With summer now a distant memory, it’s likely that you’re finding yourself getting bored with apples and bananas. It’s time to venture into the diverse world of citrus to get your fresh-fruit fix! We’ll help you find the best for fresh eating, baking, and marmalades.
Below we’ve broken down the chart you see above, doing our best to explain the taste of each orange and give you a recipe to use it in.
Cara Cara Orange
The pink flesh reminds me of a mini-grapefruit, although they are much sweeter. Still, they land a little bit on the sour side, the cara cara is a very nice orange for snacking on or adding to salads.
Recipe: try this Cara Cara Orange Salmon Lentil Bowl by This Healthy Table
Blood Orange
A vibrant, flavourful orange full of rich antioxidants, and a berry-like undertone in flavour.
Recipe: Try this Blood Orange Champagne Mule by Half Baked Harvest.
Tip: To make a Virgin-version of this drink, add orange juice + Phillip’s Ginger Ale + Healthy Hooch Kombucha (foundation) and chopped blood oranges with a little bit of their juice. Play around with the measurements to find just the right blend for your tastes!
Recipe: Blood Orange Loaf Cake
Satsuma Mandarin Orange
Very sweet, and the loose skin makes them peel very easily, and they don’t have a lot of the stringy white “stuff” to pull off. Perfect for quick snacking! Since they do have loose skin, they don’t hold up too well while traveling- handle with care.
Recipe: Pomegranate & Mandarin Orange Salad by Chelsea’s Messy Apron
Minneola Tangelo
A cross between a tangerine & a grapefruit, minneolas are very easy to peel! Their flavour is sharp and tart, so be sure to combine it with something sweet if juicing.
Recipe: Tangelo Mint Iced Tea
Seville Orange
You can always tell a Seville apart from other oranges, because they look like they’ve all had their own earthquake. The skin looks split and wrinkly, and their flesh is quite bitter and sour. These are not for fresh eating! Seville oranges are best in marmalade – a perfect winter weekend project.
Recipe: Small Batch Marmalade by Food In Jars
Sky Valley Heirloom Navel Orange
Sky Valley Heirloom Navel Oranges are particularly sweet and flavourful! But make sure you look for the ones grown by Sky Valley Ranch in California, as their property is situated on just the right part of a hill that gets the best sunshine…You really can tell the difference between their fruit and any other heirloom navel.
What is an heirloom navel orange?
Heirloom refers to the variety – fruits and veggies all have many varieties, as you can see here, and if the seed or tree is over 50 years old, they’re considered to be an heirloom. They’re often much tastier, although a bit harder to come by because they aren’t ideal for mass production. This means heirloom varieties are usually grown by small-scale farmers or gardeners with more of an interest in their flavour. So if you find them they’re a treat!
Recipe: Citrus Salad inspired by Duck a’Lorange by Lepp Farm Market
Lemon
Slice it up and put in some water, or press it for some lemonade! Lemons aren’t really ever out of season, so it’s more noteworthy to talk about the variety of lemon that IS in season. The Meyer Lemon is rounder than you average lemon and has a deeper yellow skin. The flavour is slightly less acidic with more sweetness – originally it was thought to be a cross between an orange and a lemon. For this reason, Meyers are a great choice for marmalades and baking projects.
Recipe: Meyer Lemon & Ginger Marmalade by Food In Jars & Honey Sweetened Meyer Lemon Curd
Lime
Excellent for Thai cooking, or spritzing onto curry dishes.
Recipe: try these Creamy Lime Pie Bars from Minimalist Baker! They’re gluten-free and dairy-free, if that’s your thing.
Grapefruit
Slice it open, sprinkle with a little bit of sugar and you’ve got yourself an easy breakfast.
Recipe: Mean Green Detox Salad by Half Baked Harvest
Recipe: Grapefruit Gingersnap Pie
