As the nights get longer and the mornings are crisper than you remember, it all points to one thing, citrus season!
Born in the blistering heat of summer, matured over the lush autumn months and then sweetened during the first frosts, citrus are a winter miracle.
Like everything at Your Food Collective the citrus growers we connect you with ripen their fruit on the tree. This means it’s naturally much sweeter and has a fuller flavour. Local counts when it comes to loving citrus!
Here are our favourite picks for this winters citrus.
Mandarins
Probably the favourite of all citrus for packing into lunch boxes and eating on the go. Mandarins are small, sweet easy to peel. They need the frost to sweeten so you wont start to see them until well into May or even June if its been a warm year. High in vitamin C and A, Mandarins are great for preventing colds. If you’re feeling creative try drying the skin and using it in a tea or dipping it in dark chocolate as the prefect aperitif.
Where lucky enough to have oranges all year round but for most of us the summer Valencia’s pale in comparison to the sweet winter Navels. Navels are a darker orange colour and have smaller, sweeter segments of flesh than the summer Valencia’s. Their season starts in mid May and will go through until November. The perfect half time snack!
Blood Oranges
A real winter treat! Blood oranges are the last of the citrus to ripen and are usually only around for a few weeks. They’re a beautiful fruit for eating, juicing or cooking with. Enjoy them whilst you can.
In a drink, on avocado or in a slow cooked roast. Lemons are a kitchen staple. As with the other citrus winter is when they come into their own. Enjoy the harvest whilst you can otherwise there are some super easy preserving techniques that mean you can love lemons all winter long.
According to Trevor from Mumble Peg Citrus it’s another great year for local crops. The drought means that the fruit is generally sweeter than usual, but with a few more blemishes. It’s the age old story, don’t judge a book by it’s cover, or in this case an orange by it’s peel!
Support your local citrus growers this season at Your Food Collective, it feels better, tastes better and is actually better for you (especially if you eat the pith!!). See you down at one of our local hubs!
And for your next trivia night, fun facts about citrus....
- Citrus originated in South East Asia
- The Australian Lemon industry has grown 800% over the past 6 years! That’s a lot of lemons!!
- Christopher Columbus introduced citrus to the Americas in 1493.
- Citrus fruits are so high in antioxidants they are said to slow the ageing process.
- Oranges are thought to reduce cholesterol and help your eyesight because of the high fibre content and vitamin A.
- Mandarins are a symbol of Chinese New Year
- Mandarins are thought to be named after Chinese officials who wore orange robes!
- Blood oranges originated in Sicily in the 20th
- The blood orange was typically reserved for royalty!
- The bitter pith of citrus fruits is good for you. If you eat the pith you’ll quadrupole the about of phytonutrients in your foot. That’s enough for me!
