Sweet Lemon/Sour Orange

you just know that Mother Nature was giggling when she planted these.

These are not new, just new to me.

(left) Sweet Lemon (Citrus Limetta) Round and thin skinned, these seemed so promising when I scratched and sniffed the rinds– heady and floral with spicy undertones– but the pulp is a disappointment– insipid and unremarkable. At least I can salvage the zest. A quick search yielded no practical uses…can’t imagine why this one is still being propagated.

(right) Sour Orange (Citrus Arantium) Also known as bitter orange, this is the All-Star of the orange game. It makes the best marmalade and is used to flavor Grand Marnier, Curacao, and Triple Sec. Its flowers lend their fragrance to orange flower water and the seductive Neroli oil. The pulp is wonderfully puckery and sweet– that is if you can get to it through all of the seeds. No danger of extinction here. I plan to preserve these in salt. After a few weeks, I can utilize them in a relish with cerignola olives, toasted marcona almonds, and roasted piquillo peppers.