They're everywhere here in Vietnam. Kumquat trees in large tubs or pots,outside homes and restaurants, in auspicious Feng Shui positions. For prosperity and luck.
Citrus japonica is a group of small fruit-bearing trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae. Kumquats were previously classified in the now historical genus Fortunella, or placed within Citrus sensu lato. Even their original NAME is about Good Fortune.
But WHY are they are believed to bring luck and abundance? Depends on who you ask. Some people say they resemble gold coins dripping from a tree. Others say it's because the sound of their name is Chinese is very similar to the sound of the words for 'luck' and 'abundance'. Maybe their extravagant fruiting in the Asian climate evokes feelings of plenty?
Bringing Good Fortune to your house or business is great natural medicine in and of itself. No question. But did you know that the humble Asian kumquat is a true @naturalmedicine plant in her own right?
The Cantonese way to prepare them is to pickle them in a solution of salt and sugar. The liquid from the preserved pickled fruits is mixed with warm water and is a common, household treatment for sore throats; gargle with it, then swallow.
But even more than that, kumquats have a couple of special secret @naturalmedicine powers:
They have a really unusual potassium to sodium ratio (about 180mg to 10mg) which helps to relax blood vessels and to maintain a steady and healthy blood pressure.
They're hugely high in both Vitamin C and Vitamin A. Say no more. 100g of kumquats yield a staggering 163 % of the recommended daily Vitamin C allowance.
They're incredibly high in manganese, which your body needs for the synergistic use of antioxidants. So they're a catalyst, of sorts, to the anti-oxidant processes in the body.
Asian friends looked shocked when I asked how you eat them. Better to let them drip their abundance from the tree rather than pick and eat them. Not lucky, they said. But clearly they ARE picked and eaten too, cos I saw them for sale at the fresh market in Hoi An here in Vietnam this morning.
So what to do with them? My two favourite ways are to slice them thinly into a rocket salad - the sharp, sour taste is nicely balanced by the tangy rocket, strong red onions and maybe some creamy feta cheese. And they're AMAZING soaked in vodka for a few weeks or months. WOW. You can make some amazing cocktails from the kumquat liqueur. There are some other nice suggestions in this helpful kumquat post. If you have Chinese friends, the preserved kumquats would be a big winner, while your English friends will love you forever if you bring them some home-made kumquat and ginger marmalade.
The little round kumquats are by far the most common here in Asia, but as you can read in this post there are a number of different varieties including little oval kumquats not much bigger than an olive.
And so the urban legend, as always, has some foundation in fact. Cos really, what could be luckier or more of a foundation for prosperity than glowing natural health?
When I get back to Thailand, I'm off down to the big Kam Thian plant market in Chiang Mai to get me a nice matched pair of kumquats. Cos I suddenly have an urge for a flavourful, citrussy cocktail. And a cumquat-rocket-feta salad!!
Savour the moments. Food Is Medicine.
Contributing to the @earthtribe. Cos it MATTERS.
So lovely! Wish I had a tree like that. One of my dreams is to visit Thailand 🙏🏼
Get yourself on a cheap flight and we'll bend over backwards to show you an amazing time!! Lots of steem-fam in Thailand too. :) Always welcome. x
I didn't know that artemis. You learn something new every day :) The logic follows with them resembling gold coins dripping from the tree.
The salad you describe sounds lovely, I shall try making that one day :)
Always happy to help keep people learning and growing. Yup, my salads are awesome. :) Thanks for stopping by.
Yum! funny people would just consider leaving them ON the tree for luck purposes. clearly a healthy body is one of the most lucky things of all!
It's taken me over a decade to grasp how very important "luck" is to Asian people, but yes, agree with you.... nothing luckier than glowing health so you can make your own wealth and happiness.
interesting! i would love to hear your decade of findings on just what luck means to them!!
Are these a kind of berries?
They're like a very tiny orange - very flavorful skin and SOUR citrus fruit inside.
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I love kumquats, I get them here in Spain where they are grown locally, we eat them skin and all as the skin really balances out the sharp sour taste. I never knew that they represent prosperity and luck xx
I adore adore adore kumquat marmalade! I consider it good fortune if someone gives me a box!!!!
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