Kumquat Honey 金桔蜂蜜

This is my first post in two months. Yes, it's been ages, and I'm sorry for not being in-site for a while. Life has been an adventure for me since last November. First, I was invited to work in the kitchen of Ma Station Café, and right after a busy reopening of the café, I received news that I had to go back to Taiwan to help with some family business. It was an overwhelming period for me, and right after I arrived in Taiwan, I got the flu. Thanks to my mom, who gave me the greatest care, I was able to recover in a week, but with the traveling, stress, and new job, everything has taken a toll on my health. I got very sick again right after my return to Quebec and on top of that, I had to fight my jet-lag for almost two weeks!

When my immune system was clearly low, and I had a sore throat and inflammation, I saw this great lemon-honey recipe on Instagram from my dear friend, Happy Lai! (You must check out her feed to see more cooking ideas.) This natural remedy was so perfect for me, I thought! I went to the market as soon as I could, and since I happened to see kumquats, which are widely used for treating throat inflammation in Chinese medicine, I decided to use them instead of lemons.

Another reason I wanted to use kumquat is because the entire fruit is edible, and it's fragrant and sweet with just a slight tartness. Since it contains a lot of vitamin A, C, E, and minerals, it's great for boosting your immunity, protecting from inflammation, and helping your body to heal faster (not to mention that it's also effective in protecting from free radicals, cancer, heart disease, etc.)! The whole thing took me just about five to ten minutes to make, and it helped soothe my throat. If you can, it's the best to use raw honey since it's unheated and unpasteurized, and it'll give you more anti-oxidants to fight the cold. So thanks to Happy Lai, who shared the lemon-honey recipe. Like her, I'm now sharing this great natural remedy for you to keep throughout the cold winter!

Kumquat Honey

1   cup local honey *I wasn't able to find one at the time but if you can, it's more effective to use raw honey

16  kumquats

Two sterilized 8 oz canning jars


1. Slice the kumquat into 1/8" slices. *I was lazy and didn't bother to remove all the seeds. If it bothers you, or if you're giving it as a gift, seed the kumquat completely since the seeds are not edible.

2. In each jar, spoon in 2-3 tbsp of honey, then add about 1/4 of the sliced kumquat. Repeat this one more time, then finish with the rest of the honey.

3. Close the lids tightly and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours for the flavours to infuse. *Do not worry when you see the kumquat juice and the honey separate.


To store: It can be kept in a sealed jar for 6 weeks.

To serve: Give the honey mixture a stir, then add about 2 tsp to your mug with hot water and mix. Drink immediately and be sure to take the kumquat slices since they're edible and are good for you!

Variation: You can also add cloves or some slices of fresh ginger for different flavourings.





                                                                                               - Yvonne

Here, I didn't use canning jars. They're actually leftover yogurt jars from Riviera Petit Pot Yogurt, and if you live in Canada, not only you can get those jars from eating their yogurt, but you can find those lids that fits perfectly well at supermarkets or on their website! 




我沒有使用ㄧ般製作罐頭的罐子，這些是吃完 Riviera Petit Pot Yogurt 剩下的優格玻璃瓶。如果你住在加拿大，不但可以吃到他們濃醇的優格且留下這可愛的瓶子，還可以在超市或他們的網站上買到他們最近發行的瓶蓋喔~

這是兩個月以來第一次在這裡發新文，很抱歉遲遲到現在才寫新食譜。自去年的十一月到現在，就不停的忙著大大小小的事，先是Ma Station Café請我到他們廚房工作，然後緊接著又得趕回台灣幫家人處理ㄧ些事，在身心疲憊之下，兩個月來已病了兩次！還好第一次是在台灣，有媽媽細心的照顧，但新年回來之後又因為太累與時差的關係再度病發。

當下，我馬上直覺我的免疫能力變低了，正巧在那時後，我 Instagram 的好友 Happy Lai 分享了ㄧ個檸檬蜂蜜的食譜，我那時馬上想到那蜂蜜應該可以幫助我增強免疫力，就馬上去超市找食材。那天本來是要買檸檬的，但現在正是金桔的季節，然後又想到金桔治喉嚨發炎、咳嗽聽說也很有效啊！就這樣決定買了金桔回來。

不過除此之外，還讓我想使用金桔的原因是我喜歡它的香氣與甜味，而且它整顆包括皮都可以直接吃。由於它含有相當豐富的維他命A、C、E與其它許多維生素，它可以增強我們的抵抗能力、防治感冒與止咳化痰等(這其中也包括防止血管硬化、高血壓等疾病)。這蜂蜜的製作過程很簡單也不費時間，不到十分鐘就可以完成。如果可以的話，儘量使用生的蜂蜜會使效果更好，因為生蜂蜜是未經高溫消毒與加熱、加工製造而成，它的營養價值與抗氧化作用會比ㄧ般有加工過的蜂蜜高很多。還好那幾天喉嚨不舒服連續喝了這個金桔蜂蜜茶就漸漸舒緩許多，這都要感謝朋友的分享，希望這個食譜也能幫助大家。

金桔蜂蜜

蜂蜜 1 杯 *我使用的土產的蜂蜜，若能找到土產、又是生的蜂蜜效果會是最好的
 
金桔 16顆

8 oz/235 cc 消毒過的玻璃瓶 2個


1. 將金桔切成約 0.3cm 薄片 *我沒有特別把全部的籽除掉，但若要講就ㄧ些，可以將所有的籽除去，因為它有點帶苦，不適合食用。

2. 在兩個瓶子內，分別倒入2-3大匙的蜂蜜，然後加入切好的金桔，重複這個部驟，然後再倒入最後剩下的那些蜂蜜在上面。

3. 將玻璃瓶拴緊，然後放置冰箱至少8小時讓味道融合。*金桔的汁與蜂蜜自然會分開，這是正常的。
 
保存時間：不開罐可放置冰箱約6個星期。

泡製方式：開罐後將蜂蜜整個稍微攪拌一下，然後將2小匙的金桔蜂蜜 (連帶金桔片) 加入盛有1杯熱水的茶杯中混合即可馬上趁熱飲用。*金桔片有營養價值，可以連皮直接食用。 

口味變化： 可以加丁香或新鮮的薑片ㄧ起製做。 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                           - Yvonne 

© recipe and photos by My Chouchoux