Last week I shared our (very) small Meyer lemon harvest. Today it's the satsuma orange harvest that was quite a bit larger.
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| Owari Satsuma oranges |
Got these off before the last hard freeze. Almost a dozen were on the tree so we pulled them off.
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| Peeled Satsuma orange |
They peeled so nicely. I think I've read that they call them zipper peels or something like that. They just separated so easily from the orange itself. Then the orange segments just sort of opened up like this.
Pretty cool.
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| Peeled oranges |
They were delicious and we ate quite a few segments. 2nd Man couldn't get over how "orange" they tasted...meaning that they tasted how you imagine an orange SHOULD taste.
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| Putting up orange segments |
The rest of them I stood at the sink and peeled off the little white pithy (is that a word?) parts on the outside of each segment and put them in a baggie. We are trying to decide if we should freeze them? I mean, we'll have another crop in the Spring and hopefully for years to come but can you freeze oranges like this?
It's so much fun growing these trees. We're having a great time learning the ins and outs of raising fruit. It's definitely a process of winning and losing and winning again but hey, if we can get our own mini orchard cranking out fruit by the buckets full in the end, then it's all worth it for sure.
I don't know if you can freeze oranges or not, but there is a book I highly recommend, called Stocking Up, that tells you how to can, freeze, and dry everything! And there are recipes in the book as well. My grandparents were organic gardeners and they used this book all the time.
ReplyDeleteoh yum!! So very jealous of your fruit trees~ ENJOY~!
ReplyDeleteI have never frozen citrus, except to juice it and freeze the juice. You might want to can the segments in a light syrup.
ReplyDeleteDo NOT freeze them unless you make juice of them first. They will not be worth eating when frozen and then thawed. Take it from somebody who tried it. They do look good though.
ReplyDeleteGreat looking crop of satsumas! It is so much fun to grow and harvest your own fruit. I have never tried freezing them except for their juice.
ReplyDeleteI like to zest the peel and use it in teas, water, and in baking. I have frozen the zest with good results.
I wouldn't suggest freezing them but like Texas Rose mentioned; zest them and then freeze the zest. Use your juicer and get the all orange juice and that you can also freeze using ice cube trays and once frozen place in ziplock baggie; but freezing the whole orange itself; not really a good idea.
ReplyDeleteWhen the water in fruit freezes, it expands and pushes on the fruit's cell walls, breaking and destroying them which causes a breakdown in texture and quality of the fruit.
Now I did come across this bit of information:
DeleteHow I prepare and freeze oranges:
Peel oranges and remove as much of the white pith as possible.
Divide each orange into quarters.
Place orange quarters in resealable freezer bags, remove air, and seal.
Place bags in freezer until needed.
When ready to use, remove desired orange segments from freezer and let thaw 20–30 minutes at room temperature.
Divide each quarter into individual segments and use as needed; mostly used in smoothies as well making into an Orange Julius.
Can also use orange segments in a Winter Green Salad. https://zestfulkitchen.com/winter-green-salad-with-oranges-and-candied-pistachios/
I would never remove the pithy white part as it is good and very nutritious. Look it up.
ReplyDeleteOh how neat! I love that you have an orange tree!!! My Meyer lemon tree sadly passed away last summer, she struggled in this northern climate! I have frozen oranges before and they were fine when I defrosted them. The peels though, become very ultra soft and are hard to zest after freezing.
ReplyDeleteI have 5 meyer lemon trees but have yet to see any fruit. 😕
ReplyDeleteSo my satsuma had 2 years of fruit but it froze and we cut it down after no evidence of greening. I just found the a regrowth. My question is will it take the few years all over again to fruit?
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