Ready for an easy, tasty, unique, beautiful and kitchen-crafty gift idea? Behold: salt-cured kumquats.
Kumquats have always been a little exotic and-admittedly-uncomfortable for me, but I fell in love with their hopeful color and intoxicating scent while working with them and observing their slow transformation into cured kumquats.
How charming would it be to receive a tidy bottle of sunny citrus in the middle of winter? That’s why I think these salt-cured kumquats would make an excellent holiday gift. To top it off, a few bloggers claim that these kumquats are the basis of an old Asian folk remedy for sore throats—just mash them up in hot water and sweeten with honey, they say. I also love the idea of using these as the salt component of vinaigrette; check out the recipe below.
- 1 glass jar with a tight-fitting lid
- Whole fresh kumquats – enough to pack them snugly into your jar
- Sea salt – enough to cover the kumquats
- Wash and thoroughly dry the kumquats, then pack them tightly into the jar, cover with salt and seal. Place the jar on a windowsill and watch over the weeks and months as the kumquats slowly, subtly change.
- After 3-12 months remove the kumquats and pack them into jars, covering the kumquats with the salty fluid that has formed. Lovingly label your jars. Salt-cured kumquats keep indefinitely.
…..
- 1 salt-cured kumquat
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1-2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
- Slice the kumquat in half and remove any seeds. In a food processor, blend all ingredients until a smooth puree is achieved. Enjoy as a salad dressing or a vegetable dip.
Used In This Project:
- Fancy Diamond Labels • I chose the “Neue Retro” style in cappuccino.
- Petal Labels • I chose the “Neue Retro” style in cappuccino.
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Lorraine is a medical student, writer and food lover living in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. Sometimes, Lorraine realizes that, for the most part, her family, friends and adored acquaintances are just a bike ride away. This gives her sense of cozy giddiness! Mostly though, she gets psyched about creating and sharing food, particularly the kind of food that is accidentally healthy and delicious. See more of her work at SweetAllium.
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