Japanese Kumquat (Kinkan)

The Kinkan is the Japanese premium-grade kumquat, selected from Citrus japonica cultivars for thin candy-sweet peel and low-acid flesh. Compared to the standard kumquats grown in southern China and the Mediterranean, Kinkan are noticeably larger, sweeter, and less astringent.

The formula of the kumquat is unchanged — sweet skin, tart flesh, eaten whole — but the dial has been turned. The peel is closer to a crystallised orange than a regular kumquat rind, and the inner pulp carries less of the sharp acid bite. The aroma is also more pronounced; one Kinkan in your hand will perfume the air around you.

Wash gently, pinch each fruit between thumb and finger to mingle the peel oil with the pulp, and bite whole. Brilliant in salads, sliced and candied as a garnish, or eaten as a single-bite end-of-meal palate cleanser. Stores in the fridge for up to two weeks.