chinotto … like a kumquat that is so sour

If you try a ripe kumquat fruit and wish you hadn’t—because it’s so sour— then it’s a Chinotto.

The Chinotto (pronounced kee-nawt-oh) is a small, bitter citrus fruit that grows on the Citrus aurantium ‘Myrtifolia’ or Chinotto tree, which is sometimes called the Myrtle-leaved Orange Tree.

Like a kumquat, it peels easily and the tree produces aigreat abundance of fruit.

Growing to a height of 3 m, the trees can be found in the Liguria, Tuscany, Sicily, and Calabria regions of Italy.

The name is deriving from China, where the tree was thought to have originated, it is the essential flavour component of most Italian bittersweet amari digestifs and of the popular Campari liqueur.

Personally, I think the best brand of Chinotto to enjoy is that of Sanpellegrino. It’s smooth and not too sweet or fizzy.