Orange - a healthy all-purpose fruit - My Recipes

[ErmesT]

In Italy, oranges are produced and available on the market during the winter months. Thanks to their vitamin C content, they are therefore considered an excellent remedy, or at least an aid, precisely against colds that reach their peak in winter. It almost seems that nature offers us, from season to season, a help to keep us healthy.

This year, to help the producers, we decided to buy organic oranges directly from them, along with 10 liters of olive oil.

Someone asked us, “what do you do with 10 kg of oranges all together?”

Obviously we like to consume them fresh, alone, but also in excellent juices, or in salads together with Treviso Red Radicchio, simply seasoned with salt and olive oil…

However, oranges can enter our kitchen in many other ways. Here are the ones we have chosen to use

Arancello

This is the version, made with oranges, of the more famous Limoncello.

The preparation is very easy, and requires very few ingredients and a lot of patience: Oranges, ethyl alcohol for food, sugar and water.

For the preparation of Arancello, only the external part of the peel (the orange one) is used, which is easily obtained by carefully peeling the orange.

For the preparation of the Arancello, only the external part of the peel (the orange one) is used, which is easily obtained by carefully peeling the orange. I used eight large oranges and a liter of alcohol, but of course you can choose different amounts, always keeping the proportion between oranges and alcohol. With half a liter of pure alcohol you get about one and a half liters of Arancello

In the first phase, carefully peel the oranges and put them in a jar, where you will add pure ethyl alcohol. Now put the jar in the dark in a cool environment, and add a good dose of “patience”. How much patience to use? This is up to you. The most “impatient” say “at least ten days” while the most “traditional” speak of 40 days of maceration. The longer the maceration, the more intense the flavor of the Arancino you are producing.

Remember to shake the jar every two days to facilitate maceration. When the patience is over (mine is not yet), we can move on to the final stage.

Prepare a syrup by boiling a liter of water with 800 grams of sugar for 10 minutes over low heat, then remove it from the heat and let it cool.

While the syrup cools, filter the alcoholic solution where you put the oranges to macerate. Then squeeze the skins, to extract all the essence.

Now combine the alcoholic solution and the syrup, mixing carefully, then bottle your Arancello.

Now only the final step is missing. Take another dose of patience, and put the liquor to rest. The longer you leave it, the tastier the result will be.

cheers

Now that you have macerated your orange peels, you find yourself at home with some (many) white (peeled) oranges. What can we do with it? My suggestion is:

Homemade Orange Marmalade

Quick and easy: you need 400 grams of sugar for every kilo of arange. Peel the oranges by removing all the white part of the peel, which is bitter. Then cut the oranges into pieces and put them in a saucepan with the sugar. Boil everything for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, prepare the jars where you have to put the jam for conservation: wash them and then put them to boil in a pot of water. In this way you sterilize them.

When the jam is ready, stop cooking, and at the same time stop the jars from boiling.

Remove the hot jars from the water, and fill them with the hot jam, then immediately close the cap.

Cooling down, the jar will pass “under vacuum”, thus sealing the cap. This will allow the preservation of the jam for many months.

After that, I leave to your imagination the use of oranges in the kitchen, I leave you with just a couple of images:

• Red radicchio and orange salad
• Baked salmon fillet covered with sliced oranges, and flavored with orange sauce

And you? What recipes do you want to share? Have you ever cooked with oranges and, if so, what did you prepare?

Reply to this post and leave us an image, or even just an idea of what to prepare with oranges.

Enjoy your meal

[NareshDarji]

Oranges are very good for health and are rich in vitamin C This also helps a lot in boosting the immune system. I especially prefer to drink its juice @ErmesT .

Thanks for sharing your recipes with us.

[LaloPadilla]

Oranges are really consumed during winter and we love to drink orange juice for breakfast.

Thanks for sharing arancello and orange marmalade recipes @ErmesT ! One of my favorite things to prepare is orange cake, I love the moment when it is in the oven and the house smells like orange.

Also orange ice cream is delicious, have you tried it?

[KalyanPal]

Hi @ErmesT ,

How are you?

In my list, one of the favourite juice is Orange juice. I love to drink orange juice with ice.

[JordanSB]

So interesting, @ErmesT ! I love eating oranges, fresh-squeezed orange juice, part of a nice alcoholic drink, and having them in a fruit salad, however, I have never cooked with them. Now I have something new to try!

[ErmesT]

I love orange juice too, @NareshDarji but for me the top of the experience has been when I starter to eat oranges as a salad, with olive oil and salt, or simply with salt. You should try, the salt is reducing the acidity of the orange and it become really sweet. Unbelievable, isn’t it?

[ErmesT]

Omg, orange cake? @LaloPadilla

You should share your recipe here. There is also chocolate in your cake? I personally find the combination between chocolate and orange simply delicious

Yes, I love all ice creams made with fruits. Lemon , orange and strawberries are my favourite

[TsekoV]

Hi @ErmesT ,

Oranges have such an important role in Italian cuisine, haven’t they?

You’ve shared some quite interesting recipes to follow. Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved eating marmalade, but I’ve never tried a marmalade from oranges. I am quite curious to give it a try.

[NareshDarji]

I have never tested an orange salad with olive oil @ErmesT .

Yes, adding salt reduce its acidity and makes it taste good.

[ErmesT]

I’m fine @KalyanPal thanks.

Orange juice is great, especially when is freshly squeezed.

Have you tried consuming oranges differently?

In the past I only consumed orange juice, and ate fresh oranges but, when I discovered other ways to prepare them, I started to enjoy them much more

[ErmesT]

Hope I will have a feedback after your cooking test, @JordanSB

Sweet and sour cooking is very common in the Mediterranean area, and I’m sure @Giu_DiB will have some suggestions for us

[Sophia_Cambodia]

You have so many ways to consume it @ErmesT I only eat them fresh or squeeze it into juice, that’s it.

[Ewaade_3A]

Oh no! I am sure coming to taste all of these. You can’t keep doing this, Ermes.

I am not so much of a fan of oranges because of heartburn. But, I still take them in reasonable proportion.

This post is juicy.

Now, this is what you call #supportingsmallbusiness

Put some money in their pocket people!

STEVE @StephenAbraham has a Guided meetup coming up where he wants us all to put some money in the pockets of some small business owners too.

Nicely written as usual, Ermes @ErmesT

And I just wanted to know, do people do these on a commercial scale too? Especially the Arancello?

[Giu_DiB]

Hello @ErmesT ,

Thanks for tagging me! Yes, you are right about oranges as a very versatile ingredient in the kitchen, and you are right about how important they are in the Sicilian cuisine. We use them in salads too with fennels, black olives, olive oil, salt and black pepper.

About the sweet and sour recipes, they are very popular in the island and you will easily find something “in agrodolce” on an average menu in Sicilian restaurants. One for all, the traditional “caponata” with aubergines, tomatoes, onion, olives, celery, raisins, capers, pine nuts and basil, cooked in sugar and vinegar.

You know what? now I fancy some caponata and I might try to cook one myself soon! In that case you will see photos here on Connect.

[LuigiZ]

Hi @ErmesT ,

wow this post is fantastic … and so orange .

I love oranges but I mainly use them for a fresh orange juice in the morning. In this time of the year when we have lot of them I always buy full boxes every week for the morning fresh orange juice .

I never attempted to make the arancello, perhaps I should pass the suggestion to my father, actually this one is missing from its liquors production list .

Thank you for the delicious suggestions!

[ErmesT]

Not sure about the importance of Oranges in the Italian cuisine, @TsekoV . I mean, if I think of an Italian Dish, of course pasta and pizza will take the first place. But Italian cuisine is mostly regional, due to the big variation in climate that we have from North to South. Every region have dishes characteristic of the area, related to the ingredients produced locally. Most of the oranges are produced in the south of the country, where the “Mediterranean” contamination is more relevant. And it is in fact from the south, and more specifically from Sicily, that most of the sweet and sour dishes come from, such as the “wonderful” caponata mentioned by @Giu_DiB .

The orange marmalade has a slightly bitter aftertaste that, instead of disturbing, invites you to eat more.

P.S.: I am sure @DeniGu have a few kilos of “peeled oranges” ready for a try

[LaloPadilla]

Yes @ErmesT you can add chocolate and because of the way it looks it is called “marble cake” (I have no photos, sorry )

I´m trying to lose some weight but you just can say no to a delicious cake, so… I will bake one, I ´ll remember to take some photos and share my recipe here on Connect.

My favorite local icecream parlour prepares it with bits of fruit, everytime I go I buy 1 Litre (for myself ).

[vvaibhav655]

@ErmesT I like Orange juice good for health thanks for sharing .

[ErmesT]

You should try, @NareshDarji

It becomes an “interesting” salad , light and healthy. You can make some experiments adding different veggies, and for sure you will surprise your guests

I want to add that normally, when we make this salad with new guests, at first their puzzling face show their perplexity. But the smile they show when they try is priceless

[ErmesT]

You should try, @Sophia_Cambodia , at least to add salt, and to make a salad.

You will be surprised.

Or to cover them with melted dark chocolate, then wait for the chocolate to cool down.

Please let me know, if you try