Let’s Talk Food: Savor tropical fruits such as kumquats, calamondins

It’s the top of the season and residents and visitors alike are under the spell of perfect weather and a time filled with the good things to savor and relish. What a joy to see oranges, grapefruit, coconuts, carambola, calamondins and kumquats growing in the gardens of Southwest Florida homes.

It is almost impossible to imagine Naples without trees. Early in the century the area that was later to become the city of Naples was barren except for some native trees and vegetation that little resemble the shady, greenery of today. In 1912, William Pulling (John Pulling’s father) organized a group of townsmen and led them on a tree-transplanting mission to Cape Sabal. Over the next several months the group transplanted more than 3,000 coconut palms from the island to Naples. These trees became the nucleus of the magnificent trees that abound in our town.

The next tree maven to appear on the scene was Fred Lowdermilk. A native of Indiana, he migrated south and once worked on building the railroad in Everglades City. He and his wife Bertha were happily ensconced in Fort Myers in 1949. He had been a homesteader and a developer in our neighboring city. When offered the job as city manager of Naples he refused at first and then relented when the city fathers offered to establish a city nursery for him. A great lover of trees and plants, he moved to Naples and became our first full-time city manager.

One of his first policies was to establish a well-stocked nursery with the emphasis on exotic, subtropical and tropical trees and plants. The magnificent flowering trees throughout Naples are a living memorial to Fred Lowdermilk. The flamboyant shower of gold trees, orchid trees, royal poincianas and kumquat trees all originated in Fred’s nursery.

Fifth Avenue South was a plain and simple Main Street when Fred arrived. He planted kumquat trees all along the avenue and each season as the fruit ripened, natives and visitors alike were invited to pick the golden harvest. Although kumquat trees no longer line Fifth Avenue, there are hundreds of kumquat trees throughout the city that still produce a crop of this exotic fruit.

The name kumquat comes from the Cantonese word “Kin Kan,” meaning golden orange. This is one of the only fruits whose rind is deliciously sweet while the pulp is sour and somewhat bitter. Even if the fruit were not edible and used in marmalades and jellies, it is one of the most alluring plants available to South Floridians.

The kumquat is a small tree with dark green, pointed leaves, often grown as a shrub. The fruit’s rind is very aromatic and sweet with pulp that is extremely tart. Therefore, when eaten raw, both the rind and the pulp are consumed together. Because it is so tart, the fruit is most commonly preserved whole, as a garnish and eaten with meat or poultry or for jellies and marmalades.

The kumquat has a very close cousin, the calamondin. Also originating in China, the calamondin is grown throughout the world where the climate is temperate and warm. The calamondin resembles the kumquat since it is smaller version of an orange or tangerine. The small, dark yellowish-orange fruit is extremely seedy and highly acidic and their major use is in marmalades.

Dr. David Fairchild, while on a trip to Panama in 1899, became enchanted with the calamondin and brought rootstock to his gardens in Miami. It is especially attractive as an ornamental dooryard plant and has resulted in a profitable industry here in Florida. Since 1960, thousands of potted calamondins have been shipped throughout the country as colorful and hearty houseplants. Israel, which has a climate friendly for the growing of calamondins, also has begun exporting the plants throughout Europe.

If you are fortunate enough to have a kumquat or calamondin tree in your garden, you need to get out the stock pot and prepare the delicious marmalades and other treats that are simple to make and will make you the hero of the neighborhood when you share your bounty with the neighbors.

Aside from jelly and marmalade, the fruit (either the kumquats or the calamondins) make a super-powerful, super-delicious brandy. This recipe was given to me by Scotty (Mrs. Donald) Ames. It is as tasty as Grand Marnier and, yes, much less costly.

SCOTTY’S BRANDY

40 kumquats or calamondins or a combination of both

4 cups sugar

4 cups water

4 cups vodka

Wash fruit, cut in half and remove seeds. Boil the sugar and water for five minutes. Cool. Place the fruit in a large jar and pour the cooled sugar syrup and vodka over it. Seal the jar tightly and place on its side. Every day for 4 to 6 weeks, turn the jar and, voila, brandy.

KUMQUAT MARMALADE

1 cup kumquats, halved and seeded

Water to cover fruit

1 cup sugar to each cup fruit

Juice of ½ lemon

Place halved, seeded fruit in water to cover; cook until skin is soft. Leave fruit in pan, cover and allow to soak in juices overnight. Measure 1 cup of sugar to each cup of fruit and add the juice of half a lemon or as much lemon as you desire for tartness. Cook at very high heat until it boils then begin stirring and cook, stirring constantly for 15 minutes, but never more than 20 minutes. If overcooked the marmalade will turn solid.

FLORIDA FRUIT MARMALADE

It’s the top of the orange and grapefruit season, so it follows that we prepare a great spread to remind us of this bounty.

4 medium oranges

12 calamondins

12 kumquats

1 lemon

1 grapefruit

Water

1 (No.2) can crushed pineapple

1 (6 oz.) jar maraschino cherries, chopped (optional)

Sugar

Wash and dry each piece of fruit; remove blemishes and seeds. Cut into pieces small enough to go through a food grinder. To each cup of ground fruits, add 2½ cups water. Let stand overnight in cool place. Cook until fruits are soft; add pineapple (with juice) and cherries. Add ½ cup sugar to each cup fruit used. Cook until syrup sheets from a spoon and pack in sterile jars and seal.

QUICK CALAMONDIN MARMALADE

8 cups calamondins, halved and seeded and chop until peeling is shredded

5 cups water

16 cups sugar

Combine 3 cups of water with the chopped calamondin. Pour into large pot and bring to a rapid boil. Remove from heat and add all the sugar. Return to heat and bring to boil again. Boil rapidly until first signs of jelling are noticed, not to point of sheeting on spoon because it will become too solid later. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

CALAMONDIN CAKE

I seldom use boxed cake mixes but a friend prepared this for me and it was truly delicious. I embellished it a bit after I made the kumquat brandy. While the cake was still hot I placed holes all along the top and injected it with the brandy before glazing it. Try it. …you’ll love it.

1 package lemon or orange cake mix

1 package lemon gelatin

⅓ cup milk

1 cup calamondin puree

4 eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons lemon extract

Wash and seed fruit. Place in blender or food processor and puree, leaving some small pieces. Combine cake mix and gelatin, mixing well. Combine lemon extract and pureed calamondins and oil. Add to batter and mix well. Bake in greased cake pan (preheated oven at 350 degrees) until cake begins to leave sides of pan. Glaze while hot.

Glaze:

6 tablespoons soft butter

3 cups confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons lemon extract

1 cup calamondin puree

Combine butter and sugar; mix well. Add lemon extract and puree. Add more sugar if necessary to make medium consistency.

Doris Reynolds is the author of “When Peacocks Were Roasted and Mullet was Fried” and a four-part DVD, “A Walk Down Memory Lane with Doris Reynolds." They are for sale in the lobby of the Naples Daily News. Contact Doris Reynolds at foodlvr25@aol.com.