Somchid | ส้มจี๊ด | Citrus japonica
Family: Rutaceae - Genus: C. Japonica
The kumquat trees can be found along the roadside, next to the vegetable gardens of the Thai Child Development Foundation, where more citrus is growing, and in the restaurant area of Eco-Logic Thailand.
The round kumquat is an evergreen tree that produces edible golden-yellow fruit. The fruit is small and usually round but can be oval shaped. The peel has a sweet flavor, but the fruit has a distinctly sour center. The fruit can be eaten cooked but is mainly used to make marmalades, jellies, and other spreads. The plant symbolizes good luck in China and other Asian countries, where it is often kept as a houseplant and given as a gift during the Lunar New Year.
Kumquat has the size of your thumb, is juicy with aromatic sourness.
Kumquats can be picked in Paksong the whole year round, but their biggest harvest period is in June.
THE TREE
They are slow-growing evergreen shrubs or short trees that stand 2.5 to 4.5 meters tall, with dense branches, sometimes bearing small thorns.
THE LEAVES
The leaves are dark glossy green,
THE FLOWERS
The flowers are white, similar to other citrus flowers.
THE FRUIT
Depending on size, the kumquat tree can produce hundreds or even thousands of fruits each year.
Kumquat, aka small orange about the size of your thumb, is juicy with aromatic sourness.
CULINARY USES OF KUMQUAT
Wash kumquats and eat them whole. In Thailand is normally sliced into thin pieces and added in nam prik kapi or squeezed and made into a drink that has a similar sour taste to lemon juice, but more fragrant.
You can poach them in sugar syrup and serve them with ice cream, or use them in a fruit salad. They are particularly good in stuffings for poultry. When made into compote or chutney, they complement duck and other fatty meats well.
NUTRITION
Kumquats are high in vitamins C (about 8 mg each) and offer some vitamin A (about 3 mcg each). The skin is full of fiber and antioxidants.
TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL USE OF NEEDLE FLOWER
NOTE: please take advice from a doctor if you are planning to use herbal medicine.
Because kumquat peels are edible, you can tap into their rich reservoirs of plant compounds. These have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-lowering properties.
In folk medicine, the kumquat has been used to treat colds, coughs and other inflammation of the respiratory tract.
They are also said to:
Helps in glowing of skin
Encourage weight loss
Strengthen hair
Prevent diabetes
Protects the body from degenerative diseases
Good for overall health
Help in wound healing
Good for teeth health
Helps in metabolism
INTO THE WILD: a down to earth experience
For guests and visitors to Paksong we organize weekly tours "The Edible Forest" and Foraging weekends: Into the Wild. We work with local guides to take you in the jungle of Paksong. After foraging, we will cook a meal with the ingredients, using bamboo together with you!
Come and join and learn about the abundance of food that nature gives us!
INTO THE WILD!
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