Thursday 4 February 2010

Calamondins

Paul's calamondin bonsai has picked up an unfortunate outbreak of aphids. God knows where they came from in this weather. So he picked all the fruit hanging on it before he took it outside to treat it.

Nine little sour orange limes. As with the blood oranges, I like something that doesn't look as it tastes. These look like perfect little oranges, a bit smaller than a ping pong ball, but the flavour is like an intense lime, with an amazing citrus fragrance.

One went into a batch of friands, since I had 6 eggwhites in the freezer. I halved the calamondin, removed the seeds and chopped it really finely, before proceeding with my usual friand recipe. They were buttery, citrussy and just the thing with a cup of coffee.

The other eight went into a very small batch of marmelade. I used this recipe, which is very simple. Because the calamondins have thin, loose peel like a tangerine, it was very simple to get every scrap of flesh and pith out of them. I overcooked the marmelade a bit, so the flavour is very rich and caramelly and it has set very firmly. I think a batch of home made bread is in order, to provide a fitting base for a lovely preserve. Or maybe a marmelade rolypoly pudding. Or some scones.


18 comments:

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

Have you done a post on friands??? they look interesting, very dramatic

HH said...

Wow FC! Both friands and marmalade sound and look fantastic. I haven't heard of Calamodins before. If you had a bigger batch of marmalade I would put in a fat couriers order!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Dave - http://foodycat.blogspot.com/2009/09/st-clements-friands.html and http://foodycat.blogspot.com/2009/02/pear-ginger-and-walnut-friands.html friands are possibly the only cake I can consistently make well!

HH - maybe next season! calamondin is also known as kalamansi, they use it a lot in S.E Asia.

kat said...

I've never heard of those either, I'd love to be able to grow my own little citrus

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

OK... looked em over... will be making soon!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Kat - they aren't frost tolerant at all, so you need a sunny patch indoors for the winter! But they are lovely trees and you get flower, leaf and fruit all year around.

Dave - they are really delicious and very much recommended!

Simona Carini said...

Very interesting post! I have never seen this kind of fruit.

mscrankypants said...

I vote for the rolypoly pudding :-).

Alicia Foodycat said...

Simona - They sell them over here a lot as a pot plant.

Cranky - I like the way you think!

Dee said...

I always learn something fascinating when I visit! First I felt like a hick, then I realised I wasn't the only one, and now I know. Thank you. I'm definitely going to give the marmalade a go :)

Suelle said...

My neighbour gave me a bag of these little fruit just before Christmas. This is the second time I've had the crop off her tree, although her biggest fruit aren't much larger than kumquats. Unfortunately I was busy over Christmas and left them in a sealed bag in the fridge, without checking how ripe they were! Disaster - they all had to be thrown away.
I used the first batch to make a very good version of Claudia Roden's Flourless Orange and Almond Cake.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Dee - it's a very good marmalade!

Sue - what a shame! I love that cake. I've also seen a sort of tarte tatin using them, which I will make when we have a bigger crop.

~~louise~~ said...

Many of my scented geraniums have been hit by a bug infestation this year. I don't know why. I gave them a soapy bath and hope they will make it to Spring.

I never heard of friands either must check that link. They sure look interesting.

Thanks for sharing, Foodycat...

Deb in Hawaii said...

Mmm...I love friands--and I bet the flavor is wonderful. The marmalade looks wonderful too.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Louise - my geraniums died in the snow!

Deb - I haven't tasted the marmalade yet, (since it cooled anyway) but it is such a pretty colour!

Chef Aimee said...

Oh wow that marmalade looks wonderful!

Beatrice said...

I would love to have an indoor citrus tree -- that sounds wonderful. Bonus that you can actually use the fruit.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Aimee - thanks!

Beatrice - and the blossom smells wonderful.

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