Citrus fruits

Cafe Society
#1

I love most citrus fruits, and I eat several per day as go-to snacks. The only ones I don’t eat raw pretty regularly are lemons and limes, at least of the most commonly available varieties (various oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, mandarins, and similar). By weight, I probably eat the most navel oranges, since they’re the most readily available, but I think I enjoy tangelos and clementines the best.

I eat them all by hand – I’ll peel and eat a grapefruit just as I will a clementine.

What citrus fruits do you like best, and how do you eat them?

#2

I love kumquats. Nature’s SweetTart! Yum! And of course I eat them whole.

#3

I eat oranges, tangerines, and lemons…whole. Rind and all.

I have never been able to figure out a way to eat grapefruit! I love the stuff, but it just isn’t engineered for eating! I can’t just take a bite out of it, and I have no luck at all trying to eat from halves with a spoon, even one of those serrated-edged spoons specifically made for the task.

I need to buy a blender…

#4

Have you tried a serrated grapefruit knife? I use one every morning on my grapefruit half - takes a minute, then the sections lift out cleanly.

#5

It helps to use a knife (even just a butter knife) to separate the sections a bit before you go at them with your spoon.

Del Monte also sells single-serving red grapefuit fruit cups with the fruit already separated into pieces, as well as a citrus mix that has red and yellow grapefruit and orange in it. They are pretty good IMHO and very convenient for taking to work. They are sweetened though (the ones that say “no sugar added” have sucralose), so some people may not like that.

#6

A grapefruit spoon is the perfect tool for the job. It’s a spoon with serrated edges. They cut the fruit but aren’t sharp enough to cut your mouth.

Also good for removing seeds from melon and squash.

#7

Alas, I’ve tried these, and can’t get decent results from 'em. Huge chunks of the fruit just get left behind.

I can’t figure out pomegranates, either, but I love pomegranate juice! Also grapefruit juice. Seriously, I intend to try a whole grapefruit in a blender…

#8

I peel grapefruit like an orange, then eat the segments.

Grapefruit are definitely my favorite citrus, followed by lemon.

Regrettably, I am allergic to oranges (weird, yeah, I know) which puts a lot of juices off limits for me.

I peel the outer rind, then carefully break the interior into chunks, then prise the little nuggets of yum out with my fingers, which invariably get at least a little stained. They are a bit tricky to eat, but good for keeping my hands busy while watching TV.

At my store you can now purchase cups of pomegranate nuggets already separated from the rest of the fruit.

#9

Oranges. Specifically Cara Cara oranges, which have spoiled me forever; I will never buy another variety of navel orange again. They are reliably sweeter, juicier and more flavorful than regular navel oranges, never dry and pithy like every third orange I used to buy.

#10

I love citrus, including grapefruit. I limit grapefruit (statin) but can’t cut it out altogether. Our African Grey loves clementines, and goes bonkers over canned mandarin segments.

I like orange juice so much that instead of a screwdriver, I’ll order a chilled vodka shot with OJ back. Gets a :dubious: from some bartenders.

#11

Although I dearly love California navel oranges, what I like best of all are Sumos. They’re a cross between a navel orange and a mandarin, I believe. They’re fat and have a kind of topknot. They peel easily, are seedless, and pull apart into segments. They’re very sweet and taste like the two fruits which are their parents, only better. Their season is short, though, and should be ending right about now.

I also love a big Texas ruby grapefruit, but haven’t tasted one since I had to go on statin drugs. Grapefruit and Earl Grey tea are no-nos.

#12

I love lemons and limes with salt but my dentist told me I have to quit eating them because they are destroying the enamel on my teeth. I love Clementines as well when they are in season. Oddly enough, I have never liked common oranges, especially Navel oranges. They are in the same category as Red Delicious apples for me. It is like a dumbed down result of some bad genetic engineering.

#13

Have you tried just peeling the grapefruit and eating it segment by segment? That’s how I do it.

#14

I remember the first time I was given a kumquat to eat. “Wait, you’re supposed to eat the rind? Won’t that be bitter? Well, okay…” ::pops fruit into mouth, chews dubiously. Whizz! Bang! Ka-POW! Delighted expression spreads across face as fireworks of pure yummy go off in mouth.::

My father-in-law lives in Polk County, Florida, in the heart of the citrus groves, and whenever we go down to see him, he takes us to the fruit stand of a friend of his. They keep two juice dispensers full of orange and tangerine juice, and you would swear that they’ve added sugar to the juice. It’s unreal.

:confused:
Isn’t a screwdriver vodka and orange juice? Or do you mean you drink the OJ as a chaser?

#15

Blood oranges. Best flavor of all to me. And if you can find gold nugget mandarins you will not be disappointed.

I will pass on any clementines after January. The quality nosedives.

#16

From Bar Terminology

#17

I eat half a grapefruit every morning (using a curved grapefruit knife from the 1950s). Don’t care much for regular oranges, but I love me some Heritage Reserve Navel Oranges. I use lemon quite often in cooking, especially with chicken. Nothing smells as fresh and clean as citrus.

#18

Bergamot, in my tea.

Closely followed by the naartjie (that’s satsuma or tangerine to non-South Africans) and then the navel, although I also like lemons and limes in my drinks.

I like a nice German Renaissance orange salad - sweet orange segments, a squeeze of lemon juice and lots of chiffonaded mint. Goes wonderfully with pork or lamb, cuts the fattiness.

#19

I can’t eat grapefruit anymore because I’m on statins but:

I used to use a regular serrated knife to section the fruit and then use a spoon to empty the entire inside of the fruit into a glass, down to the white, and squeezing as much juice as possible. Then I pour orange juice in the glass and eat it with a spoon. Try it out.

#20

For some very odd and stupid reason, I had thought that wasn’t possible!

You know how, every so often, you get an orange that’s really hard to peel? The peel comes off in little fragments, or else the segment tears? I had thought grapefruit were like that, always! I’ll give this a try!

(…In very careful moderation, 'cause I’m also statin-prescribed. Sigh!)