Learn how to segment an orange, or other citrus fruit such as grapefruit, to make the prettiest presentation when serving them in a salad.
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 my how-to tutorials.
How to segment an orange:
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!
How to Segment an Orange
Ingredients
- 1 navel orange or other citrus fruit
Instructions
- 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.
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miss
Another awesome tutorial! You make it look so easy!
marla
I now crave those oranges & your Santoku knife 😉 Too bad we are not here when you are otherwise I would insist on a meet up. With the oranges. xo
Thanks for the lesson too - well needed.
Drick
tedious work, sectioning fruit but ain't nothing better than a big ol' bowl of fresh ambrosia ... makes me want some right now
Belinda @zomppa
I am so impatient to do this. =) I'm so excited b/c I'm getting a Shun too! Beautiful photos.
Rosemary
I love this series . . . so often I *wing* things without really knowing how to do stuff. Segmenting citrus does look easier than I thought.
Katrina
Great tutorial! I love your photos too! 🙂
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc.
Love your tutorials!!
LetMeEatCake Eat With Me!
such a great tutotrial. segmented citrus is so much more beautiful that wedges and so much easier than i thought!
LetMeEatCake Eat With Me!
such a great tutotrial. segmented citrus is so much more beautiful that wedges and so much easier than i thought!
Eliana
This is an awesome tutorial. Segmenting oranges can get a little tricky but you broke it down really well here. And with so much great citrus out right now, I just wanna get out and grab myself a few oranges now.