koumkouát

Kumquat. A bitter little citrus fruit, originally from China and introduced to Corfu by botanist Sydney Merlin in 1924, after a Scottish botanist and plant collector Robert Fortune brought the first plant to Europe in 1846.

Most kumquats grow in Corfu’s north, around Nýmfes The island is the one place in Greece where they thrive, and where they use the zest to make a diabolically sweet kumquat liqueur called Kumquacello and sell it every imaginable bottle in the island’s souvenir shops.

You can also find jams, spoon sweets and even kumquats in the local cuisine; a lot of people plant them by their houses because they’re pretty. They are also are designated PDO (ΠΟΠ).