are awesome, but they are expensive. Like 5 bucks a pound expensive. I saw these in the grocery store and since I don't have gold bars in my basement I only grabbed a few. Ideally, I think I would have made some yummy jam or preserves out of it. I mean, let's think about this, kumquat preserves on a nice artisan bread? Or on a really healthy toasted grain bread? I'm dying right now... Anyway. I decided to slice these up and candy them. Then dip them in chocolate. Dark chocolate. Oh geez...




Candied Kumquats Dipped in Dark Chocolate Ganache
Makes: about 10-15...ish
6 kumquats *when looking for ripe kumquats, follow the same rules as you would for other citrus. Not too soft...
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water

1. Slice the kumquats about 1/8 inch thick or so. (You'll want to break out the nice paring knife for this one people. You'll get mushy slices with a dull knife)

2. Grab an 8" pan and put the water and sugar in (you could use a sauce pan too). Bring to a boil.
3. Turn heat down to medium. Gently place the kumquat slices in the boiling sugar. You'll be one unhappy cook if you get that splashed on you. Sugar syrup burns something fierce.
4.Let the mixture boil on medium heat for about 20 minutes and turn them occasionally. Then, turn down to low heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally. The mixture should be getting thicker. They should look bright and translucent.
5. Remove the slices with a slotted spoon, and place on a silpat mat or parchment paper (you could use wax paper too). Let them cool. They will be sticky, but try not to let them pool too much with excess sugar syrup.
6. Once cool, toss in granulated sugar. They might need a second coat, but they should dry nicely.

*Save the sugar syrup for another use! It has all that citrus flavor in it. Wait until it's completely cool and then transfer to a container. You can store it covered for a while. I've been using it to lightly sweeten my greek yogurt.








Dark Chocolate Ganache: for dipping the candied kumquats
Makes: about 2 cups

8 oz Heavy Cream
16 oz Dark Chocolate, good quality, chopped in small pieces (Ghirardelli works well for this. Check the baking aisle)

1. Bring the heavy cream to a simmer on the stove top.
2. Pour over the dark chocolate and let sit for 10 seconds.
3. Gently stir with a spoon until the mixture is glossy and shiny.


To Dip:

Grab your beautifully candied kumquats and dip half way into the mixture to your liking. Place on parchment or wax paper. Place in refrigerator to set.
*you'll want to place the parchment on a plate or cookie sheet so you can transfer to the fridge more easily.


Enjoy those little suckers.




5 comments:

outbound malang said...

kunjungan sob ..
salam sukses selalu ..:)

injured children said...

nice ... very creative

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