Blue, Red, or Orange

By Heidi Lewis

There’s a scene missing from the outtakes reel of The Matrix where Morpheus offers Neo some vitamins: “You take the blue pill, the story ends—you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” And then a third hand emerges from Morpheus’ black trench coat holding a gleaming, bright-orange kumquat. “Or—you could choose the tangy, orange kumquat. It’s got a powerful, exhilarating taste that will break you out of this 2D world so you can walk out of this theatre and into the sunshine!”

Sadly, The Matrix’s kumquat scene ended up on the cutting-room floor. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy their tangy goodness! Kumquats may not protect you from a rainstorm of bullets or scary agents morphing into your daily life, but 100g of kumquats (around five or six) contains about 44mg (73 percent DV) of the antioxidant vitamin C, which helps prevent neurodegenerative diseases by removing free radicals. They are also chock-full of other polyphenolic flavonoid antioxidants such as carotenes and lutein.


The name “kumquat” derives from the Cantonese word “gam gwat,” which means “golden orange.” Kumquats have grown in Asia since the 12th century, and they grow well in temperate U.S. citrus zones. If you’ve never enjoyed kumquats before, eating them takes a leap of faith—you pop the whole fruit in your mouth, peel and all (note that kumquats often have a seed or two). When you chew, you will experience the POW! of the original sweet tart.

Enjoy & Be Fruitful!

Heidi Lewis writes about farms, bees, and fruit from her home in Sonoma County, CA. She’s been with The FruitGuys since they were FruitKids.

Recent Articles

Subscribe to our Newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Stay Fruitful!

Get your weekly dose of the latest fruit info and exclusive updates.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
The FruitGuys logo