Evenly ripe fruit, free of mold or soft spots that yield to gentle pressure.
Refrigerate ripe fruit covered for up to two weeks. Ripen at room temperature uncovered out of direct sunlight.
Rinse. Eat with or without skin.
Select firm kumquats that have glossy rinds without cracks or blemishes. Soft fruits can spoil rapidly. Avoid kumquats that are shrivelled. Choose fruits with freshly picked leaves still attached.
Kumquats will keep for a few days at room temperature. You can refrigerate them in a plastic bag for up to a month.
Unlike almost every other citrus variety, you eat the entire fruit, peel and all. What's more, the sweet part is the peel, whereas the pulp is extremely tart (or at least sour enough that the peel seems sweet in contrast). If you're not going to eat them out of hand, slice kumquats thin and add them to a winter salad.
