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eG Cook-Off #68: Citrus Fruits


David Ross

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I'm starting to put together my plans for my first citrus dish but I need some suggestions.  Does bittersweet chocolate work better with citrus fruits than say dark chocolate?  Or is bittersweet chocolate to harsh against oranges and grapefruits?  Secondly, one of the garnishes is an "orange crisp."  Basically an orange slice coated in sugar and baked in the oven.  The recipe calls for putting the slices directly on parchment paper, but wouldn't that inhibit the underside from "crisping?"  Would it be better to place the orange slices over a fine screen to allow air circulation during baking?

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I'm trying to imagine bittersweet vs. dark chocolate with orange (probably both good) or grapefruit (er, I'm boggling at both) but without chocolate around for experimentation, I'll have to let someone else answer that.

I agree that the orange peel would seem more likely to crisp uniformly on a screen that on parchment paper.

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

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Doesn't look like much yet. It is grapefruit flesh and juice puréed and then honey and vanilla added. The ingredients will get to know one another overnight in the fridge and tomorrow it will be churned into a grapefruit and honey sorbet. At least that is the plan.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

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I'm starting to put together my plans for my first citrus dish but I need some suggestions.  Does bittersweet chocolate work better with citrus fruits than say dark chocolate?  Or is bittersweet chocolate to harsh against oranges and grapefruits?  Secondly, one of the garnishes is an "orange crisp."  Basically an orange slice coated in sugar and baked in the oven.  The recipe calls for putting the slices directly on parchment paper, but wouldn't that inhibit the underside from "crisping?"  Would it be better to place the orange slices over a fine screen to allow air circulation during baking?

 

I thought bittersweet chocolate was a dark chocolate? Am I missing something? Maybe someone can set me straight, because I am no chocolate expert. (I don't love chocolate, to be honest, though it does have its place! I do like it at times!) 

 

I used to use bittersweet chocolate to make dipped candied citrus peels. We have young citrus trees - Cara Cara oranges, ruby red grapefruit and a lovely tangerine for juice, but our trees are not huge. Here is pic of some of the fruit off our trees, though:

 

IMGP3723.JPG

 

Our neighbour has a lemon tree, plus AZ Orange and a few others. She shares, because her trees are huge and prolific. 

 

Last year, she gave me a lot of lemons and oranges. I juiced some of the oranges and froze the juice. I used the peel from some oranges and lemons to make candied citrus peel, and then dipped those in bittersweet chocolate. The leftover syrup from the candied peel was combined with lemon juice and prickly pear nectar to make a lovely rose lemonade 'concentrate', which I also froze. I gifted some of the peel and lemonade back to her, which she appreciated. 

Edited by FauxPas (log)
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I'm starting to put together my plans for my first citrus dish but I need some suggestions.  Does bittersweet chocolate work better with citrus fruits than say dark chocolate?  Or is bittersweet chocolate to harsh against oranges and grapefruits?  Secondly, one of the garnishes is an "orange crisp."  Basically an orange slice coated in sugar and baked in the oven.  The recipe calls for putting the slices directly on parchment paper, but wouldn't that inhibit the underside from "crisping?"  Would it be better to place the orange slices over a fine screen to allow air circulation during baking?

I'm a bit confused by David's use of the terms bittersweet and dark.  Bittersweet chocolate is dark chocolate.  I think.  Or am I wrong?  What percentage of chocolate liquor are you talking about for each of the terms?

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Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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 Hey Darienne,

 

I made the key lime pie from Joy of Cooking one year as dessert for a non-traditional Christmas dinner to go with Maine lobsters.

 

I used the whites to make a meringue to bake on top, and it was very, very good. I just used regular limes, because I've only seen keys around these parts twice in 29 years.

 

If your copy doesn't have this recipe, and you're interested, let me know, and I'll PM you the recipe.

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> ^ . . ^ <

 

 

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I too have been under the (perhaps false) assumption that bittersweet = dark chocolate. Unsweetened baking chocolate, if that is what you mean by dark, wouldn't work well with citrus, I don't think.

 

As to David's second question, I think a screen or rack would allow better air circulation and crisping. I also wonder if the recipe calls for parchment because nothing sticks to it? Does the recipe call for flipping the slices over midway? Sugar, especially hot sugar can be really sticky and might partially or fully melt in the citrus juice and heat. If it were to stick, the sugar could pull away from the slice. This idea sounds really interesting. I'm thinking about cake and dessert garnishes, and just eating them like candy. I hope you'll let us know what you figure out. 

> ^ . . ^ <

 

 

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Does anyone else remember Grapefruit Alaska? It was the rage - the magic dessert - sometime in the late '60's or early '70's in our corner of the world.

1. Cut a good, sweet grapefruit in half and prepare it as you would for eating, with the segments cut from the membrane for easy spooning. Cut a bit off the base of each half so it will sit level on a baking pan, and put the halves cut face up on the baking sheet.

2. Put a scoop of ice cream at the center of each half, on the citrus flesh.

3. Cover the ice cream and exposed grapefruit flesh with meringue. Cover it thoroughly; there must be no breaks in the coverage.

4. Bake (or was it broil? probably bake) until the meringue is browned.

5. Serve with spoons. Wait for the gasps of surprise at the icy-cold ice cream inside the hot, browned cap of meringue.

My mother did this with vanilla ice cream, since it was the standard in our house. I wasn't crazy about the combination of grapefruit and vanilla ice cream, but it wasn't bad; if I were to try this now, I think I'd try something like cardamom seasoning in the ice cream,or perhaps I'd try a complementary sherbet instead. What was fun about it was that the meringue insulated the ice cream so there was a nicely browned meringue top (as one would find over a lemon meringue pie) with a cold ice cream and that luscious grapefruit underneath. Physics in action. Cool, man.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
HosteG Forumsnsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

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I've never had Key Lime pie.  I guess I could do that one here in Utah.  We have two luncheons lined up for this week and that could be the excuse needed...if they have Key Limes in the grocery store (not noted for exotic produce).

 

 

ps. Since posting this I have found a number of Key Lime pie recipe which differ quite a bit from each other.  Can someone lead me to their favorite recipe??

 

I use the Eagle Brand recipe which is simplicity itself:  http://www.eaglebrand.ca/recipes-details.aspx?rid=4251

 

Usually add more lime juice (whatever limes the supermarket has on offer) and definitely add zest from a couple of limes. Taste the mixture before filling the crust to see if it's zingy enough.  Sometimes I'll use a couple whole eggs instead of just the yolks.    I also slightly pre-bake the graham crust, which upon final baking develops a caramel taste which I adore.  And, of course, real whipped cream.  It's a very forgiving recipe! 

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The grapefruit-honey sorbet churned and served as suggested with some crystallized ginger. I don't think this worked as well as it might have. Perhaps a more flavorful honey would work better. It was hard to detect much beyond very cold grapefruit! Another serving suggestion is with blackberries. I am almost tempted to try it with some honey drizzled over it.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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That sounds really good (and FUN) Smithy.  Would a recipe for pavlova work for the meringue?

I don't know. Doesn't pavlova get hard and crunchy? What would happen when you broke through it to the ice cream below?

I think you need to try it and report back, Shelby. :-)

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
HosteG Forumsnsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

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I use the Eagle Brand recipe which is simplicity itself:  http://www.eaglebrand.ca/recipes-details.aspx?rid=4251

 

Usually add more lime juice (whatever limes the supermarket has on offer) and definitely add zest from a couple of limes. Taste the mixture before filling the crust to see if it's zingy enough.  Sometimes I'll use a couple whole eggs instead of just the yolks.    I also slightly pre-bake the graham crust, which upon final baking develops a caramel taste which I adore.  And, of course, real whipped cream.  It's a very forgiving recipe!

That is the recipe I use too and it goes over well with my family.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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I don't know. Doesn't pavlova get hard and crunchy? What would happen when you broke through it to the ice cream below?

I think you need to try it and report back, Shelby. :-)

Yeah, it gets hard on the outside.  It's a bit softer in the middle....I think it would work.    Now I need to get some grapefruit.

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Good times all around.  Ed is cooking his salmon recipe Tuesday for local friends and the hostess is making a Key Lime Pie.  She is from Florida, amongst other places, and it's one of her specialties.   Thanks for the information.

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Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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I should have gotten photos of the packages of chocolate I found.  And let me start by saying I'm obvious a chocolate novice.  One of the packages said "Bittersweet" and others said "Dark" or "Milk" and so on.  That's what peaked my interest as to the flavor differences with bittersweet.  I've tasted what I was told was bittersweet chocolate and I thought it would be a good possibility with citrus fruits.  I'm doing a sweet pastry tart shell with a lemon filling then garnished with different candied citrus fruit peels.  I thought a chocolate sauce would work well with it.

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I should have gotten photos of the packages of chocolate I found.  And let me start by saying I'm obvious a chocolate novice.  One of the packages said "Bittersweet" and others said "Dark" or "Milk" and so on.  That's what peaked my interest as to the flavor differences with bittersweet.  I've tasted what I was told was bittersweet chocolate and I thought it would be a good possibility with citrus fruits.  I'm doing a sweet pastry tart shell with a lemon filling then garnished with different candied citrus fruit peels.  I thought a chocolate sauce would work well with it.

No need to explain.  I remember the first time I saw the word 'ganache'.  I had no idea what it meant.  We learn....

 

Bittersweet chocolate with lemon.  Yes.  I make a lemon cheesecake pie and then put a bittersweet chocolate ganache on top of it.  Very delicious.  Citrus and chocolate.  Yes. Always.

Mind you, I don't know about grapefruit.  I've never tried it.  But lemons, limes and all kinds of oranges.  Most definitely yes! :wub: :wub:

Edited by Darienne (log)
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Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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Very interesting citrus sweets, everyone. CatPoet, your recipes sound wonderful, I'm sorry you can't eat them anymore.  What is clementine chicken?

 

I like citrus in savory salads. This classic was my lunch today.  Avocado and grapefruit.  On simple greens with a sherry vinaigrette, lots of minced shallots.  If you ever find yourself with some extra cooked lump crab meat, toss it with a bit of the grapefruit juice, and heap it in the middle before drizzling with the vinaigrette.  No such luxury for me today. just some good onion focaccia.

 

IMG_0590.JPG

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Thanks everyone.  We are certainly off to a great start and I love all of the suggestions, combinations of flavors and textures that we're discussing.  I for one love to have cooks give me tips on how to enhance my dishes.

 

I'm starting off with a dessert from Alain Ducasse, (I know shudder at the thought I'm taking a stab at a 3-Star Michelin dessert).  "Tartlette au Citron et Agrumes, Chips d'Orange," or Lemon Tartlets with Orange Chips.  The dish is in "The Flavors of France" by Ducasse.   

 

The recipe reads simple enough--a sweet pastry shell encasing a lemon filling and garnished with fresh orange, lime, grapefruit and clementine segments.  The tartelette is crowned by "orange chips," which are paper-thin slices cooked in a simple syrup then baked and dried in the oven.  My only change is to add some type of chocolate sauce. 

 

I'm taking it slow on this one, starting with a practice run at the orange chips.  I'm going to test my contraption of a fine mesh screen over a cookie rack for the orange slices. (I once proposed a similar screen for pizza but the invention company sniffed their noses at my invention). Ducasse calls for laying the slices on parchment, but that doesn't allow for air to breathe underneath so I'm not sure if it is the best method.  (Of course, a 3-Star Pastry Chef has no doubt tried the technique and is laughing at my feeble attempt to do otherwise).  We'll see how I manage. The French have a way of telling you a dish is just a few simple ingredients--then they bring forth the creation of a master. 

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These are the recipes I miss eating since I became intolerant to citrus.

 

A good   chicken salad with  kumquats, walnuts, lettuce and vinaigrette .

 

Roasted  Clementine chicken, the scent is just divine in my  world.

 

A good simple lemon and cream stew with rice.

 

Rum and orange cake, no frosting just the cake.

 

Orange curd and chocolate cake,   the best orange curd home made layered between a dark seductive  chocolate cake with  a good layer of orange curd and  whipped cream all around it.

 

Oh and  a 5 types of citrus salad, in simple syrup and big bowl of  vanilla ice cream..  YUM:

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Thanks everyone.  We are certainly off to a great start and I love all of the suggestions, combinations of flavors and textures that we're discussing.  I for one love to have cooks give me tips on how to enhance my dishes.

 

I'm starting off with a dessert from Alain Ducasse, (I know shudder at the thought I'm taking a stab at a 3-Star Michelin dessert).  "Tartlette au Citron et Agrumes, Chips d'Orange," or Lemon Tartlets with Orange Chips.  The dish is in "The Flavors of France" by Ducasse.   

 

The recipe reads simple enough--a sweet pastry shell encasing a lemon filling and garnished with fresh orange, lime, grapefruit and clementine segments.  The tartelette is crowned by "orange chips," which are paper-thin slices cooked in a simple syrup then baked and dried in the oven.  My only change is to add some type of chocolate sauce. 

 

I'm taking it slow on this one, starting with a practice run at the orange chips.  I'm going to test my contraption of a fine mesh screen over a cookie rack for the orange slices. (I once proposed a similar screen for pizza but the invention company sniffed their noses at my invention). Ducasse calls for laying the slices on parchment, but that doesn't allow for air to breathe underneath so I'm not sure if it is the best method.  (Of course, a 3-Star Pastry Chef has no doubt tried the technique and is laughing at my feeble attempt to do otherwise).  We'll see how I manage. The French have a way of telling you a dish is just a few simple ingredients--then they bring forth the creation of a master.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Thanks for the info.  It will be a challenge for me to "slice the oranges" paper thin as Ducasse directs.  Then we'll proceed with baking and drying the oranges. 

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Today to eat with salmon I made a very classic Sicilian salad: fennel, orange and olives. I only added a few pomegranate seeds for color and some tarragon. Dressed with extra virgin olive oil, a little orange and lemon juice and salt

image.jpg

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Lemon and cream stew is one of these recipes that has  a base sauce but you can change  the meat,  fish cooks the quickest , then chicken and pork take the longest.   I used to make this with left over  roasted chicken and then it was a quick as fish.

 

Lemon and cream stew. 4 servings

 

1½ cups of stock, either chicken, pork, vegetable or  fish.

500 gram of  chicken or  fish or strips of pork or left over roasted chicken

1 tablespoon butter

½ cup cream

1-2 tablespoon lemon juice

( 5 tablespoon of chopped parsley)

1 eggyolk + 2 tablespoon of cream.

Salt  and pepper.

 

Chicken or pork  get browned  while fish does not.  Add the  stock, half the lemon juice  and cream and simmer until the meat is tender.  That is different times for all and I have no clue which since  this is a recipe from a note . Lift out  the meat, strain the broth  through a cloth, measure  should be minimum of 1½ cup or add a bit more cream or water and put the liquid back in the pot and leave it on a gentle  heat. Whisk   cream and egg yolk smooth.   Remove from the pot from the heat and whisk in the egg yolk , whisk until smooth.   Season with salt, pepper and lemon.  If you want to add fresh note to it all, add some chopped parsley, go after you own preference when it comes to that.  

Serve  with rice or potatoes and a salad.

It doesnt fare well  being kept on the heat or re heated after the egg yolk has gone in.

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Cheese is you friend, Cheese will take care of you, Cheese will never betray you, But blue mold will kill me.

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Well, my first attempt at making the Ducasse "orange chips" ended up with some good results, albeit with a few changes to the recipe instructions.

 

So I faced a couple of roadblocks up front. I noticed that in the cookbook photo, Ducasse shows the lemon tartelette garnished with "orange chips" with the peel on.  However, the recipe calls for peeling the orange slices.  The tartelette is also garnished with candied peel, yet the method for making the candied peel is missing from the recipe.  Such are the details one finds missing in cookbooks, even at the Michelin level. I decided to craft both peeled and unpeeled orange chips.

 

To start making the orange chips, you have to slice the oranges "paper-thin."  Aha I thought, my French mandolin will do the trick.  Na-da. The orange slices didn't hold up "paper-thin" when passing through the mandolin blade.  Then I remembered the trusted tool I use for slicing all sorts of things--meats, cheeses and breads--my electric meat cutter.  Now I can add oranges to the list of slicing possibilities--really, really, paper-thin slices of orange.  You aren't pushing the fruit through the blade like on a mandolin, but rather, gently nudging the orange through the electric blade.  A table saw for citrus if you will and it delivers precise slices every time. I found the peeled slices almost too delicate to handle.  The slices with the peel were more sturdy, but I worried the peel and pith would have a bitter flavor.  We would see.

 

The cooking process starts with a simple syrup of 4 parts water to 2 parts sugar.  Bring to the boil and let cook for about 10 minutes until reduced by half.  Now gently tip in the orange slices and take the syrup off the heat.  Steep the orange slices in the syrup for 5 minutes.

IMG_0399.JPG

 

Now this step is really tough, at least it was for me and my stubby fingers.  You have to gently place the orange slices on parchment paper laid over a cookie sheet. (I took your suggestions and did as instructed.  I didn't place the slices on a metal screen).  Fingers didn't work, so I gently nudged each orange slice out of the syrup onto a wide spatula and used the spatula to deliver the slice onto the parchment.

IMG_0406.JPG

 

Bake the slices in a 325 oven about 25 minutes or until they just start to turn caramel.  Turn the oven off and let the slices dry in the oven for one hour.

IMG_0411.JPG

 

OK, they look good, great actually.  Now let's check the texture.   Ugh, orange slices stuck to the parchment.  This step takes as much patience as noodling the slices with a spatula from the syrup to the parchment--it takes delicate care to gently pull each slice from the parchment.  I suppose more time in the oven would have dried the slices to the point where they would have been easier to pull off the parchment, but I didn't want to let something paper thin go too far.  The unpeeled slices were the toughest--same time in the oven as the slices with peel, but still tacky and tough to pull up.  The peel on the other slices acted as sort of the rim around the frame of the orange so they were easy to pull up and more crispy.  Hmm.  Odd science, but I go by touch and flavor.

 

IMG_0412.JPG

 

IMG_0417.JPG

 

Once removed off the parchment, I placed the slices on a cookie rack to dry overnight.  This morning I did a comparison. Visually I think both the peeled and unpeeled slices are worthy of garnishing a Ducasse lemon tartelette.  I like the imperfect shape and all the little nooks and crannies in the orange slices.  The unpeeled slice was chewy, not yet at the "crisp" stage and the flavor was good but not the strong orange flavor I'm looking for.  Too tame.  I feared the peel would make the other slice too bitter, but I remembered that I do love a good candied orange peel.  It was heaven, crispy, crunchy, just a tad bitter, yet sweet and bursting with orange flavor.  The thin layer of peel that had been steeped in syrup, baked and then dried had retained just enough orange oil to deliver flavor that wasn't too bitter.  This will be a fine little garnish for the lemon tartelette and I think go quite well with my chocolate sauce.  I think. 

 

IMG_0416.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

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