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| CITRUS - Oranges, Lemons, Grapefruit, Limes | ||||||||||||||||
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Oranges
are juicy and delicious and mornings just wouldn't
be the same without them. Fresh squeezed orange juice beets any
packaged juice (though, got to admit, the other is quite convenient!) Juice them for breakfast (if juicing in a
juicer, you can keep the pith on for added vitamins and nutrients - though I
found it a little strong personally), eat them as a snack, supreme them for
salads, zest them use it for a vinaigrette, add it to pancakes or other
baked goods, even smoothies. They are a delicious and sweet addition
to many meals. Use the juice to replace
water in recipes where you want to add some extra flavor. I use
oranges regularly in my vinaigrette with garlic and olive oil. Zest it
to for extra flavor in baking or anywhere you want that nice orange flavor.
The skin contains the real concentrate of flavor and essential oils so use
every part of your orange. Because we use the zest regularly, we use
only organic oranges that won't have the pesticides in the skin. |
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| Blood Oranges are sweet and juicy (and sometimes slightly tart) but it's their color that stands out. It is striking once opened! It can either be completely red inside or orange with deep red streaks. The juice is brilliant and makes quite an unusual mimosa or champagne cocktail! They are less acidic than other oranges. The skin has a red tinge to it and they are great for zesting. The color is from the same antioxidant found in blueberries; they are originally from Sciliy. Use the juice in drinks, salad dressings or viniagretes, sorbet, anywhere you can showcase that color! | ||||||||||||||||
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Pineapple Oranges are | |||||||||||||||
| Arizona Sweet Oranges are | ||||||||||||||||
| Valencia Oranges are some of the juiciest of any orange and just as sweet as the Navel with a thinner rind. The Valencia is a chameleon of sorts, while it turns a beautiful bright orange when ripe, if left on the tree in warm weather, the skin will reabsorb chlorophyll making it "regreen" even though it is still perfectly ripe and delicious inside. (The "regreened" ones are sometimes even sweeter than the beautiful orange ones!) | ||||||||||||||||
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Tangelos are a mix of an grapefruit and a tangerine. That makes them the perfect size (a lot larger than the typical tangerine!), sweet, juicy, easy peel, practically seedless and a deep inviting color! | |||||||||||||||
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Satsuma Mandarin Oranges are commonly found canned so fresh are a real treat! Originally from the orient, they are easy to peel, practically seedless, and sweet. They can be eaten as a snack, added to fruit platters, used in main dishes, desserts, and will help your salad disappear. Try ARUGULA, FENNEL, APPLE, MANDARIN ORANGE, AND POMEGRANATE SALAD, Mandarin Orange Salad with Kiwi, Mandarin Orange Salads like ones with Spinach or Pineapple | |||||||||||||||
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Mandarin Orange Salad With Kiwi 6 cups mixed salad greens 2 kiwi fruits, peeled and sliced 1 11-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained 2-3 thin slices of red onion Rinse the salad greens thoroughly and dry. Arrange greens on 4 individual plates. Scatter the kiwi, mandarin oranges, and red onions attractively on top. Serve with Orange Balsamic Dressing. |
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 Lemons add zest and a clean flavor to almost anything. Use the juice, fresh squeezed is so much better than the bottled stuff, it has a wonderful flavor where as the other, well, lets just say you'd never find that in our home! Zest it to pick up anything from salad dressings to pancake batter, anywhere you want that nice fresh clean taste. The skin contains the real concentrate of flavor and essential oils. Since we use the zest of the lemon regularly, it's quite important to choose an organic lemon that doesn't have pesticides in the skin. Use fresh lemon juice instead of the jarred variety. The flavor difference is enormous and it's easy to have lemons in the house all the time. Lemons were once a highly prized commodity used for trading. They could be used to preserve food, add flavor, heal someone from a venomous bite, used as an antidote for poison, soothe the skin, prevent scruvy, and they were even used to beautify the body (women used them on their lips to make them more colorful). In today's dollars, people would have paid $17 for one lemon! Today we use lemons to disinfect, to clear the air, to preserve, for nutritional value, but mostly as flavoring and to make things taste better and taste cleaner. |
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Meyer Lemons are highly regarded by Gourmets for their juiciness and are prized by pastry chefs for their flavor. They are thought to be a cross between a lemon and an orange and are therefore sweeter than regular lemons. They are round, juicy, vibrant, and have thin skins. Not as acidic as most lemons, they are difficult to find, even conventionally, so I'm quite excited we have organic Meyer Lemons! | |||||||||||||||
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Nutritional
Lemons: Lemons are a great source of B6, iron, potassium.
Rich in antioxidants and pectin, lemons may protect us from free radicals,
prevent heart disease, lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar levels, and act
as an antibacterial in the body. They offer dietary fiber, vitamin C,
calcium, folic acid, manganese, magnesium, zinc and other nutrients. Lemon Storage: Lemons can be stored on your counter as you'll probably use them within a week or two and they are quite decorative and colorful. They add a cheerful mood when grouped together in a bowl. Room temperature lemons yield more juice too. If you need to keep them for 6 weeks, store them in a bag in the crisper drawer. Usage Tips: Zest them and freeze the zest in an airtight bag. Squeeze the juice and freeze it in ice cube trays. Use lemons:
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Grapefruit White, Red, Pink, sweet and tart, grapefruit is a tasty way to start the day! Full of Antioxidants, there actually may be something to that "Grapefruit Diet" that we all tried years ago. Red Grapefruit has more lycopene (color means antioxidants!) for added value. Turns out the grapefruit reduces insulin levels which is so important in our carbohydrate driven society. That allows are body to work more efficiently. So have one at breakfast and know you are set up to have a great day! Grapefruit diet really works, say scientists in US, News Telegraph Effects of grapefruit and grapefruit products on weight and metabolic syndrome. The 228th ACS National Meeting, August 2004 |
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| Nutrition: High in Vitamin C, potassium, and folate. A good source of the phytochemicals limonoids. While eating a whole orange is better for us than the squeezed juice, having a small glass (remember it's quite high in natural sugars), is still a good source of antioxidants that can help inhibit certain types of cancer cell growth. | ||||||||||||||||
