KUMQUATS

For some reason I have thought that kumquats were like quince – that is, inedible unless cooked or processed somehow.  Wow, was I wrong! 

A week or so ago in Chinatown (and oh how enriched is a city with such a place) I chanced on an oblong small fruit that looked like  an orange and purchased a handful.  The lady who sold them to me said I would be back for more, told me she ate one and then she ate nineteen more. 

Well, she was right.  I went back for more.  This time there seemed to be two piles of them, side by side, one pile brighter and shinier.  A seller saw me puzzling over them and said, "Try them.  Take one and try it."  "Is it a different kind of sugar orange?" I asked, then saw the sign saying Kumquats. 

In the meantime the nice Chinese man was indicating in that universal communication of hand motions how one would wipe off a kumquat  and pop it in one's mouth.  "You don't peel it!?" I asked.  "No, no," he assured me.  I bought three.  When I got home I ate one.  And then ate the other two. 

I possibly could have eaten nine more, if not nineteen.  They are delicious. 

I went online and learned that the orange inside is a bit sour, the skin is sweet,  they are nutritious,  are now grown on Vancouver Island. 

I find the taste lingers on the palate in a chummy sort of way. 

A small pile is now on my counter.