Kumquats. These bite-size fruits, no bigger than a jumbo olive, combine sweet and tart in one package: sweet skin, tart flesh. Eat a kumquat like you would a grape. Just pop one in your mouth and chew. The more you chew, the sweeter the taste.
The other day I talked with Margie Neuhofer, one of the owners of Kumquat Growers of Saint Joseph. I had ordered a box of Meiwa kumquats from them about a month before.
Neuhofer told me Saint Joseph is a rural area of coastal Florida, about 30 miles north of Tampa. The company started in 1971 and is primarily a family business, selling to both wholesale and retail customers.
The kumquats grow on land owned by a number of family members.
“Uncles, cousins. In one way or another we’re all related,” Neuhofer said.
These uncles and cousins sell their kumquats to the company. When an order comes in, company pickers are called in to someone’s land to pick just the number of kumquats needed that day. The remaining kumquats stay on the trees until they’re needed. Altogether, the company markets the fruit off 46 acres in the area.
Kumquat season starts in November with the oval-shaped Nagani variety, the one you see most often and the variety with the tartest flesh. A month or so later, the Meiwa variety starts to ripen. This fruit is round like a marble and has sweeter flesh. The Meiwa isn’t a long-keeper, so it’s almost impossible to buy except by mail order.
Depending on the weather, kumquats can be harvested as late as April. Neuhofer said the demand this year had been so high that they may have exhausted their supply before you have a chance to read this story.
Neuhofer says most folks she knows eat their kumquats raw, but those of us who don’t live in kumquat growing territory may want to cook ours to make the season last as long as possible. With my five-pound box of kumquats, I made kumquat marmalade, kumquat chips (cook kumquats in a sugar syrup until tender; discard the flesh; stuff the peel with a pecan and roll the whole thing in granulated sugar), several different kumquat cakes and pickled kumquats to be served in salad with grilled shrimp.
I also made kumquat truffles, steeping the kumquats in cream as it’s warmed before being combined with bittersweet chocolate. You puree the chocolate, cream and kumquat in a food processor and allow it to cool before rolling into truffles. If you’re a fan of the combination of chocolate and orange, just wait until you try chocolate and kumquat.
In the end though, I went back to an old favorite recipe, one from the 1970s, called Crepes á la Pagode, as dreamed up by Julia Child. The rich combination of walnuts, butter and sugar sets off the tart sweetness of kumquats in a way few other dishes can.
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Crepes á la Pagode
Hands on: 30 minutes Total time: 1 hour Serves: 8
12 kumquats, cut in half
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 cup water, divided
1 cup instant-blending or all-purpose flour
2/3 cup 2% milk
5 eggs, divided
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups chopped walnuts, divided
1/2 cup cognac or Tuaca, plus 1/4 cup extra for flaming if desired
In a small saucepan, combine kumquats, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until kumquats are tender, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool in syrup.
In a one-quart measuring cup, whisk together flour, milk, remaining 3/4 cup water, 3 eggs, 3 tablespoons melted butter and salt. When perfectly smooth, allow to rest up to one hour if using all-purpose flour, 10 minutes if using instant-blending flour.
When ready to cook crepes, have a wire cooling rack ready.
Heat a large well-seasoned skillet over medium-high heat until drops of water dance on it. Lightly grease skillet. Pour 1/4 cup batter in center of skillet and swirl skillet to cover bottom with batter. Cook until first side is lightly browned, about 30 seconds. Flip crepe and cook second side 20 seconds. Transfer crepe to rack. Lightly grease skillet and repeat steps above until all batter is used. When cool, you may stack the crepes. They can be wrapped in plastic and stored in refrigerator for up to two days, or frozen. You should have one dozen crepes.
Prepare filling in a medium bowl by beating together 1 1/2 sticks room-temperature butter with 1 cup sugar. Beat in remaining 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cups walnuts and 6 cooked kumquats, seeded and diced. Cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble crepes.
When ready to serve, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon melted butter.
Lay a crepe on working surface. Place 2 tablespoons of filling in crepe and roll into a cigar shape. Arrange in prepared baking dish. Continue until all crepes and filling are used. Sprinkle crepes with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and drizzle with remaining 3 tablespoons melted butter. Seed and slice remaining kumquats. Mix with remaining 1/2 cup walnuts and scatter over crepes. Mix kumquat syrup with cognac or Tuaca and pour over crepes. Bake until lightly browned and bubbling hot, about 15 minutes.
If you want to flambé the crepes, heat remaining 1/4 cup liqueur in a small saucepan. When hot, use a long-necked lighter or match to set the alcohol on fire and pour over crepes. Serve immediately.
Adapted from a recipe in “From Julia Child’s Kitchen” by Julia Child (Alfred A. Knopf, out of print).
Per serving: 763 calories (percent of calories from fat, 58), 19 grams protein, 87 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 65 grams fat (26 grams saturated), 277 milligrams cholesterol, 171 milligrams sodium.
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