It has been cold in New York for the last month. One family of fruits stands out with this frigid temperature – Citrus. Citrus fruits come in handy with their leathery skin surrounding their fruit segments leaving a notable citrusy fragrant scent on your hands when peeling them. They are convenient and offer instant pleasure to pop the segments into your mouth.
(buddah's hand holding a kaffir lime, from left to right blood orange, lime, lemon Meyer lemon, Cara Cara orange)
Immunity Boostng Fruits
Citrus fruits come in handy to boost the immune system during the long cold winter months stretching from now until the first warming sunrays meet us again. They are abundant in vitamin C and antioxidants which help with fatigue and fight the effects pollution has on nutrition.
(Meyer lemon tart with candied buddha's hand, toasted Merningue and house-made M&M)
Citrus Plants
Cultivated citrus plants grow in low trees and shrubs -- some with serious thorns such as Kaffir lime or Meyer lemons. Citrus plants are evergreens and grow well in the sun belt (37 & 38 latitude) with its warm temperate climate, mild long winters and extended summers. It’s not that some citrus plants can’t withstand cold temperatures as low as the teens, they just do best in tropical climates. Unlike other fruits the ripeness of citrus fruits can’t be determined by the color of the fruit -- the only way to find out is to eat them. But, generally citrus fruits ripen in fall and early winter months.
(Cara Cara orange salad with endive, stilton and dried cranberries)
Bugs
Citrus plants are very vulnerable to insect infestation, so they are treaded with insecticides. It is recommended to wash your fruits with hot water before peeling them to get rid of the chemical protectant.
The Other Parts of Citrus
Citrus zest is prepared by scraping, peeling or cutting the colorful outer skin from a citrus fruit. A grater such as a zester comes in handy in a kitchen and works quite perfectly. Many recipes (especially baked goods) call for lemon, lime or orange zest.
Pith is the inner white portion of citrus fruit which is usually quite bitter.
Twist – a garnish for a cocktail such as a dry martini. Citrus skin with or without pith is cut in a long spiral and then run along the rim of a cocktail glass or simply used for garnishing the drink.
Some Citrus Standouts
Meyer lemons are a hybrid of oranges and lemons. They are beautiful compared to an ordinary lemons and larger with saturated yellow color and a mild tangy flavor when eaten – even raw. I was wondering why they are not more widespread in the current market place. Further reading has unveiled that in the 1940’s they were grown plentiful in California. However it was discovered that the majority of Meyer lemon plants were carrying a virus which killed millions of citrus trees and they were symptomless so of course very hard to kill the virus. Needless to say they were chopped down. Plant scientists were able to plant and save virusless Meyer lemon plants eventually. Meyer lemons have had a little of a comeback since Martha Stewart has been incorporating them into many of her cookbook recipes.
(Meyer lemon in gift box)
Another unique lemony fruit is the Buddha’s hand with its bizarre looks of a large squid and citrus fruit. It does not have much pulp, it’s not very bitter nor does it have any seeds. Buddha’s hand is often used as a room refresher in Japan and China with its mild citrus scent.
Kaffir lime with its warty, fragrant green skin has many applications in cooking. The juice of kaffir lime is aggressively acidic. The leaves are double-leaf shaped and can be used dried or frozen.
Sweet-Sour Memories
When I was about six years old we visited Malta, an island in the Mediterranean. One of the memories that stuck was eating oranges and lemons with their peel intact and they were delicious.
Chef's Tip: The Best way to get the strong taste of garlic out of your mouth is to eat a slice of lemon. That taste always retruns after you brush your teeth but after a lemon it's mostly gone!
