You’ll know that Chinese new year is near, if you see “kiat kiat” fruits and trees or however you want to call it, sprawling around the market.
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Both Tangerines and mandarin orange are round golden fruits surrounded by emerald leaves. Their shape and colour symbolize the sun and connect with the yang principle, which represents the positive element and generative force in nature. Thus oranges are considered auspicious fruits and important symbols for the New Year. Tangerines and oranges, symbols of abundance happiness, are a must gift item when visiting family or friends during the 15 days of Chinese New Year celebration. Furthermore tangerines and mandarin oranges are frequently displayed at homes and stores as decoration during Chinese New Year.
Kumquats are slow growing, evergreen shrubs or small trees (from 2.5–4.5 meters tall) with dense branches. Sometimes they bear small thorns. The leaves are dark glossy green. The flowers are pure white, similar to other citrus flowers which borne singly or clustered in the leaf-axils. Kumquat is pronounced Gumgut in the Cantonese, the kumquat is a pun for gold (gum), and for good fortune “Dai Gut”. The Cantonese love to decorate their homes and workplaces with pots of kumquats. This is a symbol of bringing good fortune and wealth. Candied kumquats are one of the necessary preserves for the New Year.
Kumquats resemble a miniature oval orange, 3–5 centimeters long and 2–4 centimeters wide. Depending on variety, peel color ranges from yellow to red. Kumquat fruit is generally in season from late autumn to mid-winter, and can be found in most food markets with other produce. Kumquats are frequently eaten raw. As the rind is sweet and the juicy center is sour, the raw fruit is usually consumed either whole, to savor the contrast, or only the rind is eaten. The fruit is considered ripe when it reaches a yellowish-orange stage, and has just shed the last tint of green.
