The little fruit that’s showing up its big sister.

This dwarf orange with its sweet, sour, slightly bitter flavor is becoming more and more popular in Europe. The mini orange originally came from China, where it has been cultivated since the 12th century. The kumquat is now also grown in the Americas, Africa, and the hotter regions of Europe.

The fruit is a diva! Sensitive and thin-skinned. In this case, thin skin is a decided advantage: The kumquat and its fine peel are eaten together. Sensitivity is also required during harvesting. Each fruit has to be picked individually. For the kumquat, there’s no such thing as too little rain. If it gets too much rain, it swells and the unripe fruit falls from the tree.

The kumquat is a vitamin bomb. It contains10 times more vitamin C than a conventional orange and is also rich in potassium and copper.