I first encountered the bright orange nuggets that are cumquats when I first moved out of home and inherited a standard cumquat tree for my garden.  As the cooler months settled in the typical citrus blossom turned into round shaped miniature oranges and I was intrigued, so I dove in, wrapped my lips around it and took a big chomp.  The supposedly sweet skin wasn’t apparent, all I can remember was that super tart citrus flesh and that was the end of my cumquat experimentation...until recently.

I spied the oval-shaped fruit at my local market and decided that it was time to face my tarty fears and trial these cumquats creations once again.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to do this alone, so I engaged the services of none other than the thick, dark, sweet Pedro Ximénez sherry.  By adding a few spices and poaching the cumquats in the sherry, their skin softens and the sweet spiced liquid permeates the tart flesh cutting through some of the acidity.

You may think that serving an ice-cold parfait during winter is a little crazy, but when you pour a warm syrup over the soft plump cumquats the taste sensation is irresistible.

A little trivia for you:
Cumquats are popular Asian fruit and its name translate (well roughly) to “Gold Orange” in Chinese.

Find my creamy honey parfait with pedro ximénez poached cumquats recipe on my website.

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