Tuesday 14 October 2014

Preserved Oranges

I am a bit of a TV chef groupie I think.  I watch heaps of their shows, and buy way too many of their books. But I do pick up some interesting ideas for recipes, and some valuable tips here and there.  I was watching Shane Delia the other night and he mentioned that he likes to use preserved oranges in his cooking rather than preserved lemons.  This sounded really delicious to me, so I had it in the back of my mind to put some up soon.  I make preserved lemons each winter, which go so well with couscous and with fish, and in salads. I think these oranges will go really well in similar dishes, and I can hardly wait for the 4 weeks to go by till I can use them!

Ingredients:

4 medium or 3 large oranges (around 800g.)
200g. salt
250 ml fresh lemon juice
250ml fresh orange juice
2 cinnamon sticks
a few cloves or a star anise

Method:

Wash and dry the oranges
Cut them in half and cut each half into thirds so you end up with 6 wedges per orange
Throw them into a plastic bag and freeze overnight
Next day put them in the fridge for 4 hours till partly thawed (this helps break down the fibres I am assuming)
Place the wedges into a big bowl, throw all the salt over them and stir till well-covered
Grab a 1 litre sterilised jar and stuff those wedges into the jar!
Pour over the 2 juices, and push in the cinnamon and cloves
Shake till well-combined
Put in a cool, dark place for 4 weeks before using  (this is Queensland so it goes into the fridge to mature!)



freezing wedges overnight, then gathering the other ingredients 

salting those lovely juicy orange pieces

stuffing them into the jar with lemon and orange juices, and spices


can hardly wait to try them in 4 weeks!


Oops, yes there are 2 jars here.  My big jar was obviously less than one litre so I hurriedly had to wash another small jar and stuff them into that too.  Mysteriously I had too much juice(s) left over; I just couldn't stuff one more teaspoon of juice into either jar, so I had to drink it!


12 comments:

  1. Mmmmm - yum. We have just preserved lemons for the first time so if they are successful we may try these oranges. Will pin for future reference!

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    1. I am hoping they are delicious! I think they will be. It's like a burst of sunshine in the kitchen.

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  2. I'm so curious to see what these are like! Will you give us an update when they're ready Sherry? :)

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  3. I've never preserved oranges, only lemons. It does make sense to be preserving oranges and I'd love to try this. As we head towards the season of giving, I think these would make wonderful gifts xx

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  4. Hi Lorraine
    I will report back next month :))

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  5. Oh, I love the look of these Sherry and can see them working really well - thanks for sharing.

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    1. hi rachel
      i am really looking forward to trying them out! thanks for visiting.

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  6. I always make preserved lemons but will make these oranges as soon as get home. What a great idea��

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    1. Thanks gerlinde. I hope they are tasty in a few weeks:)

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  7. What a lovely idea, Sherry. Looking forward to trying this.

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    Replies
    1. hi christine
      i really hope they are nice. it is a bit of a mystery at the moment as to how they will turn out.:)

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