Each time we travel to California for Christmas, I become mesmerized by the brightly colored globes of fruit dangling from my in-laws’ citrus trees. The navel oranges are filled with sweet juice, which drips down our chins and arms as we suck on wedges at breakfast time. Just before we leave for home, my father-in-law picks a generous selection of the orange fruit and Meyer lemons for us to take with us. We happily tuck our bounty into the car and begin dreaming of the desserts, salads, and drinks we can make with our stash.
When using oranges in recipes, it is preferable to extract the edible part of the fruit, leaving the membranes behind. Yes, the membranes are edible, but often get in the way when making salads and sauces. This method of remove the segments is easy, and allows the fruit to remain intact, which looks appealing in many dishes.
Be sure to check out the other how-to tutorials on Cookin’ Canuck.
How to do it:
Cut off both ends of the fruit and rest the fruit on one of the flat ends.
Starting at the top of the fruit and using the middle of the knife blade, cut away the skin and pith.
Slice each segment away from the connective membranes and use the knife to scoop the segments away from the fruit.
Now go enjoy the season’s sweetest fruit!
Bobs
I’m from Orange country in California. Put them in the frig over night. Then cut them in quarters and suck em up. There is no other way. Yum. Love me some Orange.
dimitria
i would love to pin “how to segment an orange” but it is not available?
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Sorry about that, Dimitria. The problem should be fixed now. Pin away!
Sonia
Wow! Great tutorial. I can’t wait to try this. Looks so good, I am craving an Orange now.
Tracy
Great tutorial; I am loving these! 🙂
RecipeGirl
You sure have some neat, worthwhile tips here on this blog of yours. Love this one!
Michelle @ Brown Eyed Baker
I am absolutely loving your tutorials, so very helpful! And this one is especially great – a perfectly segmented orange is so pretty!
doughmesstic
Really enjoying your tutorials – keep it up! And to think all this time I've just been peeling the orange. Ugh.
Jenny
Love the how to posts Dara, great photos too 🙂
Maria
Another great tip! Thanks for sharing!
sanjeeta kk
Quite interesting, just need a sharp knife to do the job.
Mary at n00bcakes
How interesting; I'd never thought of segmenting citrus in order to get rid of the membranes (usually I just ignore them). Great how-to, thanks for sharing!
A SPICY PERSPECTIVE
Great photos, Dara! I segment oranges and grapefruits for salad a lot–they just look so much prettier that way!