SC - Seville oranges

[Elaine Koogler]

Stefan li Rous wrote:
> 
> In looking through a book I purchased today, "Mexican Cooking for Dummies",
> I noticed they gave this substitution for Seville Oranges. While it is
> better to have the real thing, sometimes you need to make a substitution,
> so I thought some might find this useful.
> 
> 2 parts grapefruit juice
> 1 part orange juice
> 2 tablespoons lime juice

Are you sure that's an accurate quote from the book? Note that you've
listed a mix of nonspecific units (parts) with specific units (Tbs.). It
would seem difficult to duplicate the juice between a batch consisting
of, say, four fluid ounces total (in which case a part is an ounce) and
a batch measuring in cups, gallons, etc.
 
> While in World Market today I noticed they sold tubs that were for
> making Seville Orange Marmalade. The tub said it had everything needed
> but sugar. The tub listed Seville Orange juice but also had several
> thickeners in it, so I wasn't sure if it would work in the period recipes
> calling for Seville Orange juice or not. I will have to take more notes next
> time I'm in the store on the exact ingredients.

I'm wondering about the thickeners. Are we talking about pectin, some
kind of gum stabilizers, starches, what?

> 
> The book also says about Seville Oranges "Also known as bitter oranges
> or naranja agria, this small fruit has thick, green, bumpy skin and is
> less juicy than an ordinary orange. Its potent sour juice replaces vinegar
> in typical Yucatecan marinades and seasoning pastes. Although bitter
> oranges are also found in Puerto Rico and Cuba [obviously an import from
> Spain], only Mexicans prize the juice more than the fleshy skin. At
> Mexican markets, the fruit is sold with the top layer of skin removed
> so that the bitter oils don't seep into the juice."
> 
> What would you do with the skins? Make candied orange peel? I don't
> remember the Seville Oranges that I've bought fresh being green, although
> I would have said greenish orange rather than bright green. I wonder if
> you would pick them green if you were wanting to accentuate the sour
> taste? The ones I got were more "bumpy" than regular oranges which
> tend to have a smoother skin.

Candy them... Distill them for orange oil? I expect that you would pick
them green for a more sour juice, but I also assume that packers have to
achieve a discreet balance between picking them at a stage when they're
suitably or fully grown/large (yes, I realize they're not very big) and
slightly unripe, both for shipping purposes (unripe fruits tending to be
less delicate) and on the assumption that the fruit will continue to
ripen en route to the market. They may just be riper at your end of the
trip than at the packer's end.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com