TROPICAL TASTE - The Magic of Citrus

"It is hard to envisage any cooking without lemons" wrote Elizabeth David, an Englishwoman, considered to be one of the best food writers in the world. In total agreement, I would add any other citrus available to us to that statement... And of course, there is all that lovely Vitamin C as a bonus. 

Vitamin C can be found in any of the following citrus family members: Oranges, tangelos, tangerines, mandarins, lemons, limes, calamandine, calamansi, grapefruits, pomelos and kumquats.

Sometime ago, I had read that Robert Wemischner, a Los Angeles cookbook author and culinary arts teacher liked to poach oranges, tangelos and kumquats in syrup.  The fruit and or rind can then be used in other recipes or eaten as is and the syrup can be used to make citrus ade; to sweeten iced tea; pour over pound cake or ice cream; pancakes and waffles; as a base for sauces, marinades and refreshing salad dressings by adding mustard and vegetable or olive oil or can also be used as the base for ice cream or sorbet.

To poach an orange or a tangelo Wemischner suggests to wash it well and then prick the fruit all over with a sharp wooden skewer and cooking them slowly, skin, pith and all, to tenderize them simmering for about an hour and a half in an equal parts water to sugar ratio until the fruit turns sort of translucent.

He recommends cutting them in half when finished and scooping out the seeds and pulp to discard.  You can then use the shells as an edible container for serving ice cream or any custard type dessert.

To poach kumquats use a lighter syrup as the skin of the kumquat is slighty sweet.  Prepare a mixture of two parts water to one part sugar and proceed to cook and simmer the fruit for about half an hour or until translucent.  Kumquats can also be poached in honey and ginger for a slightly different taste.

The poached fruit can then be served whole over ice cream, cakes, incorporated into fruit salads or added to any leafy green salad.  The resulting syrup can be used as suggested above.

Storing of citrus: First, do not wash citrus (or any fruit) until ready to eat or use. Even brief exposure to water will leach vitamins and sugars from the fruit. The fruit should be stored at room temperature until ripe or stored in the refrigerator after ripening.  The vegetable crisper drawer in most refrigerators is ideal for this purpose.

Storing of citrus juices: After juicing any citrus such as lemons, limes or even oranges, you can store the juice in the freezer if not planning to use right away.  I like to store it in two different ways; one is by pouring it in small sandwich freezer bags in 1/4 cup quantities and the other is by freezing in ice cube trays. 

When frozen in the ice trays, I pop them out and then store in a larger freezer bag where they will stay separated as long as the freezer is maintained at a proper temperature.  If you forget to pop them out of the trays, they seem to 'sort of evaporate' after a few days.  I have no idea why.

The larger bagged quantities I use for mixing with other ingredients for making marinades, dressings, etc., and the ice cube size is perfect for dropping into a drink.

Quick tips for using lemons and limes:  The following are some tips I've collected on the uses of lemon or lime juice.   Would love to hear from you about other uses.

* Use in marinades for chicken, pork, fish and even palomilla steaks.

* Use in salad dressings instead of vinegar.

* Use juice on fruit or vegetables to help them keep their color.

* Use lemon to replace salt in your recipes, resulting in less sodium.

* A tablespoon full of honey and lemon or lime juice can ease the discomfort from a sore throat.

* Sprinkle lemon or lime juice on top of your favorite steamed vegetables, seafood,
and salads.

* Soak saffron threads in a bit of lemon or lime juice in a ceramic or glass bowl, or in a mortar bowl.  After a bit, crush with a stainless spoon or the pestle to release as much of the color and taste as possible.  The taste of the juice will not interfere with the taste of the finished dish.

* Fresh grated orange, lemon or lime peels add zest to baked goods, fruit salads,
desserts, and sauces.

* Replace other fruits with citrus juices in your next frozen sorbet for a light refreshing taste.

* Remove odors, such as fish, onion, garlic or bleach from your hands by rubbing juice or even the juiced shell/rind before discarding.

* Add a twist of lemon or lime to the water in ice cube trays for added zip to beverages.

* You might drink more water during the day if you add some lemon or lime juice to your water bottle, or a slice to a glass of water.

* Get the most juice out of your lemon or lime by rolling it with the palm of your hand on the counter first.

* Another way to get more juice is to place the lemon or lime in the microwave for 15 seconds.  Be careful before juicing as it will be very hot.

Drying the rind of citrus fruits: Peel the washed skin of any citrus with a sharp bladed fruit/vegetable peeler or with a very sharp knife.  Be careful to just peel the colored rind and not take any of the bitter white pith.  Place skin-side down on a plate and let it sit at room temperature for a few days until it becomes dry and brittle.

It can also be dried by placing on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and placed in a low heated oven (200oF) for several hours or overnight.  Or covered with paper towels in the microwave in an approved microwave container (not plastic) for several minutes.

After it is dried, it can be stored as is in a clean, tightly sealed container, crumbled or it can be ground in a small spice grinder and then stored.

Uses for dried peel: to flavor sauces, in place of citrus extract in baking, sprinkled on steamed veggies, mixed in with sugar in the sugar bowl, in homemade spice mixes and barbeque rubs.

The following are two articles relating to citrus I published as part of my Tropical Taste series for Gather some months ago.

TROPICAL TASTE - The Calamandin

TROPICAL TASTE - Pomelo...the giant grapefruit

The following is very interesting reading

Citrus Beyond Vitamin C

The following was found on the Internet.  If interested in reading more, check the site at Ask the Dietitian

Does cooking destroy vitamin C?

Vitamin C is the most easily destroyed vitamin there is. It is destroyed by oxygen, heat (above 70 degrees) and it leaks out into the cooking water because it is a water soluble vitamin.

To preserve vitamin C in food, store citrus fruits, tomatoes, juices, broccoli, green peppers, cantaloupe and strawberries in the refrigerator uncut until you need them. Prepare dishes with these foods right before serving. Also, cut these foods in larger pieces to prevent the air from destroying vitamin C. Cook these foods in as little water and as short a time as possible. Steaming and stir-frying are two methods that help conserve vitamin C content.

As long as the skin is uncut, the vitamin C is protected from air. If you store a cut fruit or vegetable or an open pitcher of juice, cover it tightly with plastic and put it in the refrigerator.

Vitamin C dissolves in cooking water so serve the food with the cooking water if possible. You can save the water from vegetables like potatoes and broccoli for making soup. Or mash potatoes with some of the potato water.

Also, cast iron pans destroy vitamin C. Don't use them in cooking vitamin C rich vegetables like tomatoes for spaghetti sauce.

Add vitamin C rich foods to casseroles. As they cook, less vitamin C will be lost.

Vitamin C can be completely lost if foods are frozen for longer than two months. Keep your freezer at 0 to -10 degrees to minimize this vitamin C loss in juices and vegetables.

Orange juice is frequently bought as a frozen concentrate. Frozen, reconstituted orange juice has 78% and canned orange juice has 69% of the vitamin C found in fresh squeezed orange juice. Vitamin C is destroyed during the condensing process, but canning is even harder on vitamin C. It appears that fresh squeezed orange juice is better than either frozen concentrate or canned, but remember that the highest Recommended Dietary Allowances for vitamin C is 60 milligrams and all three forms, fresh, frozen and canned provide more than the RDA of vitamin C in 2/3 cup of orange juice.

		Sonia Martinez, Gather Food Correspondent
	Sonia's column, 'Tropical Taste' is a regular twice-monthly feature of Gather Essentials: Food. Sonia is a cookbook author and freelance food writer for several publications in Hawaii, and is also a Hawaii Island Journal restaurant reviewer in partnership with her son Anthony Mathis.  She lives in a beautiful rural rainforest area on the Big Island of Hawaii. You can keep up with Sonia's adventures and ongoing love affair with Hawaii by joining her network, or visiting her food & garden blog at Sonia Tastes Hawaii.