How To Section Citrus Fruit
The addition of citrus to any dish will add a nice bit of freshness and great taste. Of course, how can one add citrus to a dish with all the peel and pith? Just peeling it typically leaves a lot of pith and tough membrane. Pith is the white part of the peel which is pretty bitter and getting rid of it is a good idea. Knowing how to section citrus fruit – what the french call supreming – is a good technique to know. It not only gets rid of all the skin and pith, but it creates delicate and tasty slices of citrus fruit without any unpleasant membrane. Not that the membrane is the worst thing in the world, but a citrus supreme is a very refined way to eat citrus leaving the most delicious part of the fruit for consumption. And it is easy to do.
How To Section Citrus Fruit – The Details
It does not matter what citrus you are using. This technique works with grapefruit, orange, lemon and lime – even pomelo. The steps are as follows.
This is a great way to prepare citrus for fruit salad and even cooked dishes.
The video below shows you all the details and gives a recipe for a simple appetizer or light dessert. Supremes of grapefruit are delicious in mint or star anise syrup!
- 4 pink or white grapefruits
- 1 cup of light brown or demerera sugar
- 1 cup of water
- 1 big bunch of fresh mint leaves
- Clean and roughly chop the mint.
- In a small pot, bring the water and sugar to a simmer.
- When the sugar is dissolved, add the mint leaves.
- Let simmer 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let steep for at least an hour.
- Cut the grapefruit into segments.
- Trim the ends of the citrus fruit just deep enough so the fruit starts to show and the pith is exposed.
- Using a sharp knife, a slicing or paring knife will work fine, carefully make one cut from end to end, following the shape of the fruit, cutting only deep enough to remove the skin and pith.
- Continue peeling and removing the pith by running the knife blade from end to end using the exposed pith as a guide. By doing this, less fruit will be wasted.
- Continue peeling until the whole fruit is skin and pith free. The sections of the fruit will be clearly visible.
- Holding the peeled fruit in hand by the fruits ends, carefully cut between the exposed membranes removing the sections. It is best to slice the sections out over a bowl as there will be a lot of juice.
- After the sections are removed, squeeze the membrane and collect the remaining juice.
- Place some of the segmented grapefruit in a bowl. Spoon over some juice and syrup. Garnish with some chopped mint.
- Serve cold or at room temperature.
- Leftover syrup can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container.
I hope you enjoy!
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
How do you section your citrus fruits? Let us know all about it in the comments or on Facebook.
The Culinary Exchange can also be found on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and YouTube.
Come On! Follow Along!
