Citrus

Citrus ~ How to cut + cook + eat.

WASH

Citrus is a highly “sprayed” crop.  Buy organic citrus if you can.  Always wash your citrus even though you don’t eat the skin; your knife + your hands touch it, so whatever is on the skin will then be on the edible fruit. 

ZEST 

Zest is the thin outer coloured layer of skin rich with flavinoids and essential oils the fruits flavours.

Scrub the skin before you zest it; many companies will put a wax coating on the fruit to preserve the shelf life.

The easiest way to zest citrus is using a Microplane

PEELS 

Save the peels and dry to flavour teas.  Infuse fresh peels in a big jar of white vinegar to add a citrus scent, and use that infused vinegar for your cleaning products. 

JUICE

Citrus Juice is precious to me. I love it, and I hate to waste a drop, so I use a stainless steel hand juice – of all the hand citrus juicing gadgets on the market, this is the easiest and most efficient and durable, I think.

Electric hand juicers are great when you have many citruses that need a squeeze, or you need to make guacamole for 20 people or need a lot of juice. If your lucky enough that life gifts you a box of lemons, oranges, grapefruits, limes…..and an electric hand juicer is really helpful.

COOK + EAT 

Citrus has a wide variety of flavours & qualities sour, astringent, tangy, zesty, fruity, fresh, acidity, clean.

Use citrus to add acidity to a dish to balance the other flavours.  To add tangy & zest & freshness and to lighten up dense earthy flavours. 

Citrus elements are welcomed on a vast array of cuisines adding both acidity and freshness.  Citrus is a joyful bite to eat and drink independently.