Fruit

I’ve just had a feast of fruit, which is always nice, but is especially delicious in winter. I especially love mandarins (Citrus reticulata) and they’re in season at the moment, along with other citruses. My lemon tree has also started to fruit, and a friend has plenty of limes and cumquats as well. (That’s the Australian and UK spelling of the US kumquat, by the way.) 

One of the things I never used to like about mandarins was that they had dozens of seeds, but these days most of them are virtually seedless. I just ate three, and found one seed total. I first tasted seedless mandarins on an island in Greece, many years ago. I blogged about it here. I remember I virtually lived on them the whole time I stayed on that island and even now when I eat one, I think of that trip.

My friend always presses cumquats on me, and I take them, but I rarely eat them raw. I might slice them to have in tea, and I used to make them into marmalade, along with other citrus fruit, but I haven’t made jam for a few years now. I don’t eat it much. 

My parents had a very prolific cumquat tree and Mum used to make me help in the making of cumquat liqueur. I had to prick every individual cumquat all over with a darning needle. It was tedious work. Once a jar was filled, Mum put in sugar, and then topped it up with brandy. Months later it was ready to drink, and the cumquats were well brandied and apparently delicious. Mum often gave little bottles away as gifts. There’s a different recipe here — more like a limoncello recipe. I’m very fond of limoncello and have often made it.

Apples and pears are also in season now as well, and grapes, which are probably flown in from up north. I even bought cherries yesterday, imported from the US no doubt, and I know I shouldn’t keep buying fruit that’s been flown long distances, whether from other countries or from within my own country,  when I should be buying locally produced food, but when I saw them sitting there, I had no resistance. I adore cherries.

For me, a meal doesn’t seem complete without a bit of fruit, at least. What about you? What’s your favorite fruit? (And if you’re wondering why I’m posting such a banal topic, I’m trying to give you all a break from my endless promo. <g>)