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Our food experts, Fran Abdallaoui and Pamela Clark, make the most of citrus, in abundance now.

make the most of in-season citrus fruit and our tips for segmenting an orange

Winter and early spring are peak season for most Australian 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 mid-summer to mid-autumn.

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 Most citrus fruit is waxed to look more appealing. If you plan to use the rind, wash and rub it to remove the 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 The greener the skin, the sweeter the juice in this variety, the best orange for juicing.

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 nine common varieties of mandarin in Australia. For the nicest flavoured rind for cakes, Imperial mandarins are best.

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.