What an unexpected surprise – a summer crop of cumquats! It’s rare for me to fill the house with the scent of bubbling marmalade in summer, but this time I beat those sulphur crested cockatoos to my fruit!!
Cumquat marmalade was the first jam I ever made. There was a lovely cumquat tree when we first came to Glenmore, and I remember taking a basket load of fruit back to the city with me one Sunday evening. I was pregnant, meant to be working, and recall spending hours sitting in our courtyard prising the seeds out of the tiny fruit. The marmalade was a great success, but unfortunately the tree had to go – it was badly situated and we tried unsuccessfully to move it, although it’s nearby companion, a mandarin, made the move without any problems and many Kitchen Gardening participants have enjoyed its sweet (if seed-ridden!) fruit.
I’ve never found a good spot to plant another tree but have two rather pathetic specimens in pots in the Hayshed and they rarely produce a crop decent enough to do much with….until now! I think they might find themselves in ice cream for this week’s Kitchen Gardening Day….