I always thought kumquats would be too sour to put in a smoothie, but earlier this month I saw a kumquat smoothie over on Serious Eats, so I decided to try making one, and it was great. This recipe reminds me of my Orange Julius recipe, in that it is nice and creamy and citrusy, but the flavor is pretty different.

Mango and honey add sweetness, while cashews add creaminess. Then a bit of ground cloves adds a little interesting flavor, and a touch of salt mellows some of the bitterness and brings out sweetness.

18 kumquats (~¼ lb)
medium mango (or ~1 cup frozen chunks)
⅓ cup cashew nuts
⅓ cup water
8 ice cubes
1 Tbsp honey, or to taste (optional)
small pinch ground cloves (optional)
small pinch salt (optional)

Makes ~2.5 cups: 1 medium or 2 small servings.

I don’t think you have to remove the kumquat seeds, but I removed most of them. (I cut the kumquats in half along the equator, and popped out any visible seeds.)

If you use frozen mango you can skip the ice cubes and add more water.

I happened to have ground cloves on hand, but you could also add a bit of a whole clove at the beginning of blending. (I’m afraid a whole clove might overpower the other flavors.)

Blend on high* until smooth, ~45 seconds. I recommend eating a bit of kumquat while preparing the smoothie. In addition to being tasty by itself, it will make the smoothie sweeter in comparison.

Sweet, sour, flavorful . . . Yum!

*Note to new readers: I often just say to blend on high, but I really mean start on low speed, and then quickly ramp up to high. Once you’ve been using a Vitamix for a while, starting on low and then ramping up will become second nature. Starting on low leads to less splashing, you’re less likely to need the tamper, and it might be easier on the motor. (I still have not confirmed that starting on high is tougher on the motor, but it seems possible. I do know that occasionally starting at max speed is no problem for the motor though.)

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