March 4, 2024 | 08:53 pm PT
I personal an ornamental kumquat tree that’s at present laden with giant, ripe fruit. Is it doable for me to cook dinner or eat these fruits? (Thu, 22, Hanoi)
Reply:
Kumquats are fragrant, nutritious, and provide quite a few well being advantages. In line with oriental drugs, kumquats possess a candy and barely spicy taste with heat attributes, aiding within the dissolution of phlegm and the alleviation of coughs. Wealthy in vitamin C and antioxidants, kumquats bolster the immune system, assist in alcohol metabolism, and supply reduction from colds and fevers.
This fruit is consumable by all. Consuming kumquats with rock sugar is useful for treating coughs, whereas marinating them in sugar may help in stimulating the urge for food.
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Kumquats on the tree. Illustration picture by Freepik |
A kumquat tree laden with fruit is historically seen in Vietnamese tradition as an emblem of well being, peace, longevity, and fortune, selling concord. A decorative kumquat tree is believed to draw prosperity and facilitate easy endeavors.
Nonetheless, due to that, it’s widespread for some growers to use pesticides or inject chemical compounds into these bushes and use chemical fertilizers to reinforce the fruit’s look and dimension, prolong the tree’s freshness, or speed up fruiting. Consuming kumquats from such practices will be dangerous to well being and should even end in poisoning. Washing or soaking the fruits doesn’t assure security from these chemical compounds.
For ornamental kumquat bushes grown at dwelling, with identified origins and free from chemical therapies or pesticides, consumption is deemed secure. Nonetheless, these home-grown fruits often lack the aesthetic attraction present in commercially bought kumquats, being smaller, much less spherical, and their pores and skin having a duller colour.
Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh
Establishment of Science and Expertise, Hanoi College of Science and Expertise