Guest Post by Eralda, The Split Pea
When I first saw kumquats at the grocery store, I thought they were miniature clementines. The name on the little package informed me otherwise and I started searching for answers online. This is how most of my food infatuations start: a quick passing glance through the aisles, innocently, with no intentions of buying anything other than what’s on the list I hold. Just when I was about to leave the produce section there they were, beautiful little orange bites waiting to be played with. I bought them not really knowing what to make with them.
In Albania the only small citrus fruits I had eaten were little green clementines my cousins and I would pick on our hike back to my aunt’s house after a long day at the beach. My dad warned us about the tummy troubles we would later have and that it was not good for the crops to pick not quite ripe clementines, but we had to learn the hard way. I gave up early clementine picking that summer and I was glad to find out that kumquats and clementines are not the same fruit.
So what does one do with kumquats? My husband likes to eat them raw. He says that they are “refreshing,” which I understand since it is devastatingly hot here in East Texas. Other recipes I found through research threw the little lovelies in cakes.
My mother makes a delicious desert with thick-skinned oranges that are usually in season in November. I am my mother’s daughter, so I immediately thought of making something similar to my mother’s candied oranges. I called and mom gave me some tips, not a recipe, because we don’t have recipes in our home, but guidelines: a little of this, a handful of that. Candied kumquats sounded perfect.
The next day a friend told me of a David Lebovitz article in Fine Cooking about ice cream making. I bought the magazine and read the article twice. Ice cream was churning in my head. I had a Joycean epiphany: Candied Kumquat Ice Cream. How can I describe its goodness? Creamy, sweet, tart, with a bitter, spicy hint. The chilled custard is a perfect match for the chewy candied kumquat. I am smitten! And you will be too. Give it a try. After all, it’s summer, so cold foods are in order, and you are not eating unripe clementines.
*Note: I used D. Lebovitz’ guidelines for the base ice cream recipe.
Candied Kumquat Ice Cream
For the Candied Kumquats:
Ingredients:
7 oz Kumquats (when diced in the method described below, they will be about 1 cup)
1 cup of water
¼ cup of agave nectar (substitute honey)
¼ cup granulated sugar
7 whole cloves
1 teaspoon of Saigon cinnamon (substitute regular cinnamon)
Preparation:
-Wash and dry the kumquats. Cut them in quarters and then cut the quarters again twice across, removing the seeds (see picture above).
-In a medium saucepan add the water, agave nectar, sugar, cloves, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
-Add the kumquats and bring back to boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer the kumquats for about 7 minutes.
-Strain mixture over a bowl. Put the kumquats aside and return the syrup with the cloves back to the saucepan. Continue to simmer on medium low for another 7-10 minutes. The syrup will thicken and reduce to about ¼ of a cup. Remove syrup from heat and set aside to cool. Reserve it because it will be added into the ice cream custard.
For the Ice Cream:
Ingredients:
2 cups of heavy cream
1 cup of whole milk
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
¼ cup of kumquat syrup
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1/3 cup of candied kumquats
Preparation:
-In a medium saucepan place 1 cup of heavy cream, the milk, sugar, and salt. Set over medium high heat, stir occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, 4-10 minutes.
-In a large mixing bowl prepare a small ice water bath. Place a second mixing bowl in the bath and pour into the mixing bowl the second cup of heavy cream. Set aside.
-In a medium bowl whisk egg yolks. Add half of the warm cream mixture whisking constantly.
-Add the egg yolk mixture back to the saucepan and set it over medium low. Stir constantly until the custard thickens (until it reaches 170 F – you can use an instant meat thermometer), and the back of the spoon is coated by the custard (the custard is not runny). Make sure to not overheat it or it will curdle.
-Pour the custard in the bowl set over the ice bath and stir to combine well. Let cool.
-When the custard is no longer hot (below 70 F) add ¼ cup of the kumquat syrup and vanilla essence. Mix to combine, strain well, and refrigerate the custard at least 4 hours.
-Pour the custard in the ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions (my ice cream maker churned it in 25 minutes).
-Once the ice cream has set, fold into it 1/3 cup of the candied kumquats. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Ju bëftë mirë!
-E.
***
Eralda is a food blogger from Albania, currently living in East Texas with her husband and her little boy. She writes The Split Pea, which is the place where here food memories of past meet the food experiences of the present. The kitchen “ is where I rest, learn, experiment; it is where the many parts of myself collide onto each other, like strangers in the street. They turn to look and meet a familiar gaze, a part of self that was missing, and in a moment of magic, they embrace, like perfectly married ingredients; they comprise a whole of many parts.”
Please check more of Eralda's recipes at The Split Pea.
