Fruit Maven » Maven http://fruitmaven.com Your guide through the wild world of fruit. Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:07:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 10 Ways to Cook with a Tangerine http://fruitmaven.com/2010/02/10-ways-to-cook-with-a-tangerine/ http://fruitmaven.com/2010/02/10-ways-to-cook-with-a-tangerine/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 04:04:39 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=2081 I am seriously in love with tangerines. I know they are all actually mandarins, but for some reason using that word seems pretentious to me, somewhat akin to appositely using the word “apposite” in a sentence outside of language arts class. Anyway, I grew up calling them all tangerines and so it will be. As it turns out the use of the word tangerine appears to be fairly regional anyway. (Sidenote to all soda and pop lovers: I call it all coke. Solves everything.)

Despite this love, I had no idea there were so many tangerines in the world. No. Idea. I have reviewed quite a few mandarins and related hybrids (Page, Satsuma, Kishu, Mandarinquat, Rangpur Lime, Ugli Fruit) and I have tasted a few more that haven’t made it on to the site yet: Clementines, Cuties, Pixies, Honey, Algerian, Shasta (a favorite) and Sunburst. But there are so, so many more. It’s ridiculous. So I thought I would round up some ideas for you (for me really – let’s not kid ourselves). Pretty much all of these can be made with various oranges as well (see Cara Cara, Sanguinello, Moro). Let me know if you have more. As you might imagine, my fridge is full.

tangerine
10 Ways to Cook with a Tangerine
  1. Butter baking dish, sprinkle with tangerine zest and fill with contents from baked pasta recipe (red and/or white sauce). You will be shocked at how delicious this tastes.
  2. Whip some fresh cream. Fold in a bit of fine zest and a tablespoon of rum. Use to top all kinds of desserts or just dip fingers and lick.
  3. Boil a few sliced in half (can add limes, lemons, mandarinquats, whatever citrus you have) with a stick of cinnamon and a bit of fresh ginger. Strain into mug and add honey.  Drink and stay healthy.  (thanks keri)
  4. Mix 1T zest with 1C sugar. Pulse in food processor to blend. Use wherever you use sugar.
  5. Juice one tangerine and mix with equal amount of champagne. Indulge.
  6. Place a small sprig of rosemary and the zest of a tangerine in a food processor and pulverize. Mix with half cup of fine sea salt and spread out on a tray to dry (5 hours+). Pat on to fish, shrimp, beef, pork or chicken. Drizzle with oil and grill.
  7. Add segments to your favorite coleslaw.
  8. Peel tangerine and blend with milk, ice and ice cream (best with a seedless type). Pour into old fashioned mug and grab a straw.
  9. Mix a bit of zest, a squeeze of juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss with fresh cut green beans or asparagus and roast at 425 degrees until tender.
  10. Mix up a batch of chamomile tea. Squeeze in some tangerine juice and pour into popsicle molds or an ice cube tray with tooth picks. Freeze and enjoy. Turn up the heat, throw on some shorts and pretend it’s summer.

You might also be interested in: 10 Ways to Cook With a Lime

]]> http://fruitmaven.com/2010/02/10-ways-to-cook-with-a-tangerine/feed/ 1 10 Ways to Cook With a Lime http://fruitmaven.com/2010/02/10-ways-to-cook-with-a-lime/ http://fruitmaven.com/2010/02/10-ways-to-cook-with-a-lime/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:09:43 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=1857 In my world, where I am regularly tasting fruit I’ve never seen before and may or may not know how to pronounce (I’m talking to you Carambola and Rambutan), sometimes I can get bored with the simple pleasures that are easy to access. Limes are one of those basic fruits that I tend to take for granted. Additionally, I find myself with all different varieties and no idea what to do with them. A girl can only drink so many margaritas! So I’ve been branching out. The following list of ideas is geared toward the basic lime, but try them with any of the various limes available and see what you get. You never know.

Bears Lime
Rangpur Limes Limequat Green Seedless Australian Fingerlime
BEARSS LIME & PERSIAN LIME

Basic acidic grocery store limes
KEY LIME

Slightly floral and more acidic than Bearss limes
MEXICAN LIME

Great lime flavor, slightly less acidic
KAFFIR LIME

Extremely floral and exotic, not as juicy
SWEET LIME

Mellow lime flavor, no acidity
RANGPUR LIME

Lime with a hint of tangerine
CALAMANSI LIME

More like a sour orange than a true lime
LIMEQUAT

Extremely astringent, but with a sweet edible peel
AUSTRALIAN FINGERLIME

Sour, crunchy little balls of juice
10 Ways to Cook with a Lime
  1. Squeeze juice onto salted, buttered corn-on-the-cob.
  2. Blend zest with cilantro, garlic, salt and olive oil. Mix into freshly cooked white rice.
  3. Mix juice and zest with chives and stir into softened butter.
  4. Cut in half and squeeze over fresh cut papaya or mango.
  5. Saute shrimp, lime, salt, pepper, and a few chopped onions in a skillet.
  6. Mix juice with an equal amount of triple sec and tequila.
  7. Toss some zest in to shortbread cookie dough before baking.
  8. Make vinaigratte by mixing lime juice with equal part honey, double amount of olive oil and a bit of chopped cilantro.
  9. Sprinkle juice over avocado to prevent discoloring. Mash with garlic and salt for a simple guacamole.
  10. Mix with sugar water – limeade!
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