Avatars - LOL

[Backyard Buddies]

Not yet! I tasted one a couple of weeks ago. It was still a bit on the sour side but it was really, really juicy. I ate it anyway. We need some nice heat before they'll be really sweet. Toward the end of the week it's supposed to warm up a bit, so maybe I'll try another on Sunday. Today it's all drizzly. Looks like the "May Gray" has settled in. :|

Great to have you join us, Tutter!

 

[Tutter]

Thank you, it's great to have found my way over!

I just did that; I ate a more sour than usual kumquat. I was going to eat that first kumquat of the season, no matter what! lol! I'm thinking of using the bag to make jam/marmalade.

Yes, we're supposed to reach near record highs this week. At least it will sweeten your oranges, and the ones we pick here, from just south of us; that's something to look forward to!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

I love marmalade, especially the sour ones. I bet your still-too-tart kumquats would be great made into marmalade. Let me know how it turns out.

OK, so I just went outside and picked an orange to try. I picked it from the south side of the tree, where we get the most oranges and where they sweeten first. The side of the orange that is facing south is sweet! But, the other side of the orange is still not there yet. I'm going to taste again after our heat wave!

And yes, I'm eating the sour side anyway!

Edited to add: I should be clear. The *sour* oranges from my tree are still waaaaaaaaaaaay better than store oranges. I was eating a piece I had cut and it was so drippy and slippery that I lost that portion on the floor. Made a huge splat that I had to clean up. I won't touch store oranges!

 

[Tutter]

I have a feeling it will make good marmalade, too. Tomorrow is the day to do that, make my next batch of yogurt etc.....but early, since the heat wave begins tomorrow! Yes, I'll let you know how it comes out.

I agree! Once you've had well grown citrus of your own, you'll never want storebought again! I was pleasantly surprised to find that, not too far south of here, is a big area for citrus. I thought that the one thing I was giving up when we came here, were oranges, lemons, kumquats and such.

We've definitely found it worthwhile to go down and pick what we want. And, as a bonus, they have a lot of Meyer's lemons, too, aside from regular lemons. My avatar is part of one of my citrus saving moments. We had more of everything than I could use, or eat (And we had been eating our weight in it.) so I was juicing the extras, and freezing in portions for later use. The various colors looked pretty to me, so I snapped a photo.

I do still, stubbornly, have a lemon tree in a large pot. I think I need a large greenhouse next.....though I'd be happy to start with a smaller one.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

I love your avatar! What sorts of citrus did you have in that photo? I can see oranges, grapefruit, blood orange. . .

That's great that you didn't have to give up fresh citrus when you moved up that way. Fresh picked is the best! I love to pick an orange off the tree and eat it when it's still warm from the sunshine. They're so juicy that way!

You would love the garden plot that we have going. It has so many of the citrus you like. In fact, I think the only citrus we didn't put in was Washington navel.

How did your marmalade turn out? I've never eaten kumquat (we did plant some of that as well) but I've been reading that eating citrus peels can be good for you (lower cholesterol, lower incidences of some cancers). It would seem that kumquat would be great for that.

 

[Tutter]

Thank you!

Yes, there are those, as well as a lime, a lemon, a Meyer's lemon (far left.), honey tangarine, and, uhm, mystery fruit! Actually, I had some crosses, something like mineolas and tangelos, that day, so that's probably what they were.

I agree, there's nothing like off the tree!

I'll bet I'd love the garden, too; it sounds really well thought out!

It tasted wonderful when it was made. I'm saving it for a dinner we're having coming up, of waffles. I can let you know then, the end result. But I do know that I'm going to get, and make, more!

We used to have a kumquat tree, but it seemed they got eaten fresh, shared, and cooked with.

I sliced them thinly, and we had them with meals pretty often. The inside is sour, but the skin is not, which is a strange reversal. Some people just don't like them, some will only eat the skin. Eating them together is what balances the flavors, but the center is still quite sour.

They are pretty high in some vitamins and minerals, and anti-oxidants, I'm sure.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Glad to hear that the kumquat marmalade turned out well! That's interesting about the skins being sweeter than the flesh. I wouldn't have guessed it! So, does that end up as a sweeter marmalade? My favorite marmalades are the ones made out of the Seville oranges which are really bitter and quite tart. Yum!

What other things have you done with the kumquats? I see a lot of them growing around here so I'm always curious as to what people do with them.