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On Oranges, Lemons and Limes

10/9/2011

6 Comments

 
On oranges, lemons and limes
Citrus fruits can be used in a variety of sweet and savoury dishes
A friend has an assortment of citrus trees that bear such an overwhelming amount of fruit that she feels she has exhausted all possible ideas for utilising the crop, so she asked me to come to the rescue with a few ideas. 

Firstly, being off colour and out of action for a week, I had no appetite and about the only thing I felt I could eat was juicy navel oranges. Fortunately, I had bought a large bag of oranges from the Di Cerbo family at the Capital Region Farmer's Market and also my fruit bowl was stacked with my friend's lemons. Those luscious sweet oranges, fresh lemon tea and the occasional spoonful of honey kept me going and really hit the spot.

Citrus fruits can be used in a variety of moist cakes and piquant desserts. Of course one of the most exquisite orange cakes is the classic flourless Orange and Almond cake. For another sensational and delicious sweet treat, blanch the thinly sliced peel of two oranges twice, in boiling water, then simmer till translucent in a syrup made up of one cup each of water and white sugar.  Drain the slices well and dip into melted cooking chocolate. Refrigerate before serving.

Sprinkle citrus juice over deliciously warm, sugar-coated pancakes or fresh fruit slices. Add the grated zest of lemons or oranges to fruit compote. When juicing citrus fruits, microwave the fruit for 30 seconds on high beforehand and you'll squeeze double the juice.  The juice of lemons and limes can be successfully frozen in ice cube trays and the grated zest also freezes well. Use lemon juice and zest in jam making. It will increase the pectin content and help the jam set.  Add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice to salad dressings, savoury dips and sauces. Steam an assortment of colourful vegetables till crisply tender, sprinkle with lemon juice and a little melted butter just prior to serving.

Exotic, enhancing—a splash of lime juice adds a fresh dimension, lovely scent and piquant flavour to all sorts of food and drink. A little lime juice sprinkled over fruits, such as pawpaw or banana for instance, will intensify the flavour of the fruit. As a healthy bonus, the juice of limes can be used in place of salt to bring out the flavour in vegetables, meat and fish. Lime zest is also excellent for flavouring and should be grated before slicing the fruit. Limes are a citrus fruit related to oranges, lemons, mandarins and grapefruit. The fruit is similar to lemon—although limes are more fragrant and more acidic than lemons—and can often be substituted in recipes where lemons are listed.  

The tangy flavours of citrus also marry nicely with meat, fish and poultry dishes. For a delicious difference, brush a little olive oil and lemon juice over lamb or pork cutlets before grilling. My favourite veal dish is veal cutlets marinated in lime juice and black pepper and then grilled to tender perfection. See below for the recipe.  

VEAL WITH LIME AND PEPPER
This recipe is inspired by incredibly tender veal tasted courtesy of the McKenzies of Clelands Veal, Mount Compass, during a trip to South Australia for Tasting Australia.

4-6 veal cutlets
juice of one or two limes
freshly cracked black pepper
good olive oil

Trim any fat from the cutlets.  Brush cutlets with a little lime juice and olive oil.  Sprinkle both sides liberally with pepper.  Cook in a hot, lightly oiled grill pan until well browned on one side.  Turn and brush with a little more lime juice and oil.  Cook until done to your liking.  Baste with lime juice during cooking.  Serves 2.


Orange juicer - vintage
Sprinkle citrus juice over warm, sugar-coated pancakes or fresh fruit slices
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6 Comments
Erin@TheFoodMentalist link
11/9/2011 10:22:27 pm

Citrus fruits are just divine! I have been trying to decide on a miniature citrus tree for our yard and I can't decide between a lemon or lime. Hmmm.
Hope you are feeling much better, it's awful being sick :(

Reply
Lizzy
12/9/2011 12:00:21 am

Go both, you can buy miniature citrus trees! Thanks for the feedback ( :

Reply
Susan link
28/9/2011 02:09:46 am

Great textures captured in B/W. Love that old-fashioned glass hand juicer. Thanks, Liz, for your BWW photo!

Reply
Lizzy (Good Things)
28/9/2011 11:54:29 pm

Susan, thank you. That 'old fashioned' glass hand juicer belonged to my mother when she was alive. It is a piece I treasure! Keep up the great work with B&W Wed!!!

Reply
kathryn link
9/10/2011 11:25:21 am

I've had an over-abundance of limes this year as we moved into a house with a well established tree. It's been wonderful, but also quite an interesting challenge to use up the fruit. Here's what I've done.

I've given quite a lot away, to friends and swapped them with other people for fruit and vegies from their gardens. I also swapped a marmalade-making sized batch with my mum for 2 jars of her home-made jam.

I made several batches of preserved limes, like the Middle Eastern preserved lemons, and also some Indian lime pickle which is utterly delicious. Plus I've made lime marmalade.

I've been making quite a lot of soups recently and have been serving them with a squeeze of lime juice. I've also been putting it into dressings and cakes.

Plus I've simply frozen a whole load. Cut in half and placed in freezer bags. I'm not sure if they'll juice properly when they come out the freezer, but at the very least I'll be able to use them in summer drinks and cocktails.

Oh yes and I like your new profile picture.

Reply
Lizzy (good things)
9/10/2011 11:38:00 am

Kathryn, thank you for your note, lovely to hear from you. I'm envious of your over abundance of limes and would have loved to barter with you if I lived closer! Perhaps I could have shared my cauliflower with you! The lime marmalade and lime pickle sound positively delicious. Great idea about freezing the excess too. Do please let me know how they turn out. Oh, and thank you for the compliment ( :

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