"kumquat" news and stories

Kumquats -- those little oval-shaped citrus fruits believed to have origins in China -- are in markets right now.

Kumquats are truly nature's candy. Apart from the texture, the taste has a blend of sweet and sour that reminds me of Sour Patched Kids, it's gummy drastically less healthy alternative. Besides snacking on them plain, kumquats make an incredible sauce. They also pair well in a dessert.

They can be candied and then used to decorate and flavor a cake. The hyper-citrus flavors taste exquisite with chocolate or cheesecake. Try it with roasted duck or with braised chicken. Unlike oranges, lemons, and limes, kumquats are distinctly sugary and bitter. Yet, like other citrus fruits, they are versatile and work well in both savory dishes and sweet desserts.

Below are 8 ways to incorporate kumquats into a meal:

1. Duck Breasts with Mustard and Candied Kumquats
2. Gingerbread Layer Cake with Candied Kumquats
3. Sauteed Chicken Over Wilted Spinach with Kumquat Sauce
4. Chocolate Kumquat Cake
5. Braised Chicken with Kumquats and Green Olives
6. Ricotta Tart with Chocolate and Kumquats
7. Asian Pears with Vanilla-Poached Kumquats
8. Rootbeer Ham with Kumquats

For your lunchtime pleasure, I'm presenting a series of my favorite bento boxes. Bento are Japanese home-prepared meals served in special boxes, usually eaten for lunch at work or school. These days, bento enthusiasts from all over the world share their creations on Flickr.

Last week I showed you a Sakurako Kitsa masterpiece featuring a kimono-clad woman in front of a blue rice sky. Well this week I've got another lovely lady in Japanese attire, a geisha this time, captured from behind as she strolls off into a brown rice sky. Her kimono is salami with an Indian eggplant obi (sash) with kumquat and zucchini detailing. The nape of her neck, once considered the most erotic part of a woman's body, is rendered in emmental cheese, and she wears zucchini, salami and kumquat ornaments in her zucchini rind hair. In the other half of the bento are jewel-skewered edamame, kumquats, leftover korma decorated with a zucchini blossom, and a dessert of green tea-flavored Pocky.

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For your lunchtime pleasure, I'm presenting a series of my favorite bento boxes. Bento are Japanese home-prepared meals served in special boxes, usually eaten for lunch at work or school. The boxes can range from austere lacquered trays to multi-tiered Hello Kitty confections of neon pink plastic. The meals themselves are anything from rice and leftovers to elaborate themed affairs of Pikachu-shaped dumplings with sesame seed eyes and carved radish trees. These days, bento enthusiasts from all over the world share their creations on Flickr.

Today's adorable creation, courtesy of Aylanah, is a seascape where a kumquat fishie swims atop a dried plum-filled rice ball, blowing sesame seed bubbles. Below, a ginger root fish wriggles past a colorful reef of blueberries, raspberries, squash and cucumber.

Today's Seattle Times Food & Wine section is almost poetic in its choice of themes. Bulgogi, Barbapapa, kumquats, cookbooks, Yaksik, Japchae... it could be a foodie rap.

•  Every chef should add some of these traditional Korean-American dishes to their repertoire. Especially recommended: Bulgogi (Korean barbecue, yum), Yaksik (sweet rice with nuts and jujubes), Japchae (clear noodles stir-fried with vegetables) and Tteokguk (sliced rice pasta soup).
• Try the Barbapapa from Seattle's Sambar, "almost like two drinks for one price." It's a martini-like concoction of Hangar One Kaffir Lime vodka, Cointreau, lime juice and... rhubarb sorbet. Phew. I was just wondering what to do with that rhubarb sorbet...

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