Citrus fruits

1. CITRUS FRUITS


All citrus fruits, which include grapefruits, lemon ,lime, and orange, are
imported, chiefly from the mediterranean countries and south africa.
although citrus fruits are much used in cooking, they are at their best when
served fresh, with the exception of lemon and lime which are too acid. Many
of citrus fruits are also available tinned, some in syrup and some without
any Sweetening ,and the extracted pure juices, particularly of oranges and
grapefruits, are also sold tinned or frozen solid, natural or with added sugar.
As all citrus fruits have a fairly thick skin , it is sometimes difficult to tell
the state of the fruit. In general, all fruits should have bright, taut and
slightly moist skin with a definite aroma.
Citrus fruits store fairly well. Lemons and grapefruit can be kept in the
vegetable box of the refrigerator for 1-2 week, and other types can be
stored in a cool larder for about I week. They must , however , be used
before the skins shrivel. Before cutting or serving the fruits ,they should be
rolled between the plams or on a flat surface to get an even distribution of
juices withen the fruits..
All citrus fruits are rich in vitamin c .vitamin c is still essential to health
because it prevents scurvy, and eating citrus fruits or drinking there is most
pleasant way of ensuring that the body has enough of this vitamin
Members of the large citrus group include the lemon, lime, orange,
tangerine and grapefruit as well as more exotic fruits such as the ugli fruit,
shaddock, citron and kumquat and hybrids such as the clementine, tangelo,
ortanique and limequat. With their aromatic acidity, citrus fruits are used in
soups, savoury stews and salads and often form the main flavour in desserts
such as souffles and mousses. Invaluable as decoration, their vivid colours
complement almost all foods.citrus fruits are covered in a thick rind, mainly
white pith (called the albedo), which has a thin colourful outer layer of zest
or rind, where citrus oil and most of the vitamins are concentrated. Tropical
yellow and orange citrus varieties usually remain green even when ripe,
turning bright yellow or orange when treated with ethylene gas

the most versatile member of the citrus family must be the lemon,
whose cultivation goes back atleast 2,000 years. It is grown extensively in
the U.S. and Italy, and other large producers include Greece, Spain,

2. Argentina and Chile. There are two main types of lemon. The common or
acid lemon seen in most markets has relatively few pips and maybe small
with a smooth thin skin, and valued for juice, or large with a thicker, rough
skin preferred for its peel. The other type, the sweet lemon, is grown mostly
as a novelty. A good lemon is heavy for its size and perceptible smell.
Lemons have many uses in cooking: a squeeze of fresh
lemon juice enlivens many savoury dishes and particularly sweet
dishes, such as American lemon meringue or lemon chiffon pie,
French lemon mousse , British lemon jelly, or Italian lemon tart. In
Britain, breador scones are often served with lemon curd, a thick
paste of lemon, butter, sugar and egg yolks. It often takes place of
vinegar in vinaigrette and marinades and can "cook" thinly sliced raw
meat or fish, as in Latin American Seviche. Lemons may also be
preserved in salt or pickled to serve as a condiment, while their
sourness is a useful substitute for salt in special dishes. Lemon is also
used in cooking to prevent the flesh of fruit or vegetables from
discolouring. Lemon slices are an essential accompaniment for a
seafood platter, most fried food and savoury fritters, and many dish
coated in breadcrumbs. They are also necessary ingredient of lemon
tea. Preserved lemons are widely used for flavouring fish and meat in
North African cookery. Lemon is included in jams, compotes, lemon
curd and chutneys. Lemon extract or flavouring is used in
confectionery and in wines and spirits. It also flavours certain
aromatic teas.
Bright green limes are also full of sour juice and are
prepared and treated in the same way as lemons. Tahitian varieties
have a thick skin and juicy pulp, while sour Mexican varieties are
smaller with a thin, smooth skin and yellowish colour. Americans
enliven their melon with lime, while in the tropics a squeeze of lime is
mandatory with papaya and guava and in Asia fresh lime juice is
often added to curries, pairing well with hot pepper. In Mexico, limes
are often used in place of lemon with cold seafood and fruit salads, as
well as in guacamole. Lime juice is used extensively in desserts,
especially those with cream.
Lime and lemon?
Lime is smaller, more fragrant, and juicier than the
lemon. The lime is cultivated in tropical countries, including the Ivory

3. Coast, Brazil, and the West Indies, and is often used in Caribbean and
Brazilian dishes, particularly fish or meat stews, marinated chicken,
jams, sorbets, punches and cocktails. The zest is used like lemon zest
and will keep for a long time steeped in castor(superfine) sugar or
rum.



ORANGES:
Through the centuries, orange trees have been symbols
of opulence, and their fruit has become one of the most important of
all fruit crops. The bitter orange, also called the sour, Bigarade or
Seville orange, is believed to be the common ancestor and was the
standard orange until the early nineteenth century. Sweet oranges
can be divided into three types. The common orange, used for juice, is
a medium sized heavy fruit, with a fine grained skin. It is often known
by varietal names such as Jaffa from Israel, and Valencia, which is
grown in Florida, California, Latin America, South Africa, Europe,
Australia but not, Spain.
Navel oranges are characterized by a navel- like
depression enclosing a small internal embryonic fruit. They are
seedless and appear from the end of October. THOMSONS, with a
very fine smooth shiny skin, have highly coloured fibrous pulp, not
very sour and moderately juicy but with a good flavour.
WASHINGTONS, with a firm rough skin, are juicy and slightly sour.
Navel oranges are mainly grown in Italy and have a particularly rich
flavour, reminiscent of berries. Another variety, the aromatic
pineapple orange, is full of pips and is commercially used for juice.
Blondes are winter oranges, with pale flesh, coming
mostly from Israel(Jaffas). Shamoutis, quite large and with a thick

4. skin and seeds, have crisp well flavoured juicy pulp. Salustianas,
seedless and with grainy peel, are very juicy.
Blood Oranges have a dark red pulp and the skin may be
veined with dark red. They are available from December to April. The
Maltese orange, with seeds, is sour, very juicy, and has an
exceptionally good flavour. Moro oranges, with a rough skin, are very
juicy Late oranges have pale flesh, few seeds, and come mainly from
Spain and the southern hemisphere. Valencia oranges, with or
without seeds, have smooth firm skins and are very sharp and juicy.
Oranges are widely used in desserts, patisserie, and
confectionery, for fruit salads, mousses, dessert creams, jams and
marmalades, frosted fruit, ices and sorbets, fritters, soufflés, filled
sponges(orangine), and biscuits(cookies). The candied peel is also
used in numerous desserts and cakes, either as an ingredient or as a
decoration. Oranges form the basis of an equally large range of
drinks: syrups, sodas, juice, orangeade, punches, liqueurs and fruit
wines.




MANDARINS:

Mandarins are small, slightly flat, loose skinned oranges
with a sweet taste. Perhaps the best known mandarin is the
tangerine. The Japanese satsuma is a clementine(a bitter orange and
tangerine cross) is bright orange red with a pebbled skin and tangy
sweet flavour.

5. GRAPEFRUITS:
One of the largest citrus fruits is the grapefruit, with a
diameter of upto 6 in./ 15 cm. Grapefruit are either white- fleshed
with a yellow rind or pink fleshed with a pinkish blush to the rind. The
two differ little in taste, which depends more on the presence of pips
than on colour. Fruits with many pips have a pronounced flavour and
are grown for canning, while the milder, pipless varieties are usually
eaten fresh or in salads. Grapefruit juice can be added to fruit jellies
and sorbets, and the flesh suits bitter greens, avocado and fresh
cheese. The ugli fruit resembles a squqshed grapefruit with a mottled
greenish skin but its flesh is surprisingly sweet and juicy, despite its
discouraging name. Usually eaten raw, in the Caribbean it is baked in
its skin then eaten hot with sugar. The grapefruit tree probably
originated in the West Indies but a large percentage of the world's
crop is grown in the southern United States. It is usually served as an
hors d'oeuvre, cut in two, each segment being detached from the skin
with a special saw knife with a curved point. the fruit is also used to
make marmalade and the juice is widely consumed as a fruit drink.


SHADDOCK:
The shaddock( also called pummelo or pomelo) is the
largest citrus, resembling a large grapefruit with coarse, bittersweet
dry flesh with a greenish, yellow or pinkish skin. It was brought from
southeast Asia to the new world by a Captain shaddock in 1696.
Also rarely seen in the markets is the citron, cultivated
for its thick aromatic rind. It is never eaten fresh, but is often used in
marmalade and candied for use in cakes. It is a citrus fruit from China
and similar to the lemon. The fruit is slightly larger than the lemon
and pear shaped.

6. KUMQUAT:
The smallest citrus is the tiny, orange oval kumquat,
which originated in the east but is now grown mainly in Brazil. The
fruit has distinctive sweet sour flavour, the sweetness is especially
evident in the rind and kumquats are usually eaten unpeeled. They
are deliciously fresh, but may also be candied.