In season Citrus fruit
Our food experts, Fran Abdallaoui and Pamela Clark, make the most of citrus, which is in abundance now.
Winter and early spring are peak season for most New Zealand citrus fruit: navel oranges, mandarins, tangelos, blood oranges and lemons. Summer is the season for the Valencia orange, while limes are at their best from March through to September.
Use the real deal Don’t be tempted to buy ready-squeezed juice, as it will lack the zing of freshly squeezed juice.
Juicing To maximise the yield of juice, especially from lemons, limes and oranges, roll them on a bench before juicing, applying firm pressure.
Waxed fruit Sometimes citrus fruit is waxed to look more appealing. If you plan to use the rind, wash and rub it to remove any wax.
Grated rind The outer rind (or zest) has the most aroma. Beneath this lies the white pith, which is to be avoided when peeling and grating as it is bitter.
A microplane (a fine super-sharp hand-held grater) is our preferred tool to remove the rind. You can also use the smallest holes on a box grater to ensure you’re removing the rind and not the bitter pith. Use a pastry brush to remove the rind from the box grater.
Valencia orange This is the best orange for juicing and the greener the skin (“regreening” is caused by the reabsorption of chlorophyll after ripening), the sweeter the juice.
Tangelo A tangelo is a cross between a mandarin and a grapefruit. Try substituting it in recipes which have orange, lemon or mandarin in them, for sweetness and tang.
Mandarin There are several varieties of mandarin in New Zealand, with the easy-to-peel, seedless satsumas widely available during winter.
Blood oranges have a distinct crimson colour. Smaller blood oranges are more likely to be red right through. Store them in the fridge – the cold will help develop the internal colour over a couple of weeks. Blood oranges will feel softer than navel oranges.