reynardo | The bitter truth

Last year our cumquat tree fruited, and I made up a few jars of cumquats-in-brandy-syrup. I was hoping to have them over icecream or something later, and hadn't yet found a use for them. I was putting the dried fruit into a jar of brandy today, ready for the Christmas Cake, and decided to add some chopped preserved cumquat to the mix. Of course, I had to test it first...

Bitter as all get-out. Full-on lip-pursing tongue-curling bitter, the sort that comes from peel that's bitter to start with and has only developed over months in the jar.

Ahem. So - they'll be fine for a couple to be sliced thinly and stirred through the rest of the fruit. But by themselves? My tongue still tastes sour.