One of the things I always have on hand at my house is a variety of citrus fruits. I use lemons and limes all the time to perk up both sweet and savory dishes. Another trick is to use oranges and grapefruits in your cooking. It’s a healthy way to brighten everyday foods and it adds a sweet punch! A lot of times when recipes actually call for citrus, they ask for “segments” or “sections”. It’s a method of cutting the fruit to avoid all of that chewy, bitter pith, just leaving the perfectly juicy flesh in beautiful uniform segments. Since grapefruits are in prime season right now, I thought I’d use this gorgeous Texas Rio Star for a quick tutorial. Seriously, how amazing is that color?! It was super sweet too (for a grapefruit!)
I’ve also found this is a great way to cut citrus to introduce it to little ones who can’t yet chew the tough membranes. My baby loves to eat up orange slices this way! Here’s some other ideas on how to use both grapefruit and orange segments:
– try oranges in place of mangoes in this Spicy Honey Chicken Salad, the dressing has oj in it so the flavors blend perfectly!
– try citrus in place of cranberries in this quick Sweet and Salty Salad Wrap
-decorate the top of a cake with a beautiful citrus segment star
-add segments to stir-frys and other Asian dishes (similar to pineapple)
-chop them on top of these Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes for a healthy and satisfying breakfast.
– citrus pairs especially well on salads with sweet dressings, like our Poppyseed Dressing.
-There’s also tons of yummy grapefruit and orange recipes on the Texas Citrus page if you’ve got a minute to browse!
How do you guys like your citrus? Any other great ideas?
Questions & Reviews
haha, Mandy that's SO cute!
Thanks so much for this tutorial! I tried this with an orange for my 4 year old, and she told me, "Wow Mommy, you are really good at cutting oranges!" Also worked wonders at getting everyone to eat grapefruit.
that grapefruit is so beautiful! I wish I liked to eat them, but they taste too much like earwax (or so I recall from the 1 time I tried it years ago as a child!) LOL! 🙂
You've packed lots of good information into this post. I have a recipe for pink grapefruit salad dressing that you might enjoy. I love the food and recipes you feature here. They keep me coming back. I hope you have a wonderful day. Blessings…Mary
mmmmmmm. . . I always wondered how to do that! Maybe I can get my kids to actually eat grapefruit now. . .
Don't laugh with lots of sugar. Paulette
I just did that today with an orange to top my spinach and goat cheese salad. Then I took the leftover part of the orange, squeezed the juice into a bowl, and added white wine vinegar, salt, fresh-ground pepper, and olive oil to make a fabulous vinaigrette to top the salad.
Thanks for the great tutorial! I love your blog.
I LOOOVE your tutorials! Keep them coming! I am a self-taught cook and need all the help I can get 🙂
I never thought of doing that for my baby. We have oranges right now, so I'll have to try this to see if she'll eat them! Good idea to juice the leftovers for smoothies too1
Ha ha, Just yesterday I was cutting a grapefruit (apparently the hard way) and was thinking "I wonder if Sara has anything on her website with a better way to do this". I will have to get another one and try it again! Thanks!