Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Buddha's Hand

I have never had a citrus go bad so quickly. I didn't take any pictures since it was pretty much a powdery green coating on the fingers of the fruit which started from the middle of the fruit and spread outward, but I felt that I had to describe it.
I cut it open to look for seeds since I was obviously not eating it. Inside it had a very sweet smell, not at all unpleasant, and no seeds. I hear they're pretty uncommon in this variety. Next time I get one I will cut it open right away to see exactly what the deep inside tastes like. I would guess that it's probably much sweeter than it's relatives.
The bit I did cut off, before the powdering started, and tasted a little of was strong but not as rindish as you might expect. It also might be possible to ferment the insides due to a higher sugar content.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Buddha's Hand Citrus

I didn't know what to expect but it's an obvious choice for variety. I went ahead and got the large one since they were priced by the piece even though it had a few pieces already cut off of it.
The peel has large oil nodules in the skin and is very fragrant, a cross between orange and lemon somewhere.


Centrel Market is having their Citrus Fest going on and they were handing out these handy reference booklets for ideas on what you can use the different kinds for. The Buddha's Hand is typically candied and is the recomenation they give. I hope to getting around to trying it in the next day or so.


Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Etog Heart

At first I couldn't figure out exactly what this citrus was. It was with the etogs but didn't look the same.


After I got it home I split it open and took a look. It was strange to see the outer peek cutting through the middle of the fruit but at least I could now identify it. It was an etog but it had two fruits combined into one.

This split shows an even better view of the inner peel. Plenty of seeds here to plant even though the inside had little juice. Another zester.



Blood Orange Syrup

My first attempt at making this has not turned out as well as I hoped. I cooked it on too high of a heat and the sugar started to caramelize. It still doeasn't taste bad but the color is more of a red-brown. I think I will try reducing the juice first next time and see if that helps any.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Yuzu Citrus

This has to be one of the more bitter citrus fruits I have come across. The flavor is mixed in well with the equally strong tart flavor and gives a good overall flavor. There isn't much juice in one of these. When I first picked it up I wondered if it had gone bad. They all had the same feel to them and so I bought a couple.
Below is a whole yuzu that has some of the zest removed. The green color from the rind gives the zest and interesting look to it. Some of the fruit is greener than others so it depends on what color you want from it as to which one you decide to pick up.
The zest is very flavorful and gives off a very lemony scent with a hint of orange.
They more than make up in seeds what they lack in juice. After taking this picture I took all of the seeds out of the first one and came up with a total of 18 seeds. They were large too and totally plantable. If you want to try growing citrus this is a good pick.