January 26, 2013: After I went to this citrus clinic in AZ, I was sort of reluctant to post the entire because my initial Instagrammed pix posted to my personal Facebook elicited the following comments: "You're killing me" and "This makes me want to cry a little" from friends dealing with Seattle's gray winter. I generally try to be sensitive that this might not be the best time to post too many sunny state pix. But if it makes anyone feel any better who might be reading this on a winter day, while this event did have an envy-inducing quantity and variety of citrus, it was POURING rain. So bad that in the hour it took me to drive there, I almost turned back twice.
But every time I almost made a u-turn, I recalled that there was going to be a citrus variety talk and tasting and that kept me driving. The u-pick and site of the clinic is the former University of Arizona citrus research facility, and so I expected there to be a lot of unusual fruits to see. It turned out not to disappoint as this was the spread of citrus we reviewed. Here are some of the highlights of what I learned, some of which might come in handy as you shop winter citrus. And some of which might just appeal to those of you, like me, who are interested in the uncommon.
So when it comes to oranges, there are three basic types to consider in light of what you plan to do with your oranges. Navels are favorites for eating fresh; they are "seedless and easy to peel." But if you juice, you will need to drink the juice right away, as they "contain a compound called limonin, which produces a bitter taste" after a day or so. Cara cara is a popular kind with reddish flesh. Valencia are excellent for juicing, have a high sugar content, but they do not peel or segment easily so are a less optimal choice for eating fresh. The best all-around are the "sweet round" oranges (not pictured) like Diller, Hamlin, Marrs, Pineapple or Trovita.
Grapefruits and pummelos...the common Ruby tasted awfully bitter to me compared to the Rio Red. I am going to look for those going forward. The Sarawak pummelo was really delicious - floral, honey-like and complex. The Oro Blanco is a pummelo-grapefruit hybrid that is quite tasty.
If you are juicing your blood oranges, the Tarocco makes a prettier juice, but for straight eating, I thought the Sanquinelli was more interested and sweeter.
If you are familiar with the "Cuties" brand of satsumas, you might be interested to know that there it's not one variety. The speaker for the display and tasting, Dr. Glenn Wright, a research scientist from the University of Arizona Ag Ctr, said that because the various varieties ripen at different times, the season starts with satsumas, moves to the clementines and then ends with the Murcott.
Here's another marketing trick Dr. Wright told us about: citrus is often put in red bags because it makes paler fruit look more colorful and robust.
Two forms of citron: the Etrog is used as part of the Jewish holiday Sukkot. The Buddha's hand is a pulpless kind, and while Dr. Wright said they are not eaten, I've since seen (and heard from both Artusi bar https://twitter.com/ArtusiBar/status/295327984565497856 and Seattle's Bon Vivant http://twitter.com/bonnevivante/status/295399064927883264) that there are some culinary uses. Artusi says "Shaved paper thin in composed salads, over fish, steamed w clams" and Myra says "use the grated zest in marinades and drinks and dry in salt."
Dr. Wright did not have much positive to say about the Palestine sweet lime - saying it's just sweet without a lot of flavor. Most people who cook Thai food are familiar with Kaffir lime, of which the leaf is the star, rather than the fruit.
Here are some hybrid citrus...Tangelo is tangerine + grapefruit or pummelo. Rangpur is mandarin + lemon. Tangor is tangerine + sweet orange.
A limequat is a key lime + kumquat hybrid.
As mentioned, due to the weather, I'd entertained the idea of turning back during the hour drive out to the farm. In addition to the clinic, I was planning on doing u-pick in the Truman Ranch citrus orchard. I'd beenplanning for weeks in preparation of jarring up some marmalade before I head back to Seattle.
Farmer James Truman, part of a farming family that's been growing citrus since the '30's, wasn't going to open up the u-pick because of the pouring rain and deep mud in the fields. I put on my most pitiful face, said I was from Seattle, used to rain, and had been looking forward to collecting some of his unusual citrus for weeks. He was kind enough to give me the go-ahead.
So I trotted out to the fields, and,indeed got sopping wet and muddy. The challenging part of picking citrus in the rain is that every time you pull down the fruit, you are tipping all the leaves down towards yourself, dumping all their little troughs of collected water right ontoyour head.
But it was worth it! I came home with a large bag full of Sarawak pummelos, bergamot, sour oranges, limequats, and a smattering of kumquats.