Particularly as you are craving a recent, just-squeezed glass of orange juice, you may ask your self, “When is citrus in season?” Usually, winter is prime time for citrus fruits, though varieties are grown all year long primarily based on location and local weather.
Whether or not to savor the winter citrus harvest in California, or to know extra about this class of fruits, we have put collectively a information to frequent varieties, protecting many grown at Frog Hole Farm and by our farm companions:
What’s a Citrus Fruit?
Irrespective of when or the place it is grown, citrus fruits stand upon a handful of key traits. All of them have a thick, considerably pithy rind designed to be peeled off and that may be zested for its oils, which add taste to sauces, desserts and different dishes. Rinds even have fragrant properties and subsequently get used for extracts.
Peeling the rind offers technique to a pulpy, juicy heart that divides into smaller segments. You possibly can eat the segments as is, puree them or juice them.
When it comes to taste and dietary qualities, the flesh itself spans a spectrum from sharp and tart to candy and honey like.
Behind this vary and the a whole bunch of sorts on the market, citrus fruits originated in South and East Asia, maybe introduced over initially from Australia and Oceania. In the present day’s fruits might be traced again to the cross-breeding between the citron – a tangy, pith-heavy fruit – and the mandarin and pomelo.
In all instances, citrus fruits ship a mix of the next advantages:
Excessive quantities of vitamin C.
Antioxidant properties identified for his or her anti-inflammatory results which will cut back most cancers dangers and enhance metabolic and immune system well being.
Low quantities of sugar.
Forms of Citrus Fruits
In the US, the commonest varieties of winter citrus and different varieties embrace:
Oranges
Oranges embody an unlimited spectrum of roughly 400 subtypes. Style clever, they cowl an equally broad array – starting from tart to honey candy. For orange packing containers from Frog Hole Farm, a few of seasonal varieties you may spot embrace:
Navel oranges:Navel oranges are broadly eaten in the US, in addition to different elements of the world. These are characterised by an indent on one finish, a thicker rind, an total firmer really feel and an acidic-leaning style. Navels, too, even have their very own spectrum, with cara caras being sweeter than different varieties on the market.
Blood oranges: You may acknowledge this orange from its deep purple flesh and sweeter, richer, berry-like style. Blood oranges are inclined to have the next polyphenol content material in comparison with different varieties.
Mandarin oranges: Mandarins are a sweeter orange with a less-acidic style and better juice content material. Satsumas take these traits up a stage, amping up the sweetness issue.
Clementines:Clementines seem much like mandarins – in reality, many ceaselessly confuse the 2 attributable to their smaller dimension. But, clementines are a kind of smaller, easy-to-peel and sweeter tangerine and haven’t any bitter notes.
Kumquats:Kumquats additionally fall throughout the spectrum of the orange household. They’ve a extra intense, tart taste and are additionally identified for an edible peel. You, in flip, can eat them entire, peel and all, or puree them entire.
Tangerines:Tangerines are a smaller orange with a visually brighter exterior, looser peel and honey-like to tart style. Whereas they, too, are a winter citrus, their rising season extends into spring.
Valencia oranges:Valencia oranges are identified for thinner skins and juicy fruit with extra seeds. Usually, this orange originating in Spain is most popular for orange juice.
Minneola:Minneolas stability acidic, tangy and aromatic notes, in the end bringing collectively attributes of grapefruits and tangerines.
Different varieties: Much less frequent in the US are Seville oranges – used for alcoholic drinks like triple sec for its bitter taste – and Bergamot, sometimes grown in Italy and wanted for its flavor-intense oil, which is usually added to Earl Gray tea. We develop each varieties and use them for our extremely coveted limited-production Seville orange marmalade and Bergamot orange marmalade.
Lemons
Lemons are a brilliant yellow, acidic fruit identified for a tart taste.
In the US, the Eureka and Lisbon varieties are probably the most commercially out there: Whereas they style comparable to one another, the previous options thicker pores and skin, and the latter has a thinner, easier-to-peel rind.
Outdoors of those two primarily used for his or her juice and oil, Meyer lemons go in a sweeter path. This selection is probably going a cross between a conventional lemon and a mandarin, leading to a smaller, milder-tasting fruit with a smoother peel and floral notes. Resulting from these components, Meyer lemons are perfect for baking – in reality, Chef Becky turns to them to make Frog Hole Farm’s signature Meyer Lemon Cake!
Limes
Limes stand out with their thinner, green-colored peel. Whereas sizes and shapes range internationally, probably the most generally discovered is the Persian lime, which is medium sized, typically seedless, partially acidic and best for juicing attributable to its tender flesh.
Grapefruit
Much like oranges, grapefruits run alongside a bitter and acidic to candy spectrum. Mentioned to be a hybrid between a pomelo and a candy orange, they’re identified for a thicker pores and skin and a fleshy inside starting from whitish-yellow to pink or darkish purple. When it comes to commercially out there citrus, they’re one of many bigger varieties.
Grapefruits embody the next varieties:
Pink grapefruit: That is probably the most broadly out there in the US and is thought for a sweet-tart taste.
Ruby purple grapefruit: Purple grapefruits, like our Rio reds and Star ruby grapefruits, lean within the sweeter path whereas visually having a darker peel and flesh. They’re mentioned to be an offshoot of pink grapefruits.
White grapefruits: These are probably the most bitter and tart and have a tendency so as to add a puckering impact to alcoholic drinks, desserts and savory dishes.
Different Forms of Citrus Fruits
Outdoors of those extra broadly seen varieties, different citrus fruits you might encounter embrace:
Pomelo: Additionally known as a Pamplemousse, pummelo or shaddock, the pomelo is a big, melon-shaped citrus with a thick rind, few seeds and candy flesh. They’re extra frequent in East and Southeast Asia than in the US.
Yuzu: We’re seeing better demand within the U.S. for yuzus, a small, lemon-like citrus with a wrinkled exterior and low-acidic taste. A staple of Japanese delicacies and in addition eaten in Korea and China, this citrus provides a mixture of tart taste and floral notes, irrespective of should you use the peel or the juice.
Citron: One of many authentic citrus fruits, the citron has a thicker, more durable layer of bitter-tasting pith and yellow pores and skin. Inside is a small quantity of flesh with a lemon-like style.
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Discover an expansive array of citrus fruits from Frog Hole Farm and our companions. Browse our choice to order a field at present!
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