Sour oranges: best cocktail citrus ever!

[cdh]

If economic theory is right and scarcity is the root of value, I've gotten my hands on the most valuable cocktail fundamental out there: sour oranges!

These things are the ideal cocktail citrus. They are powerfully aromatic; so much so that just a whiff of the plastic bag they're stored in is intoxicating. They are acidic, yet not overpoweringly so like so many supermarket lemons and limes... they have a balance between their distinctive flavor and their acid content, and thus don't require so heavy a hand with the simple syrup or triple sec or other sweet component in the cocktail mix. They are sour enough to substitute 1:1 for lemons or limes in recipes that call for them, and yields a lovely variant. Much more interesting than the often recommended substitute for them... OJ with a squeeze of lime just ain't the same stuff. They must be chock full of pectin or some other body-enhancing compound, as they give a luscious mouthfeel to everything they go into... and if you were to squeeze one into a glass of water, the seeds and such left over at the bottom of the glass after you finish drinking it down will set up in a gel of some variety that turns into glue if you leave it in the bottom of the glass overnight.

Pity is that they are so infrequently stocked in any of the places I shop. They have only appeared in stores in close proximity to latino neighborhoods, and latino neighborhoods are few and far between in my corner of the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside. I will grant that they're ugly little suckers, and full of seeds and unlikely to visually appeal to the average American grocery shopper... but they are so good...

So, if you have the chance to try them in a daiquiri, or margarita recipe, I'd highly recommend it. If enough people discover how good they are, then that other economic theory should take hold, and the demand will be supplied... hopefully.