Brighten up Your Day with Citrus Fruit!

Oranges from Bitter to Sweet

Oranges used to be considered exotic but today they have become one of the most widely enjoyed fruits in the world.

The primitive orange originated in China and was bitter. Sweet oranges are thought to have evolved from mutations in the original orange.

The bitter orange or Seville orange is often made into marmalade or preserves. The three main varieties of sweet oranges are: 

• Valencia oranges have sweet, mildly acidic flesh and a very high juice content, making them the best juice oranges. 
• Navel oranges have firm, sweet flesh making them the most popular eating oranges. Most of these easy-to-peel oranges are seedless. 
• Finally, blood oranges are amazingly sweet, juicy and fragrant. Because of the distinctive red mottling of their peel and flesh, these oranges are often used as a decoration or garnish

To learn more about oranges, click here.

Grilled Orange-pepper Top Sirloin Steak

Rack of Pork with Orange-cranberry Sauce

Duck à l'orange

Baked Whole Tilapia with Ginger Orange Stuffing

Cress Salad, yoghurt dressing

Mandarins and Tangerines, Cousins under the Skin

They are closely related. Mandarins are small, flattish oranges with a thin, easy-to-peel skin and delicate, flavourful flesh. Some varieties have seeds while others are seedless.

To learn more about mandarins, click here.

Tangerines are deep orange to almost red in colour, deliciously sweet and can be used to make juice. The name tangerine is derived from Tangiers, the Moroccan port from which most of the fruit was exported for a long time.

To lean more about tangerines, click here. 
 

Citrus salmon fillets

Sunkist® Tangerine Bangkok Chicken

Fruity Tossed Salad

Spinach Salad with Hard-boiled Eggs and Mandarins

Pennine, Asparagus and Mandarin Salad

Clementines, Easy-Peeling Lunchbox Favourites

It's so easy to indulge in these small, beauties, bursting with flavour! A hybrid of a mandarin and a bitter orange developed by Father Clément Dozier in Algeria, hence the name, clementines have few or no seeds and are easy to peel and separate into segments, making them popular with children and mothers both.

To learn more about clementines, click here.

Clementine, Cherry Tomato and Almond Salsa

Clementine, Fennel and Roast Chicken Salad

Grilled Panettone with Clementines

Clementine Poppyseed Loaf

Duck Breasts with Spicy Clementine Sauce

Pomelos and Grapefruit or Variations on a Theme

Also known as shaddock, pomelos are large, heavy citrus fruit that can be round or pear-shaped depending on the variety. They have a thick, smooth yellow to green skin, sometimes with a pink blush. The pale yellow or pink flesh can be bitter.

To learn more about pomelos, click here.

Grapefruit are thought to descend from the pomelo through natural mutations. Grapefruit have thinner peel and flesh varying in colour from pale yellow to dark pink. Some people find grapefruit too astringent, but usually the pinker the flesh, the sweeter the flavour. Grapefruit always makes a beautiful addition to a salad.

To learn more about grapefruits, click here.

Persimmon, Pomelo and Smoked Salmon Salad

Grapefruit and Salmon Salad

Fiesta Salad

Citrus Angel Food Cake

Grapefruit Upside-Down Cake

Lemons and Limes for Drinks and Fine Dinings

So closely related to lemons that they are sometimes called green lemons, limes are smaller. With their juicy, acidic, intensely flavoured flesh, limes are perfect for parties as an essential ingredient in many cocktails and punches and exotic dishes.



To learn more about limes, click here.

Lemons are picked when green, then artificially ripened in storage. Tree-ripened lemons would lose their acid tang, making them too sweet. Peerless as an accompaniment to fish and seafood, lemons also replace vinegar in many dressings and marinades and delicious in pies and cakes. Adding a few drops of lemon juice to certain fruits and vegetables keeps them from discolouring.

To learn more about lemons, click here.

Kumquats-Tiny, Tangy Treasures

Tiny and olive-shaped, kumquats are a kind of dwarf orange. Despite having some large seeds, kumquats are entirely edible from their thin, tender, sweet rind to their acid pulp. They can be candied or used in preserves and fruit salads. With their small size and golden colour, kumquats make an incomparably beautiful garnish for any dish.

To learn more about kumquats, click here.

Discover Tangelos, Oroblancos and Ugli Fruit

Less well-known, these fruit reward the adventurous spirits who try them. Tangelos, the result of a cross between a tangerine and a pomelo (the name is a combination of tangerine and pomelo), are easy to peel and have a juicy pulp with a taste all its own.

To learn more about tangelos, click here.

Oroblancos are a cross between white grapefruit and an acidless pomelo. They have a thick rind and juicy, intensely sweet pulp.

To learn more about oroblancos, click here.

There is some debate as to the origins of ugli fruit. According to some, it is the result of a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit; others believe that the bitter orange is part of its parentage. Its pinkish-orange, sweet, mildly acidic flesh is nearly seedless. The name is due to the fruit's rough, puffy, wrinkled skin.


To learn more about the ugli fruit, click here.

These three citrus fruits can be enjoyed as breakfast fruit or used in salads, cakes, sauces or sweet and sour dishes.

Getting Every Last Drop of Goodness

• When buying citrus fruit, look for heavy, firm fruit with a glossy rind. Avoid fruit with soft spots or dull skin.
• The juice and peel of these sunshine fruit freeze well. Whole citrus fruit will keep about a week at room temperature. If they are to be kept longer, they should be stored in a plastic bag with holes in the refrigerator.
• Rinse fruit thoroughly before using, especially if grating the peel as most citrus fruit are treated with chemical preservatives.
• When grating peel, use only the coloured part and avoid the pith that would give foods a bitter taste.
• Citrus fruit give more juice if left at room temperature for a few hours or if warmed before being pressed. Roll the fruit between your hands for 1-2 minutes, cover them with boiling water or zap them in the microwave for a few seconds before juicing them.
• Lemon, like herbs and spices, enhances the flavour of most foods and so can replace salt. Try it in salads and soups or on steamed vegetables.

Nutritional Value

Weight-Reducing, Acidifying, Calcium-Depleting : True or False?

• Grapefruit and lemons do not reduce weight-no food does. However, they are low in calories and an excellent source of vitamins, making them perfect as part of a well-balanced, healthy diet.
  
• Citrus fruit are not acidifying either. Although they have an acidic taste, they have an alkalizing effect.
  
• The organic acids in citrus fruit help the body absorb calcium.
  
• It is also claimed that oranges or orange juice are stimulants due to their vitamin C content. Some sleep problems have been reported but none have been scientifically documented.
  
• So put aside your worries about these wild claims and enjoy the real benefits of these sunshine fruit.
  
  

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