[Sca-cooks] Citrus Question [was Funges Follies]

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

On 25 Mar 2002, at 11:20, Barbara Benson wrote:

> The question I have is: When did the
> technique of "zesting" citrus and adding it to a dish to up the citrus
> quotient come about?

I don't know for sure, but I've never seen it in any period cookbook.

> Also, what would be the best oranges to use &
> why? Because of a discussion that occured on this very list I used
> blood oranges for both dishes. Are they sour enough? Should I add
> lemon? Should I use a different orange? Is there any commercially
> available pre-squozed juice that would be a good substitute? (I do not
> relish the idea of squozing all of those oranges).

Goya makes a marinade called "Naranja Agria" (sour orange).  I
find it in local Hispanic grocery stores.  I don't know where you live,
but if you can't find it locally, you could contact Goya directly:
http://www.goya.com/english/buy/index.html

In _The Medieval Kitchen_, the authors recommend a mixture of
orange juice and lemon juice, if one cannot get bitter oranges.
Their suggested proportion is the juice of 2 oranges + the juice of 1
lemon.  I think Barbara Santich in _The Original Mediterranean
Cuisine_ suggests a similar solution, though I can't locate my copy
right now.

I hope you'll post your redactions here for everyone to see.


Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
rcmann4 at earthlink.net