Citrus Wonderland

Last weekend, I decided to stain my Ikea kitchen cart green since it was bare wood when I bought it and I had nothing better to do anyways. Staining the cart took longer than expected. It wasn't as simple as staining it green, which is what I thought. First, you have to sand the bare wood so it's smooth. Then you wipe off the dust when done. Next you brush on a pre-stain treatment that'll allow the stain to go on evenly. After two hours or so you can finally stain the wood. Additional coats can be applied after a couple hours after the previous coat has dried. Then the final step is to protect the stain with a finish. I used a glossy polycrylic finish. Once that has dried you sand it lightly to smooth it and wipe clean. Anyhow, I'm quite pleased with the outcome. It definitely adds a bit of color to my rather brown kitchen and works great for a citrus landscape photo shoot.

Recently, I've come across some fruits at the market that I've never tried or even seen before. Some of these are kumquats, blood oranges and mini mandarins.

The mini mandarins or tangerines (not pictured), which I'm not sure what its proper name is, are small but a little larger than kumquats. They have very few seeds and are intensely sweet. At first you may be reluctant to try this tiny fruit because of the peeling required for just a small amount, but it's quite easy and fast to remove the peel and pop them in your mouth. They are also very addictive because of its sweetness.

Another citrus fruit similar in size to the mini tangerines are the kumquats. When I first tried these perfectly colored fruits, I had no idea how to eat them. I tried to peel the skin, but found it quite difficult with the juice squirting everywhere and when I ate what was left it tasted like eating the rind of an orange. Good thing for Google. I searched "how to eat a kumquat" and learned that they are meant to be eaten whole (skin included) and unlike an orange, the skin gives the fruit its sweetness and the center tastes more like the rind. It was quite strange at first popping them whole in my mouth without peeling it, but it definitely tasted much better this way. The skin really gives the fruit its flavor. It's like eating the skin of an orange, but rather being bitter it's actually sweet.

Blood oranges are another fruit I've never tried before. They have a red orange hue and a similar texture to the orange. The color of the flesh is actually closer to purple than red. It's less punchier than an orange in flavor and has a subtle sweetness. The color of this fruit is more intriguing than its flavor, but could be a good alternative to the orange if you are looking for something less acidic.
 
The pomelo (pictured in yellow) is similar to a grapefruit and something I've actually tried before. It's more sweet than bitter and also larger in size. The rind is thick and the membranes are bitter. In some Chinese cooking, the skin is used for flavoring and can also be made into candy.