Cheers to Citrus

I know, I know, I always write about citrus for the winter Enquirer, but it’s been a weird couple of years for all of us, and we seek comfort in what we know and love. I also expect that we’ll all need some extra vitamin C before this winter is out: floods, darkness, the standard doldrums of a Northwest winter, and the still-looming threat posed by the pandemic. A taste of the summer sun past, and a reminder of warm days to come, citrus season always cheers me during the winter. I thought that this year we’d discuss some ways to utilize and extend that cheer.

Holiday citrus display

Firstly, decoration. Credit goes to Karin, our ingenious display and decoration person here at the Co-op. Slice a selection of colorful citrus into rounds—blood oranges, grapefruits, and pink Cara Cara navel oranges—half inch slices using a very sharp knife. Discard the ends. Select the prettiest and most even slices, and put them in your food dehydrator. The resulting dried pieces look like bits of organic stained glass, and can be strung up and hung in windows or saved for next year’s Christmas tree.

Next: candying. Most of us have candied orange peel, but of course, you can use the same method on any citrus. Some good choices are pummelos, Meyer lemons, and Buddha’s hands. Cut the peel from the pith and into ¼ inch wide strips, then boil for a few minutes until tender. Drain, rinse, and drain again. Then bring equal parts sugar and water to a boil. Add the peel and boil until soft, and then drain again. Save the liquid for reasons we’ll get to in a bit. After the peel has cooled and dried a little, toss it with caster sugar (not powdered sugar) and let cool fully on a parchment lined tray. You can dip some of them partially in melted chocolate at this point. Try chopping up some of the non-chocolate dipped ones and adding them to a salad!

I’ve used the same method with kumquats. I’d recommend skipping the first boil, and then just cutting them in half before adding to the syrup. Most of the seeds should end up in the liquid. 

The syrup that’s left over can be used to make a delicious sweet-and-sour mix for midwinter margaritas and whiskey sours. You will use 2 parts simple syrup (half and half sugar and water, brought to a boil) and one part each lemon and lime juice, but why not get creative? Strain the leftover syrup from candying in place of the simple syrup, and then remember to adjust the level of syrup if you add sweeter fruits. After mixing the juice and syrup, bring the mixture to a boil and then refrigerate.

Finally, a word on sectioning citrus. I think most people shy away from it, but sectioning out citrus fruits can be very worthwhile. This is also a great use for the remaining fruit when you candy peels. Using your sharpest paring knife, cut the skin and pith away from the whole fruit, cutting into each section slightly to reveal the fruit beneath. Run your knife carefully into the edge of each section, and cut through both sides to release the segment. Seeds can be easily removed afterwards. You’ll never get quite all of the fruit, but you can squeeze what’s left at the end for the remaining juice. Use immediately for salads and desserts, boil briefly in simple syrup and can, or freeze as you would other fruits: arrange a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze to keep separate, then bag.

I hope this gives you a little inspiration for enjoying the fruits of winter, and spreads the sunshine a little further towards spring. And if the dark months are still getting you down, maybe a margarita will help.