Satsumas, kumquats, Sweets and Lemons!
Satsumas are grown in the Placquemines Parish region of Louisiana and became a favorite of the whole family when we lived there. They don’t have the characteristics that make them good for storing well and shipping to other parts of the country, so many folks who never lived where satsumas grow have never tried them. Unless you live in Louisiana or Texas (possibly Alabama) you probably rarely see them in your local grocery store. Many of the locals have trees in their own yards and have enough for themselves and for sharing. For those that don’t, many local families sell them at local fruit stands, etc. Our favorite fruit stand was in Belle Chasse, Johnny Becnel’s (You can find them at: 8134 Highway 23, Belle Chasse, (504) 392-0534.)
Those huge yellow fruits in the photo that look like mini grapefruit are actually lemons! I couldn’t believe how gorgeous they were. I know we’ll have difficulty using them all while they are still fresh, so I have started freezing the juice in cubes for use later on. Just one of those beautiful lemons yielded me almost 2/3 cup of fresh lemon juice. Amazing.
Kumquats are another favorite of mine. I had never even tried them before we lived in Belle Chasse. Imagine my surprise when I was instructed to eat the entire fruit, skin and all (minus seeds, of course). Since the rest of my family has not discovered the wondrous joy of eating kumquats, I claim all the kumquats from the package for myself. The kumquat is another fruit that doesn’t travel well. I’ve bought them in stores far from the orchards and have often been very disappointed at how quickly they spoiled. Now that I realize this, I don’t wait around for that to happen… In the Belle Chasse region, there were two distinct type of kumquats that were sold. The almost-round variety… these were very, very sweet — and the more oblong type, which were sour. I do love the sweet type, but have never seen them in stores since leaving New Orleans.
Naval oranges and Louisiana Sweets are also wonderful treats from the area… since they are picked at full ripeness, they seem to taste much better than the oranges you get in stores.
OK… enough already on what a happy day this was. Donnie and Lettie really spoiled us!