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I like to slice them up so they look like mini orange rounds and toss them in a salad with sweet dried cranberries and pecans. It really perks up an average salad.

The other thing I like to do is take about 1/2 a cup worth of them and puree them... peels and all. And throw them into a pound cake. So you end up with Kumquat Pound Cake. Simple and such an elegant flavor.

The other way... just snack on them whole :)

My former mother-in-law made an absolutely AWESOME kumquat marmalade. I'm not even all that fond of marmalade and I still loved this stuff. So much tastier than the others, IMHO.

Ironically, I have a beautiful kumquat tree. It bears prolific fruit. You'd better believe that I kick myself several times a year for never having asked for her recipe before she passed away.

So, I'm essential useless to you in this area, but perhaps an internet search will turn something up?

BTW, if they're mature and properly ripened, they're really delicious eaten as is. The skin should be very sweet, while the flesh is very tart. You must eat them whole -- just pop 'em into your mouth. Hubby only recently discovered these, and has become a real kumquat addict. He consumes several a day, right off the tree, throughout the bearing season.

I zap them in the food processor then add them to stuffing along with some cranberries- This is great in duck and geese--the slightly sour edge cuts the fattiness of the meat.
I have also thrown them in when roasting parsnips and pears.
And if you float them in the water with cut flowers they are pretty.

Does anyone know anything about loquats? We had a tree near our apartment when I was a kid in Texas. The fruit was similar to kumquats but no one else seems to have heard of them. Did my family make it up?

This is funny. I was at the grocery last night and a lady asked the produce guy what you do with kumquats and the produce guy didn't know. So I talked to her about the little orange buggers and ended up getting some myself. They ended up sliced very thin on my spinach salad with minced shallot and a sherry vinaigrette. I'd use them anywhere that needs a light amount of acidity and gentile sweetness. My first introduction to them was on a lovely carpaccio and I've loved them since. I'd like to try them next on duck breast with a five spice rub.

flood, are you sure they were loquats?

Kumquats are a citrus fruit and resemble tiny, oval-shaped oranges. Loquats are more similar to a small, oval apricot in appearance and texture, although the are not a stone fruit. They have several large, shiny brown seeds. There was a loquat tree in my neighborhood when I was growing up (So Calif). Nobody ever used them, so we kids used to eat them. Tasty.

All I know is that they'll hold up the Express Lane at your supermarket for ten minutes while the cashier tries to figure out what they are.

And we have loquats here in Houston. We have 'em everywhere! Growing on trees, that is. They're a little harder to find in the grocery stores, from some strange reason. But if you just make friends with someone who has a loquat tree, then you're all set. My mother and grandmother make awesome loquat jelly. Mmm...

I love them on skewers with meats and vegetables, slow-roasted in the oven.

I grew up in SoCal and my family used to have a loquat tree in our front yard. The neighborhood kids used to hop the low front fence and steal them *glances at LoCo suspiciously*

Ha ha! Caught me! (What part of SoCal? I was in Bore-bank)

Actually, the tree I'm thinking of was in a raised planter in front of my junior high school. We kids used to sit on that wall after school and eat the loquats right off the tree (skins intact). Nobody else seemed to know they were edible, and we thought our little secret was just terrific. Also, an elderly woman on my block had a tree and told us to take as many as we wanted.

Back on topic, my kumquats are just about ready for picking. Gotta be sure they're nice and orange and come off the tree easily, or the skins won't have enough sugar development, and they'll be incredibly sour. Can't wait to start popping those babies...

Yes, LoCo, I'm sure it was loquats. Different from kumquats but equally small and obscure. My sister used to make loquat "jam" in old margarine tubs when we were little. She'd meticulously peel them all, take out the seeds and tear them into bits. Then she'd make me wait while the mush sat in the sun for an hour or so and we'd eat it with a spoon. That was in Austin.

I'm so glad other people share the loquat memories. I did buy them canned in light syrup once in an Asian market, but they tasted pretty much like syrupy can, not the delicious fruit I remembered.

My sister uses them in pie instead of key limes. Kumquat pie - quite good!!

They are a great substitute for limes in your gin & tonic, or vodka-tonic.

Kumquats are GREAT for flavoring vodka. Slice a good amount of them in halves, place in a very clean jar with a bottle of fair to good quality vodka and stick it in the fridge for a few weeks. Trust me!
I grew up in South Florida and am very fond of both Kumquats and Loquats