Enjoying Citrus

[janeadams]

One of the things I fell in love with vacationing in Maui in the 90's was Big Island oranges. We rarely found them in the stores in the Bay Area, though we started to frequently seeing apple bananas.

Long story short, we've been here in Puna since 2004, and just about the first thing we did was plant lots of citrus! Now on to use..

Oranges squeeze easily for juice, and we also cut them up fresh by removing the skin (they don't peel easily.) Chop into bite sized pieces for good munching. Very easy prep and enjoyment. Same goes for Tangors, Grapefruit (we have a great Ruby that is becoming heavily set with fruit... again!), Tangelos, and tangerines (they do make awesome juice).

Now the tough stuff.... proportions of lemons or limes for Ades. How much sugar, how much juice, and how much water suits you?. We recently purchased one each of the new Tropicana lemonade and limeades. What complicates these fruits is their intensity and acidity of flavor. We have a Mayer Lemon that is a good bearer, and very mild in acid but great in flavor. I used:
1 1/3 cup of straight juice
2 1/2 cups of water
1/3 cup sugar dissolved in another 1/2 cup water.
Keep in mind that commercial juices typically contain 10 or 20% juice.
It turned out great, but I suspect other would find it too lemoney!

We have a good sized Tahitian Lime tree that produces its heart out all the time -- literally!

So, apply your creativity to this puzzle. I'd love to see your creativity that has come up on other food topics! Come on -- I know you like to eat! If you know any other cool things to do with Puna's best crop (right after bananas).

Jane

[Carey]

Jane, we share a Rangpur with our neighbor (trunk on their side some branches on ours ;~) That is a very juicy, very acid, bright orange fleshed citrus (I think 'lime' but not like any lime either)

We make ade with it, but leave it on the pucker tart side, and figure sugar can be added to taste.... here is the really interesting fact, if we add regular yellow lilikoi juice to the ade, it seems to need less sugar....I usually make 2-3 gallon batches, & always just dump in till it is 'right' first mixing the rangpur juice with sugar until the few sliver sized seed float & can be spooned away, then adding water till the color intensity & pucker is "right" (measuring seems far to formal!)

I have been having some fun with Bilimbi, my current fav is to take the crispy ones & make bread & butter pickles (has a very slight lemony to the 'normal' bread & butter sweetness....)

We have a friend that has a Meyer lime in Puueo.... every good thing about the Meyer lemon, but with large juicy bright green flesh....someday I want one (now to find out WHERE!)

[csgray]

My favorite commercial limeade is the Simply Natural brand, they have the perfect balance of sweet and sour for my palate, especially with 2 shots of tequila. While visiting my daughter in Mexico I discovered tequila con fresca, which is tequila with grapefruit soda, waaay to easy to drink on a hot day. I use a lot of fresh lime juice in cooking, especially for marinating, and for dressings.

Carol

[Lee M-S]

I juice a bunch of whatever's ripe, then freeze the juice in ice cube trays. Later, I use them in drinks, salad dressing (in place of vinegar), marinades, and sauces.

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