The Skinny on…Citrus
Expand your winter horizons with brightly colored, sweet-and-sour gems that’ll brighten your juice glass, your table and your day.
Article By: Mark Scarbrough & Bruce Weinstein


There’s a world of citrus beyond oranges, all stocked with plenty of vitamins to ward off colds and chills in the darker months. Given international shipping and even increased production in the United States, you might not realize how much citrus is now available in our supermarkets.
You may know standard Persian limes, but it’s high time you got a few key limes in your kitchen — or tried out the latest craze: finger limes. Everyone loves a grapefruit, but a pomelo may be just the snack you crave on a blustery afternoon. And the juice of a Meyer lemon will add a sophisticated spark to salad dressings all the way until springtime. We’ll help you understand the culinary potential of these fruits, explain some basic terms (what exactly is the zest?) and get you comfortable with some of the best seasonal produce in the winter pantry.

The Three Categories of Citrus
You can divide winter citrus (beyond oranges) into three rough categories — although some fruits move across these arbitrary boundaries. Here’s a general lay of the land.

Eating
Grapefruits and pomelos are the largest citrus fruits. Even oranges don’t stand up to their heft! Both require peeling — in some cases, even removing the membranes — to get rid of the bitter parts. These are highly seasonal, very aromatic and store well for several weeks in the fridge.
Juicing
Sure, you can juice a grapefruit (and the results are certainly delicious). But lemons and limes are the prime citrus for squeezing. You may not fill a drinking glass but you can’t beat their acidic punch in marinades and salad dressings.
Cooking
While kumquats are perfect sliced into salads, they can also be thrown into a sauté or a stew for a bit of brightness among earthy flavors. Finger limes can be used as a garnish for just about any piece of fish this winter.
How to choose citrus
First, follow your nose. Good citrus smells tart/sweet. The aroma is faint under that taut skin but should still be present.
Choose fruits with fairly shiny, smooth skins, free of blemishes or bruising.
Avoid any with mushy spots.
Among several in a bin, choose those heaviest in the hand. They’re packed with juice and pulp.
For the best quality control, avoid prebagged citrus and pick each fruit yourself.
If you’re looking to juice citrus, search out those with the thinnest skins. The skin should even give a little when pressed.
If you’re looking for citrus zest, choose fruits with thicker, harder skins.
How to store citrus at home
Wash citrus well to remove grit and other contaminants. Remember that other people have pawed through the selections in the bin. Never use the zest from unwashed fruit.
Leave the fruit at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Or store in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks.
Soak cold citrus in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before juicing to release every drop.
Zest, pith, rind and membranes
Zest
The outermost part of the peel, the thin, brightly colored surface. It’s loaded with oils (and thus flavor) and doesn’t include even the least bit of white stuff below.
Pith
The spongy white stuff below the zest. It’s notoriously bitter. It can add a sophisticated back taste when included with the zest in sautés. But it should never make an appearance in salads.
Rind
Sometimes also called "the peel," this is the full coating of the citrus fruit, zest and pith together.
Membranes
Thin, vein-like coverings over the fruit’s inner segments. The membranes are mostly edible but can become bitter in large citrus fruits.
Five citrus tools for your kitchen
Vegetable peeler for pulling off thin, large, wide strips of zest.
Small zester for pulling thin, confetti-like strips of bright flavor from the fruit.
Microplane to grate the smallest bits from the zest.
Reamer to get every last bit of juice out of a lemon or lime.
Serrated grapefruit spoons to easily remove segments from grapefruit halves at breakfast.