Ideas for Preserving Citrus Fruit

Reader Contribution by Tammy Kimbler
Published on February 18, 2015

We are huge fans of citrus fruit at our house. My partner devours grapefruits. We can’t keep my daughter stocked in blood oranges. Me? I love it all. Key limes, Meyer lemons, kumquats, pumelos, Seville oranges, mandarines, kaffir limes, citrons – the list of citrus is truly long.  I have yet to meet a fruit that I didn’t like.

December thru March is citrus season in the United States. From California, across the southern states to Florida, the citrus fruit harvest is well underway. Ironically, although we associate citrus trees with warm weather, the signature bright colors actual require a cool winter (but not freezing) for their skin to turn. The maturity of the fruit, however, is independent from their color. Green-skinned citrus is often found in tropical climates.

Originating somewhere between Australia and New Guinea [1], citrus has spread and hybridized repeatedly around the world. While we often think of citrus for eating out of hand, many citrus varieties are grown specifically for their zest, oil, leaves and of course, vitamin C (citric acid). Kafir limes, for example, are primarily grown for the flavor their leaves impart in Southeast Asian curries. Citrus is also grown as an ornamental shrub (I have one on my porch) both indoors and out. During the Renaissance many famous royal gardens featured “Orangeries” [2] in greenhouses. Our own George Washington had an expansive Orangery at Mount Vernon that even Thomas Jefferson envied. [3]

With such a short season, we try to preserve as much citrus as we can for the rest of the year. Although you can still get grapefruit, lemons and oranges in July, they’ve usually been in cold storage or been shipped from South America. Preserving citrus is pretty easy. Here are some flexible techniques you can try with almost any type of citrus, recipe links included. Challenge yourself to change out the types fruit in these recipes and create flavors all your own.

Preserving Citrus with Salt

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