Or oranges or grapefruit or limes! What do you do? Where do I start? There are sooooo many things to do with citrus fruit that this blog can’t even touch the surface.
Did you know that an orange tree blooms while also bearing fruit? Or that an orange tree takes 5-7 years to start to produce good edible fruit? Some of the really important things about citrus are that they contain a very high amount of vitamin C, flavonoids (enzymes that are good for your heart and are also present in red wine and dark chocolate), calcium, phosphorus and other essential nutrients. Orange juice is said to contain more calcium than milk. They improve your blood circulation and work as powerful detoxifying agents. Citrus fruit contain folate – women should consume them before and during pregnancy to prevent birth defects in infants.
I don’t know about your family but we love marmalade – our citrus grove allows us to make many, many different kinds. We have mandarins, limes, lemons, grapefruit, oranges and limequats. Name your toast topper!
Another of my special favourites is lemon curd/honey. I can eat it off the spoon. We make this into a citrus version of a New Zealand favourite, Louise cake. What is great about this recipe is that both main ingredients are ready on our farm at the same time. As the hens start to lay more eggs, so do the lemon trees ripen, filling the fruit basket with glorious colour and fresh smells. You can buy eggs and lemons by popping out to visit us. (Please phone first). If you want to buy lemon honey email me or call or text to make sure I have some in stock.
Lemon Louise Cake
Ingredients:
Sweet short pastry
700ml lemon curd/honey – 2 to 3 jars
5 egg whites
300g white sugar
120g desiccated coconut
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Lightly grease the base and sides of a 24cm x 37cm Swiss roll tin with melted butter or baking spray.
Press the pastry into the tin to cover the base evenly. Place into the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes until the pastry is lightly brown.
Remove form the oven and spread the base with lemon Curd/Honey.
Place the egg whites into a small bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar and coconut and fold gently to combine. Spread evenly over the lemon curd/honey.
Place back in the (preheated) oven and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the base is cooked and the top is golden brown.
Take out of the oven, cool and cut into 2.5cm x 4.5cm rectangles (or the size you would like). You can store this in an airtight container for up to 1 week (if you can 🙂 )
If you have a friend who you know would just love this, I’d be delighted if you’d share the blog wtih them.